diff --git a/CONTENT_BRIDGE.md b/CONTENT_BRIDGE.md
index dadc0ab..b04f094 100644
--- a/CONTENT_BRIDGE.md
+++ b/CONTENT_BRIDGE.md
@@ -92,7 +92,9 @@ Use colocated relative assets:
 Quarto image attributes such as `{width=70%}` were removed during import. Going
 forward, use normal Markdown and let Astro CSS handle presentation.
 
-Quarto callouts were converted to portable blockquotes:
+### Callouts
+
+Write callouts as portable blockquotes. This is the canonical form:
 
 ```markdown
 > **Note**
@@ -100,7 +102,7 @@ Quarto callouts were converted to portable blockquotes:
 > Text of the callout.
 ```
 
-Use the same convention for new notes:
+Supported labels are `Note`, `Tip`, `Warning`, `Caution`, and `Aside`:
 
 ```markdown
 > **Warning**
@@ -108,12 +110,78 @@ Use the same convention for new notes:
 > This point needs attention.
 ```
 
+Obsidian-style labels also work:
+
+```markdown
+> [!tip]
+> This is a tip.
+```
+
+For quick writing, a few leading emoji markers are recognized and stripped:
+
+```markdown
+> 📝 This becomes a note.
+> 💡 This becomes a tip.
+> ⚡ This also becomes a tip.
+> ⚠️ This becomes a warning.
+```
+
+In Astro these render as `<aside class="callout callout-note">`, etc. In the
+PDF pipeline they render as pastel `tcolorbox` blocks:
+
+```text
+note    -> blognotebox
+tip     -> blogtipbox
+warning -> blogwarningbox
+caution -> blogcautionbox
+aside   -> blogasidebox
+```
+
+The LaTeX boxes use `tcolorbox` with the `breakable` and `enhanced` libraries,
+a light tinted background, a thin frame, a stronger left rule, and a small
+attached title label. This follows the same design vocabulary as the DM book
+callouts: compact colored boxes that can split across pages without becoming
+visually heavy.
+
 Quarto margin notes such as `[text]{.aside}` were converted to:
 
 ```markdown
 > **Aside:** text
 ```
 
+### Emoji And Symbol Text
+
+Write emoji, chess pieces, and card suits directly in Markdown:
+
+```markdown
+I like this move: ♘f3. Hearts and diamonds are red: ♥ ♦. Spades and clubs are black: ♠ ♣.
+This reminder is visible in both outputs: 🎯
+```
+
+Astro wraps these glyphs in small semantic spans so they get stable font
+fallbacks and accessible labels:
+
+```html
+<span class="symbol symbol-chess" data-symbol="white-knight" aria-label="white knight">♘</span>
+<span class="symbol symbol-card" data-symbol="heart" aria-label="heart">♥</span>
+<span class="symbol symbol-emoji">🎯</span>
+```
+
+The PDF pipeline maps the same characters to LaTeX macros:
+
+```text
+emoji and emoji sequences -> \BlogEmojiText{...} using the emoji package
+♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♙       -> \BlogChessWhite{\symking}, etc. using chessfss
+♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟       -> \BlogChessBlack{\symking}, etc. using chessfss
+♥ ♡ ♦ ♢           -> red \heartsuit / \diamondsuit via amssymb + xcolor
+♠ ♤ ♣ ♧           -> black \spadesuit / \clubsuit via amssymb + xcolor
+playing-card emoji -> \BlogEmojiText{...}
+```
+
+Use Unicode characters in the source. Do not write LaTeX-only symbols in posts
+unless the post is PDF-only, because raw LaTeX will not generally survive the
+HTML path.
+
 ## Semantic Blocks
 
 Use Pandoc-style fenced attributes for blocks that need to render differently
@@ -303,9 +371,18 @@ npm run pdf:post -- sites/research/src/content/research/example/index.md --out /
 The command runs:
 
 - `scripts/pandoc-filters/semantic-blocks.lua` to convert interactive and
-  environment fences.
+  environment fences, internal links, Markdown callouts, emoji, chess pieces,
+  and card suits.
 - `scripts/pandoc-templates/semantic-preamble.tex` to load `amsthm`,
-  `cleveref`, and the shared theorem definitions.
+  `cleveref`, `tcolorbox`, `emoji`, `chessfss`, and the shared theorem,
+  callout, and symbol definitions.
+
+Current smoke-test PDFs live outside the repo:
+
+```text
+/private/tmp/blog-pdf-samples/callout-symbol-test.pdf
+/private/tmp/blog-pdf-samples/vibes-building-interactives.pdf
+```
 
 The PDF route is intentionally separate from Astro. Astro owns HTML rendering;
 Pandoc owns PDF rendering. The Markdown conventions above are the shared
diff --git a/scripts/pandoc-filters/semantic-blocks.lua b/scripts/pandoc-filters/semantic-blocks.lua
index 893a018..b34e8f0 100644
--- a/scripts/pandoc-filters/semantic-blocks.lua
+++ b/scripts/pandoc-filters/semantic-blocks.lua
@@ -9,6 +9,58 @@ local env_types = {
   proof = true,
 }
 
+traverse = "topdown"
+
+local callout_labels = {
+  aside = "Aside",
+  caution = "Caution",
+  note = "Note",
+  tip = "Tip",
+  warning = "Warning",
+}
+
+local callout_envs = {
+  aside = "blogasidebox",
+  caution = "blogcautionbox",
+  note = "blognotebox",
+  tip = "blogtipbox",
+  warning = "blogwarningbox",
+}
+
+local callout_markers = {
+  { marker = "📝", key = "note" },
+  { marker = "💡", key = "tip" },
+  { marker = "⚡", key = "tip" },
+  { marker = "⚠️", key = "warning" },
+  { marker = "⚠", key = "warning" },
+}
+
+local chess_macros = {
+  ["♔"] = "\\BlogChessWhite{\\symking}",
+  ["♕"] = "\\BlogChessWhite{\\symqueen}",
+  ["♖"] = "\\BlogChessWhite{\\symrook}",
+  ["♗"] = "\\BlogChessWhite{\\symbishop}",
+  ["♘"] = "\\BlogChessWhite{\\symknight}",
+  ["♙"] = "\\BlogChessWhite{\\sympawn}",
+  ["♚"] = "\\BlogChessBlack{\\symking}",
+  ["♛"] = "\\BlogChessBlack{\\symqueen}",
+  ["♜"] = "\\BlogChessBlack{\\symrook}",
+  ["♝"] = "\\BlogChessBlack{\\symbishop}",
+  ["♞"] = "\\BlogChessBlack{\\symknight}",
+  ["♟"] = "\\BlogChessBlack{\\sympawn}",
+}
+
+local card_macros = {
+  ["♠"] = "\\BlogCardBlack{\\ensuremath{\\spadesuit}}",
+  ["♤"] = "\\BlogCardBlack{\\ensuremath{\\spadesuit}}",
+  ["♣"] = "\\BlogCardBlack{\\ensuremath{\\clubsuit}}",
+  ["♧"] = "\\BlogCardBlack{\\ensuremath{\\clubsuit}}",
+  ["♥"] = "\\BlogCardRed{\\ensuremath{\\heartsuit}}",
+  ["♡"] = "\\BlogCardRed{\\ensuremath{\\heartsuit}}",
+  ["♦"] = "\\BlogCardRed{\\ensuremath{\\diamondsuit}}",
+  ["♢"] = "\\BlogCardRed{\\ensuremath{\\diamondsuit}}",
+}
+
 local function has_class(el, class_name)
   for _, value in ipairs(el.classes) do
     if value == class_name then
@@ -27,6 +79,28 @@ local function first_env_class(el)
   return nil
 end
 
+local function normalize_label(value)
+  value = tostring(value or ""):lower()
+  value = value:gsub("^%s+", ""):gsub("%s+$", "")
+  value = value:gsub("^%[!", ""):gsub("%]$", "")
+  value = value:gsub(":$", "")
+  return value
+end
+
+local function inline_text(inline)
+  if not inline then
+    return ""
+  end
+  return pandoc.utils.stringify(inline)
+end
+
+local function first_inline_text(block)
+  if not block or block.t ~= "Para" or not block.content or #block.content == 0 then
+    return ""
+  end
+  return inline_text(block.content[1])
+end
+
 local function latex_escape(value)
   value = tostring(value or "")
   value = value:gsub("\\", "\\textbackslash{}")
@@ -36,6 +110,154 @@ local function latex_escape(value)
   return value
 end
 
+local function codepoint_at(value, index)
+  return utf8.codepoint(value, index, index)
+end
+
+local function codepoint_len(value, index)
+  local byte = string.byte(value, index)
+  if not byte then
+    return 0
+  elseif byte < 0x80 then
+    return 1
+  elseif byte < 0xE0 then
+    return 2
+  elseif byte < 0xF0 then
+    return 3
+  end
+  return 4
+end
+
+local function char_at(value, index)
+  local len = codepoint_len(value, index)
+  return value:sub(index, index + len - 1), index + len
+end
+
+local function is_variation_selector(cp)
+  return cp == 0xFE0E or cp == 0xFE0F
+end
+
+local function is_skin_tone(cp)
+  return cp >= 0x1F3FB and cp <= 0x1F3FF
+end
+
+local function is_emoji_base(cp)
+  return (cp >= 0x1F000 and cp <= 0x1FAFF)
+    or (cp >= 0x2600 and cp <= 0x27BF)
+    or cp == 0x00A9
+    or cp == 0x00AE
+    or cp == 0x203C
+    or cp == 0x2049
+    or cp == 0x2122
+    or cp == 0x2139
+    or cp == 0x3030
+    or cp == 0x303D
+    or cp == 0x3297
+    or cp == 0x3299
+end
+
+local function emoji_cluster(value, index)
+  local start = index
+  local current, next_index = char_at(value, index)
+  if current == "" then
+    return "", index
+  end
+
+  index = next_index
+
+  while index <= #value do
+    local cp = codepoint_at(value, index)
+    if is_variation_selector(cp) or is_skin_tone(cp) then
+      local _, ni = char_at(value, index)
+      index = ni
+    elseif cp == 0x200D then
+      local _, ni = char_at(value, index)
+      index = ni
+      if index <= #value then
+        local _, after_joined = char_at(value, index)
+        index = after_joined
+      end
+    else
+      break
+    end
+  end
+
+  return value:sub(start, index - 1), index
+end
+
+local function symbol_macro_for_cluster(cluster)
+  local cp = utf8.codepoint(cluster, 1, 1)
+  if not cp then
+    return nil
+  end
+
+  if chess_macros[cluster] then
+    return chess_macros[cluster]
+  end
+
+  if card_macros[cluster] then
+    return card_macros[cluster]
+  end
+
+  if cp >= 0x1F0A0 and cp <= 0x1F0FF then
+    return "\\BlogEmojiText{" .. cluster .. "}"
+  end
+
+  if is_emoji_base(cp) then
+    return "\\BlogEmojiText{" .. cluster .. "}"
+  end
+
+  return nil
+end
+
+local function symbol_str_to_latex(el)
+  if not FORMAT:match("latex") then
+    return nil
+  end
+
+  local text = el.text
+  local pieces = pandoc.List()
+  local plain = {}
+  local changed = false
+  local index = 1
+
+  local function flush_plain()
+    if #plain > 0 then
+      pieces:insert(pandoc.Str(table.concat(plain)))
+      plain = {}
+    end
+  end
+
+  while index <= #text do
+    local cp = codepoint_at(text, index)
+    if cp and (chess_macros[utf8.char(cp)] or card_macros[utf8.char(cp)] or is_emoji_base(cp)) then
+      local cluster, next_index = emoji_cluster(text, index)
+      local macro = symbol_macro_for_cluster(cluster)
+      if macro then
+        flush_plain()
+        pieces:insert(pandoc.RawInline("latex", macro))
+        changed = true
+        index = next_index
+      else
+        local char, ni = char_at(text, index)
+        plain[#plain + 1] = char
+        index = ni
+      end
+    else
+      local char, ni = char_at(text, index)
+      plain[#plain + 1] = char
+      index = ni
+    end
+  end
+
+  flush_plain()
+
+  if changed then
+    return pieces
+  end
+  return nil
+end
+
 local function internal_link_to_cref(el)
   if FORMAT:match("latex") and el.target:sub(1, 1) == "#" then
     local label = el.target:sub(2)
@@ -46,12 +268,24 @@ local function internal_link_to_cref(el)
   return nil
 end
 
+local function latexize_doc(doc)
+  return doc:walk({
+    Link = internal_link_to_cref,
+    Str = symbol_str_to_latex,
+  })
+end
+
 local function markdown_to_latex(markdown)
   local doc = pandoc.read(
     markdown or "",
     "markdown+fenced_code_attributes+tex_math_dollars+tex_math_single_backslash+footnotes+raw_html"
   )
-  doc = doc:walk({ Link = internal_link_to_cref })
+  doc = latexize_doc(doc)
+  return pandoc.write(doc, "latex")
+end
+
+local function blocks_to_latex(blocks)
+  local doc = latexize_doc(pandoc.Pandoc(blocks))
   return pandoc.write(doc, "latex")
 end
 
@@ -88,6 +322,102 @@ local function interactive_to_latex(el)
   )
 end
 
+local function remove_first_inline(block)
+  if not block or block.t ~= "Para" or not block.content or #block.content == 0 then
+    return
+  end
+
+  table.remove(block.content, 1)
+  while #block.content > 0 and block.content[1].t == "Space" do
+    table.remove(block.content, 1)
+  end
+
+  if #block.content > 0 and block.content[1].t == "Str" then
+    block.content[1].text = block.content[1].text:gsub("^:%s*", "")
+    if block.content[1].text == "" then
+      table.remove(block.content, 1)
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+local function strip_text_prefix(block, pattern)
+  if not block or block.t ~= "Para" or not block.content or #block.content == 0 then
+    return
+  end
+
+  local first = block.content[1]
+  if first.t ~= "Str" then
+    return
+  end
+
+  first.text = first.text:gsub(pattern, "")
+  if first.text == "" then
+    remove_first_inline(block)
+  end
+end
+
+local function detect_callout(block)
+  local text = first_inline_text(block)
+  if text == "" then
+    return nil
+  end
+
+  if block.content[1].t == "Strong" then
+    local key = normalize_label(text)
+    if callout_labels[key] then
+      return { key = key, label = callout_labels[key], remover = "strong" }
+    end
+  end
+
+  local bracket = text:match("^%[!([%a-]+)%]")
+  if bracket then
+    local key = normalize_label(bracket)
+    if callout_labels[key] then
+      return { key = key, label = callout_labels[key], remover = "bracket" }
+    end
+  end
+
+  for _, item in ipairs(callout_markers) do
+    if text:sub(1, #item.marker) == item.marker then
+      return { key = item.key, label = callout_labels[item.key], remover = "marker", marker = item.marker }
+    end
+  end
+
+  return nil
+end
+
+local function callout_to_latex(el)
+  if not FORMAT:match("latex") or not el.content or #el.content == 0 then
+    return nil
+  end
+
+  local blocks = pandoc.List(el.content)
+  local callout = detect_callout(blocks[1])
+  if not callout then
+    return nil
+  end
+
+  if callout.remover == "strong" then
+    remove_first_inline(blocks[1])
+  elseif callout.remover == "bracket" then
+    strip_text_prefix(blocks[1], "^%[![%a-]+%]%s*")
+  elseif callout.remover == "marker" then
+    strip_text_prefix(blocks[1], "^" .. callout.marker .. "%s*")
+  end
+
+  if blocks[1] and blocks[1].t == "Para" and #blocks[1].content == 0 then
+    table.remove(blocks, 1)
+  end
+
+  local env = callout_envs[callout.key] or "blognotebox"
+  return pandoc.RawBlock(
+    "latex",
+    "\\begin{" .. env .. "}{}\n"
+      .. blocks_to_latex(blocks)
+      .. "\n\\end{" .. env .. "}"
+  )
+end
+
 local function env_to_latex(el)
   local env_type = el.attributes.type or first_env_class(el)
   if not env_type or not env_types[env_type] then
@@ -126,6 +456,14 @@ function CodeBlock(el)
   return nil
 end
 
+function BlockQuote(el)
+  return callout_to_latex(el)
+end
+
 function Link(el)
   return internal_link_to_cref(el)
 end
+
+function Str(el)
+  return symbol_str_to_latex(el)
+end
diff --git a/scripts/pandoc-templates/semantic-preamble.tex b/scripts/pandoc-templates/semantic-preamble.tex
index 821f242..2d2d1bd 100644
--- a/scripts/pandoc-templates/semantic-preamble.tex
+++ b/scripts/pandoc-templates/semantic-preamble.tex
@@ -1,6 +1,104 @@
 \usepackage{amsmath}
 \usepackage{amssymb}
 \usepackage{amsthm}
+\usepackage[most]{tcolorbox}
+\usepackage{emoji}
+\usepackage{chessfss}
+\usepackage{xcolor}
+
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutNoteBack}{HTML}{FFF8D7}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutNoteFrame}{HTML}{D4A72C}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutTipBack}{HTML}{E7F6EC}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutTipFrame}{HTML}{3A8F64}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutWarningBack}{HTML}{FFF0E5}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutWarningFrame}{HTML}{C4662D}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutCautionBack}{HTML}{FDECEC}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutCautionFrame}{HTML}{B94A48}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutAsideBack}{HTML}{EEF3FA}
+\definecolor{BlogCalloutAsideFrame}{HTML}{5D7FA3}
+
+\tcbset{
+  blog callout/.style={
+    enhanced,
+    breakable,
+    boxrule=0.45pt,
+    leftrule=2.2pt,
+    arc=1.6mm,
+    outer arc=1.6mm,
+    left=7pt,
+    right=7pt,
+    top=6pt,
+    bottom=6pt,
+    before skip=10pt,
+    after skip=10pt,
+    fonttitle=\bfseries\sffamily\small,
+    coltitle=black,
+    attach boxed title to top left={xshift=7pt,yshift=-2.4mm},
+    boxed title style={
+      enhanced,
+      boxrule=0pt,
+      arc=1.2mm,
+      left=5pt,
+      right=5pt,
+      top=2pt,
+      bottom=2pt
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+\newtcolorbox{blognotebox}[2][]{
+  blog callout,
+  title={NOTE\if\relax\detokenize{#2}\relax\else: #2\fi},
+  colback=BlogCalloutNoteBack,
+  colframe=BlogCalloutNoteFrame,
+  boxed title style={colback=BlogCalloutNoteBack},
+  #1
+}
+
+\newtcolorbox{blogtipbox}[2][]{
+  blog callout,
+  title={TIP\if\relax\detokenize{#2}\relax\else: #2\fi},
+  colback=BlogCalloutTipBack,
+  colframe=BlogCalloutTipFrame,
+  boxed title style={colback=BlogCalloutTipBack},
+  #1
+}
+
+\newtcolorbox{blogwarningbox}[2][]{
+  blog callout,
+  title={WARNING\if\relax\detokenize{#2}\relax\else: #2\fi},
+  colback=BlogCalloutWarningBack,
+  colframe=BlogCalloutWarningFrame,
+  boxed title style={colback=BlogCalloutWarningBack},
+  #1
+}
+
+\newtcolorbox{blogcautionbox}[2][]{
+  blog callout,
+  title={CAUTION\if\relax\detokenize{#2}\relax\else: #2\fi},
+  colback=BlogCalloutCautionBack,
+  colframe=BlogCalloutCautionFrame,
+  boxed title style={colback=BlogCalloutCautionBack},
+  #1
+}
+
+\newtcolorbox{blogasidebox}[2][]{
+  blog callout,
+  title={ASIDE\if\relax\detokenize{#2}\relax\else: #2\fi},
+  colback=BlogCalloutAsideBack,
+  colframe=BlogCalloutAsideFrame,
+  boxed title style={colback=BlogCalloutAsideBack},
+  #1
+}
+
+\ExplSyntaxOn
+\NewDocumentCommand{\BlogEmojiText}{m}{{\emoji_font: #1}}
+\ExplSyntaxOff
+
+\newcommand{\BlogChessWhite}[1]{\textcolor{black!55}{#1}}
+\newcommand{\BlogChessBlack}[1]{\textcolor{black}{#1}}
+\newcommand{\BlogCardRed}[1]{\textcolor{red!65!black}{#1}}
+\newcommand{\BlogCardBlack}[1]{\textcolor{black}{#1}}
 
 \theoremstyle{plain}
 \newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}
diff --git a/sites/art/astro.config.mjs b/sites/art/astro.config.mjs
index 254caf9..c38ee73 100644
--- a/sites/art/astro.config.mjs
+++ b/sites/art/astro.config.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import remarkCallouts from "./src/remark/callouts.mjs";
 import remarkCodeFenceLanguages from "./src/remark/code-fence-languages.mjs";
 import remarkInlineFootnotes from "./src/remark/inline-footnotes.mjs";
 import remarkSemanticBlocks from "./src/remark/semantic-blocks.mjs";
+import remarkSymbols from "./src/remark/symbols.mjs";
 import remarkTypography from "./src/remark/typography.mjs";
 import { ACTIVE_BLOG_SITE } from "./src/blog-sites.js";
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ const remarkPlugins = [
   remarkMath,
   remarkTypography,
   remarkCallouts,
+  remarkSymbols,
 ];
 const rehypePlugins = [rehypeKatex];
 
diff --git a/sites/art/src/remark/callouts.mjs b/sites/art/src/remark/callouts.mjs
index 56f6a1f..e9bd010 100644
--- a/sites/art/src/remark/callouts.mjs
+++ b/sites/art/src/remark/callouts.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ const CALLOUT_LABELS = new Map([
   ["warning", "Warning"],
 ]);
 
+const CALLOUT_MARKERS = new Map([
+  ["📝", "Note"],
+  ["💡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚠️", "Warning"],
+  ["⚠", "Warning"],
+]);
+
 function textFromInline(node) {
   if (!node) return "";
   if (typeof node.value === "string") return node.value;
@@ -30,6 +38,13 @@ function paragraphCalloutLabel(paragraph) {
     if (match) {
       return CALLOUT_LABELS.get(normalizeLabel(match[1]));
     }
+
+    const trimmed = first.value.trimStart();
+    for (const [marker, label] of CALLOUT_MARKERS) {
+      if (trimmed.startsWith(marker)) {
+        return label;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   if (first?.type !== "strong") return null;
@@ -46,6 +61,10 @@ function removeLeadingLabel(paragraph, label) {
   const first = paragraph.children?.[0];
   if (first?.type === "text") {
     first.value = first.value.replace(/^\s*\[!(aside|caution|note|tip|warning)\]\s*/i, "");
+    for (const marker of CALLOUT_MARKERS.keys()) {
+      const escapedMarker = marker.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+      first.value = first.value.replace(new RegExp(`^\\s*${escapedMarker}\\s*`, "u"), "");
+    }
     if (!first.value) paragraph.children.shift();
     return;
   }
diff --git a/sites/art/src/remark/symbols.mjs b/sites/art/src/remark/symbols.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e477a04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sites/art/src/remark/symbols.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+const CHESS_LABELS = {
+  "♔": "white king",
+  "♕": "white queen",
+  "♖": "white rook",
+  "♗": "white bishop",
+  "♘": "white knight",
+  "♙": "white pawn",
+  "♚": "black king",
+  "♛": "black queen",
+  "♜": "black rook",
+  "♝": "black bishop",
+  "♞": "black knight",
+  "♟": "black pawn",
+};
+
+const CARD_LABELS = {
+  "♠": "spade",
+  "♤": "spade",
+  "♣": "club",
+  "♧": "club",
+  "♥": "heart",
+  "♡": "heart",
+  "♦": "diamond",
+  "♢": "diamond",
+};
+
+function escapeHtml(value) {
+  return String(value)
+    .replaceAll("&", "&amp;")
+    .replaceAll("<", "&lt;")
+    .replaceAll(">", "&gt;")
+    .replaceAll('"', "&quot;");
+}
+
+function isVariationSelector(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint === 0xfe0e || codePoint === 0xfe0f;
+}
+
+function isSkinTone(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint >= 0x1f3fb && codePoint <= 0x1f3ff;
+}
+
+function isEmojiBase(codePoint) {
+  return (
+    (codePoint >= 0x1f000 && codePoint <= 0x1faff) ||
+    (codePoint >= 0x2600 && codePoint <= 0x27bf) ||
+    codePoint === 0x00a9 ||
+    codePoint === 0x00ae ||
+    codePoint === 0x203c ||
+    codePoint === 0x2049 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2122 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2139 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3030 ||
+    codePoint === 0x303d ||
+    codePoint === 0x3297 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3299
+  );
+}
+
+function readCluster(chars, index) {
+  let value = chars[index];
+  let next = index + 1;
+
+  while (next < chars.length) {
+    const codePoint = chars[next].codePointAt(0);
+    if (isVariationSelector(codePoint) || isSkinTone(codePoint)) {
+      value += chars[next];
+      next += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (codePoint === 0x200d && next + 1 < chars.length) {
+      value += chars[next] + chars[next + 1];
+      next += 2;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    break;
+  }
+
+  return { value, next };
+}
+
+function symbolHtml(cluster) {
+  if (CHESS_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-chess" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster].replaceAll(" ", "-"))}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  if (CARD_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-card" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  const codePoint = cluster.codePointAt(0);
+  if ((codePoint >= 0x1f0a0 && codePoint <= 0x1f0ff) || isEmojiBase(codePoint)) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-emoji">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function splitText(value) {
+  const chars = Array.from(value);
+  const nodes = [];
+  let text = "";
+
+  function flushText() {
+    if (text) {
+      nodes.push({ type: "text", value: text });
+      text = "";
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < chars.length; ) {
+    const codePoint = chars[index].codePointAt(0);
+    const shouldCluster =
+      CHESS_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      CARD_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      isEmojiBase(codePoint);
+
+    if (!shouldCluster) {
+      text += chars[index];
+      index += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const { value: cluster, next } = readCluster(chars, index);
+    const html = symbolHtml(cluster);
+    if (html) {
+      flushText();
+      nodes.push({ type: "html", value: html });
+    } else {
+      text += cluster;
+    }
+    index = next;
+  }
+
+  flushText();
+  return nodes;
+}
+
+function transformChildren(parent) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(parent?.children)) return;
+
+  const nextChildren = [];
+  for (const child of parent.children) {
+    if (child.type === "text") {
+      nextChildren.push(...splitText(child.value));
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    transformChildren(child);
+    nextChildren.push(child);
+  }
+
+  parent.children = nextChildren;
+}
+
+export default function remarkSymbols() {
+  return (tree) => transformChildren(tree);
+}
diff --git a/sites/art/src/styles/article.css b/sites/art/src/styles/article.css
index e39264f..64b7e91 100644
--- a/sites/art/src/styles/article.css
+++ b/sites/art/src/styles/article.css
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@
 
 .article-content {
   color: hsl(var(--foreground));
-  font-family: var(--font-heliotrope);
+  font-family:
+    var(--font-heliotrope), "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji",
+    "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", sans-serif;
   font-size: 1.0625rem;
   line-height: 1.78;
 }
@@ -129,6 +131,25 @@
   text-underline-offset: 0.18em;
 }
 
+.article-content :where(.symbol) {
+  display: inline-block;
+  line-height: 1;
+  vertical-align: -0.08em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-emoji) {
+  font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji", emoji, sans-serif;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-chess, .symbol-card) {
+  font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", "Symbola", serif;
+  font-size: 1.04em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-card[data-symbol="heart"], .symbol-card[data-symbol="diamond"]) {
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, crimson 80%, hsl(var(--foreground)));
+}
+
 .article-content :where(code) {
   border: 1px solid hsl(var(--border));
   border-radius: 0.25rem;
diff --git a/sites/poetry/astro.config.mjs b/sites/poetry/astro.config.mjs
index 254caf9..c38ee73 100644
--- a/sites/poetry/astro.config.mjs
+++ b/sites/poetry/astro.config.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import remarkCallouts from "./src/remark/callouts.mjs";
 import remarkCodeFenceLanguages from "./src/remark/code-fence-languages.mjs";
 import remarkInlineFootnotes from "./src/remark/inline-footnotes.mjs";
 import remarkSemanticBlocks from "./src/remark/semantic-blocks.mjs";
+import remarkSymbols from "./src/remark/symbols.mjs";
 import remarkTypography from "./src/remark/typography.mjs";
 import { ACTIVE_BLOG_SITE } from "./src/blog-sites.js";
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ const remarkPlugins = [
   remarkMath,
   remarkTypography,
   remarkCallouts,
+  remarkSymbols,
 ];
 const rehypePlugins = [rehypeKatex];
 
diff --git a/sites/poetry/src/remark/callouts.mjs b/sites/poetry/src/remark/callouts.mjs
index 56f6a1f..e9bd010 100644
--- a/sites/poetry/src/remark/callouts.mjs
+++ b/sites/poetry/src/remark/callouts.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ const CALLOUT_LABELS = new Map([
   ["warning", "Warning"],
 ]);
 
+const CALLOUT_MARKERS = new Map([
+  ["📝", "Note"],
+  ["💡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚠️", "Warning"],
+  ["⚠", "Warning"],
+]);
+
 function textFromInline(node) {
   if (!node) return "";
   if (typeof node.value === "string") return node.value;
@@ -30,6 +38,13 @@ function paragraphCalloutLabel(paragraph) {
     if (match) {
       return CALLOUT_LABELS.get(normalizeLabel(match[1]));
     }
+
+    const trimmed = first.value.trimStart();
+    for (const [marker, label] of CALLOUT_MARKERS) {
+      if (trimmed.startsWith(marker)) {
+        return label;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   if (first?.type !== "strong") return null;
@@ -46,6 +61,10 @@ function removeLeadingLabel(paragraph, label) {
   const first = paragraph.children?.[0];
   if (first?.type === "text") {
     first.value = first.value.replace(/^\s*\[!(aside|caution|note|tip|warning)\]\s*/i, "");
+    for (const marker of CALLOUT_MARKERS.keys()) {
+      const escapedMarker = marker.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+      first.value = first.value.replace(new RegExp(`^\\s*${escapedMarker}\\s*`, "u"), "");
+    }
     if (!first.value) paragraph.children.shift();
     return;
   }
diff --git a/sites/poetry/src/remark/symbols.mjs b/sites/poetry/src/remark/symbols.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e477a04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sites/poetry/src/remark/symbols.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+const CHESS_LABELS = {
+  "♔": "white king",
+  "♕": "white queen",
+  "♖": "white rook",
+  "♗": "white bishop",
+  "♘": "white knight",
+  "♙": "white pawn",
+  "♚": "black king",
+  "♛": "black queen",
+  "♜": "black rook",
+  "♝": "black bishop",
+  "♞": "black knight",
+  "♟": "black pawn",
+};
+
+const CARD_LABELS = {
+  "♠": "spade",
+  "♤": "spade",
+  "♣": "club",
+  "♧": "club",
+  "♥": "heart",
+  "♡": "heart",
+  "♦": "diamond",
+  "♢": "diamond",
+};
+
+function escapeHtml(value) {
+  return String(value)
+    .replaceAll("&", "&amp;")
+    .replaceAll("<", "&lt;")
+    .replaceAll(">", "&gt;")
+    .replaceAll('"', "&quot;");
+}
+
+function isVariationSelector(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint === 0xfe0e || codePoint === 0xfe0f;
+}
+
+function isSkinTone(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint >= 0x1f3fb && codePoint <= 0x1f3ff;
+}
+
+function isEmojiBase(codePoint) {
+  return (
+    (codePoint >= 0x1f000 && codePoint <= 0x1faff) ||
+    (codePoint >= 0x2600 && codePoint <= 0x27bf) ||
+    codePoint === 0x00a9 ||
+    codePoint === 0x00ae ||
+    codePoint === 0x203c ||
+    codePoint === 0x2049 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2122 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2139 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3030 ||
+    codePoint === 0x303d ||
+    codePoint === 0x3297 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3299
+  );
+}
+
+function readCluster(chars, index) {
+  let value = chars[index];
+  let next = index + 1;
+
+  while (next < chars.length) {
+    const codePoint = chars[next].codePointAt(0);
+    if (isVariationSelector(codePoint) || isSkinTone(codePoint)) {
+      value += chars[next];
+      next += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (codePoint === 0x200d && next + 1 < chars.length) {
+      value += chars[next] + chars[next + 1];
+      next += 2;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    break;
+  }
+
+  return { value, next };
+}
+
+function symbolHtml(cluster) {
+  if (CHESS_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-chess" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster].replaceAll(" ", "-"))}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  if (CARD_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-card" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  const codePoint = cluster.codePointAt(0);
+  if ((codePoint >= 0x1f0a0 && codePoint <= 0x1f0ff) || isEmojiBase(codePoint)) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-emoji">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function splitText(value) {
+  const chars = Array.from(value);
+  const nodes = [];
+  let text = "";
+
+  function flushText() {
+    if (text) {
+      nodes.push({ type: "text", value: text });
+      text = "";
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < chars.length; ) {
+    const codePoint = chars[index].codePointAt(0);
+    const shouldCluster =
+      CHESS_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      CARD_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      isEmojiBase(codePoint);
+
+    if (!shouldCluster) {
+      text += chars[index];
+      index += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const { value: cluster, next } = readCluster(chars, index);
+    const html = symbolHtml(cluster);
+    if (html) {
+      flushText();
+      nodes.push({ type: "html", value: html });
+    } else {
+      text += cluster;
+    }
+    index = next;
+  }
+
+  flushText();
+  return nodes;
+}
+
+function transformChildren(parent) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(parent?.children)) return;
+
+  const nextChildren = [];
+  for (const child of parent.children) {
+    if (child.type === "text") {
+      nextChildren.push(...splitText(child.value));
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    transformChildren(child);
+    nextChildren.push(child);
+  }
+
+  parent.children = nextChildren;
+}
+
+export default function remarkSymbols() {
+  return (tree) => transformChildren(tree);
+}
diff --git a/sites/poetry/src/styles/article.css b/sites/poetry/src/styles/article.css
index e39264f..64b7e91 100644
--- a/sites/poetry/src/styles/article.css
+++ b/sites/poetry/src/styles/article.css
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@
 
 .article-content {
   color: hsl(var(--foreground));
-  font-family: var(--font-heliotrope);
+  font-family:
+    var(--font-heliotrope), "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji",
+    "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", sans-serif;
   font-size: 1.0625rem;
   line-height: 1.78;
 }
@@ -129,6 +131,25 @@
   text-underline-offset: 0.18em;
 }
 
+.article-content :where(.symbol) {
+  display: inline-block;
+  line-height: 1;
+  vertical-align: -0.08em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-emoji) {
+  font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji", emoji, sans-serif;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-chess, .symbol-card) {
+  font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", "Symbola", serif;
+  font-size: 1.04em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-card[data-symbol="heart"], .symbol-card[data-symbol="diamond"]) {
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, crimson 80%, hsl(var(--foreground)));
+}
+
 .article-content :where(code) {
   border: 1px solid hsl(var(--border));
   border-radius: 0.25rem;
diff --git a/sites/puzzles/astro.config.mjs b/sites/puzzles/astro.config.mjs
index 254caf9..c38ee73 100644
--- a/sites/puzzles/astro.config.mjs
+++ b/sites/puzzles/astro.config.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import remarkCallouts from "./src/remark/callouts.mjs";
 import remarkCodeFenceLanguages from "./src/remark/code-fence-languages.mjs";
 import remarkInlineFootnotes from "./src/remark/inline-footnotes.mjs";
 import remarkSemanticBlocks from "./src/remark/semantic-blocks.mjs";
+import remarkSymbols from "./src/remark/symbols.mjs";
 import remarkTypography from "./src/remark/typography.mjs";
 import { ACTIVE_BLOG_SITE } from "./src/blog-sites.js";
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ const remarkPlugins = [
   remarkMath,
   remarkTypography,
   remarkCallouts,
+  remarkSymbols,
 ];
 const rehypePlugins = [rehypeKatex];
 
diff --git a/sites/puzzles/src/remark/callouts.mjs b/sites/puzzles/src/remark/callouts.mjs
index 56f6a1f..e9bd010 100644
--- a/sites/puzzles/src/remark/callouts.mjs
+++ b/sites/puzzles/src/remark/callouts.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ const CALLOUT_LABELS = new Map([
   ["warning", "Warning"],
 ]);
 
+const CALLOUT_MARKERS = new Map([
+  ["📝", "Note"],
+  ["💡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚠️", "Warning"],
+  ["⚠", "Warning"],
+]);
+
 function textFromInline(node) {
   if (!node) return "";
   if (typeof node.value === "string") return node.value;
@@ -30,6 +38,13 @@ function paragraphCalloutLabel(paragraph) {
     if (match) {
       return CALLOUT_LABELS.get(normalizeLabel(match[1]));
     }
+
+    const trimmed = first.value.trimStart();
+    for (const [marker, label] of CALLOUT_MARKERS) {
+      if (trimmed.startsWith(marker)) {
+        return label;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   if (first?.type !== "strong") return null;
@@ -46,6 +61,10 @@ function removeLeadingLabel(paragraph, label) {
   const first = paragraph.children?.[0];
   if (first?.type === "text") {
     first.value = first.value.replace(/^\s*\[!(aside|caution|note|tip|warning)\]\s*/i, "");
+    for (const marker of CALLOUT_MARKERS.keys()) {
+      const escapedMarker = marker.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+      first.value = first.value.replace(new RegExp(`^\\s*${escapedMarker}\\s*`, "u"), "");
+    }
     if (!first.value) paragraph.children.shift();
     return;
   }
diff --git a/sites/puzzles/src/remark/symbols.mjs b/sites/puzzles/src/remark/symbols.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e477a04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sites/puzzles/src/remark/symbols.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+const CHESS_LABELS = {
+  "♔": "white king",
+  "♕": "white queen",
+  "♖": "white rook",
+  "♗": "white bishop",
+  "♘": "white knight",
+  "♙": "white pawn",
+  "♚": "black king",
+  "♛": "black queen",
+  "♜": "black rook",
+  "♝": "black bishop",
+  "♞": "black knight",
+  "♟": "black pawn",
+};
+
+const CARD_LABELS = {
+  "♠": "spade",
+  "♤": "spade",
+  "♣": "club",
+  "♧": "club",
+  "♥": "heart",
+  "♡": "heart",
+  "♦": "diamond",
+  "♢": "diamond",
+};
+
+function escapeHtml(value) {
+  return String(value)
+    .replaceAll("&", "&amp;")
+    .replaceAll("<", "&lt;")
+    .replaceAll(">", "&gt;")
+    .replaceAll('"', "&quot;");
+}
+
+function isVariationSelector(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint === 0xfe0e || codePoint === 0xfe0f;
+}
+
+function isSkinTone(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint >= 0x1f3fb && codePoint <= 0x1f3ff;
+}
+
+function isEmojiBase(codePoint) {
+  return (
+    (codePoint >= 0x1f000 && codePoint <= 0x1faff) ||
+    (codePoint >= 0x2600 && codePoint <= 0x27bf) ||
+    codePoint === 0x00a9 ||
+    codePoint === 0x00ae ||
+    codePoint === 0x203c ||
+    codePoint === 0x2049 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2122 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2139 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3030 ||
+    codePoint === 0x303d ||
+    codePoint === 0x3297 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3299
+  );
+}
+
+function readCluster(chars, index) {
+  let value = chars[index];
+  let next = index + 1;
+
+  while (next < chars.length) {
+    const codePoint = chars[next].codePointAt(0);
+    if (isVariationSelector(codePoint) || isSkinTone(codePoint)) {
+      value += chars[next];
+      next += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (codePoint === 0x200d && next + 1 < chars.length) {
+      value += chars[next] + chars[next + 1];
+      next += 2;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    break;
+  }
+
+  return { value, next };
+}
+
+function symbolHtml(cluster) {
+  if (CHESS_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-chess" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster].replaceAll(" ", "-"))}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  if (CARD_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-card" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  const codePoint = cluster.codePointAt(0);
+  if ((codePoint >= 0x1f0a0 && codePoint <= 0x1f0ff) || isEmojiBase(codePoint)) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-emoji">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function splitText(value) {
+  const chars = Array.from(value);
+  const nodes = [];
+  let text = "";
+
+  function flushText() {
+    if (text) {
+      nodes.push({ type: "text", value: text });
+      text = "";
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < chars.length; ) {
+    const codePoint = chars[index].codePointAt(0);
+    const shouldCluster =
+      CHESS_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      CARD_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      isEmojiBase(codePoint);
+
+    if (!shouldCluster) {
+      text += chars[index];
+      index += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const { value: cluster, next } = readCluster(chars, index);
+    const html = symbolHtml(cluster);
+    if (html) {
+      flushText();
+      nodes.push({ type: "html", value: html });
+    } else {
+      text += cluster;
+    }
+    index = next;
+  }
+
+  flushText();
+  return nodes;
+}
+
+function transformChildren(parent) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(parent?.children)) return;
+
+  const nextChildren = [];
+  for (const child of parent.children) {
+    if (child.type === "text") {
+      nextChildren.push(...splitText(child.value));
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    transformChildren(child);
+    nextChildren.push(child);
+  }
+
+  parent.children = nextChildren;
+}
+
+export default function remarkSymbols() {
+  return (tree) => transformChildren(tree);
+}
diff --git a/sites/puzzles/src/styles/article.css b/sites/puzzles/src/styles/article.css
index e39264f..64b7e91 100644
--- a/sites/puzzles/src/styles/article.css
+++ b/sites/puzzles/src/styles/article.css
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@
 
 .article-content {
   color: hsl(var(--foreground));
-  font-family: var(--font-heliotrope);
+  font-family:
+    var(--font-heliotrope), "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji",
+    "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", sans-serif;
   font-size: 1.0625rem;
   line-height: 1.78;
 }
@@ -129,6 +131,25 @@
   text-underline-offset: 0.18em;
 }
 
+.article-content :where(.symbol) {
+  display: inline-block;
+  line-height: 1;
+  vertical-align: -0.08em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-emoji) {
+  font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji", emoji, sans-serif;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-chess, .symbol-card) {
+  font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", "Symbola", serif;
+  font-size: 1.04em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-card[data-symbol="heart"], .symbol-card[data-symbol="diamond"]) {
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, crimson 80%, hsl(var(--foreground)));
+}
+
 .article-content :where(code) {
   border: 1px solid hsl(var(--border));
   border-radius: 0.25rem;
diff --git a/sites/reflections/astro.config.mjs b/sites/reflections/astro.config.mjs
index 254caf9..c38ee73 100644
--- a/sites/reflections/astro.config.mjs
+++ b/sites/reflections/astro.config.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import remarkCallouts from "./src/remark/callouts.mjs";
 import remarkCodeFenceLanguages from "./src/remark/code-fence-languages.mjs";
 import remarkInlineFootnotes from "./src/remark/inline-footnotes.mjs";
 import remarkSemanticBlocks from "./src/remark/semantic-blocks.mjs";
+import remarkSymbols from "./src/remark/symbols.mjs";
 import remarkTypography from "./src/remark/typography.mjs";
 import { ACTIVE_BLOG_SITE } from "./src/blog-sites.js";
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ const remarkPlugins = [
   remarkMath,
   remarkTypography,
   remarkCallouts,
+  remarkSymbols,
 ];
 const rehypePlugins = [rehypeKatex];
 
diff --git a/sites/reflections/src/remark/callouts.mjs b/sites/reflections/src/remark/callouts.mjs
index 56f6a1f..e9bd010 100644
--- a/sites/reflections/src/remark/callouts.mjs
+++ b/sites/reflections/src/remark/callouts.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ const CALLOUT_LABELS = new Map([
   ["warning", "Warning"],
 ]);
 
+const CALLOUT_MARKERS = new Map([
+  ["📝", "Note"],
+  ["💡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚠️", "Warning"],
+  ["⚠", "Warning"],
+]);
+
 function textFromInline(node) {
   if (!node) return "";
   if (typeof node.value === "string") return node.value;
@@ -30,6 +38,13 @@ function paragraphCalloutLabel(paragraph) {
     if (match) {
       return CALLOUT_LABELS.get(normalizeLabel(match[1]));
     }
+
+    const trimmed = first.value.trimStart();
+    for (const [marker, label] of CALLOUT_MARKERS) {
+      if (trimmed.startsWith(marker)) {
+        return label;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   if (first?.type !== "strong") return null;
@@ -46,6 +61,10 @@ function removeLeadingLabel(paragraph, label) {
   const first = paragraph.children?.[0];
   if (first?.type === "text") {
     first.value = first.value.replace(/^\s*\[!(aside|caution|note|tip|warning)\]\s*/i, "");
+    for (const marker of CALLOUT_MARKERS.keys()) {
+      const escapedMarker = marker.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+      first.value = first.value.replace(new RegExp(`^\\s*${escapedMarker}\\s*`, "u"), "");
+    }
     if (!first.value) paragraph.children.shift();
     return;
   }
diff --git a/sites/reflections/src/remark/symbols.mjs b/sites/reflections/src/remark/symbols.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e477a04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sites/reflections/src/remark/symbols.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+const CHESS_LABELS = {
+  "♔": "white king",
+  "♕": "white queen",
+  "♖": "white rook",
+  "♗": "white bishop",
+  "♘": "white knight",
+  "♙": "white pawn",
+  "♚": "black king",
+  "♛": "black queen",
+  "♜": "black rook",
+  "♝": "black bishop",
+  "♞": "black knight",
+  "♟": "black pawn",
+};
+
+const CARD_LABELS = {
+  "♠": "spade",
+  "♤": "spade",
+  "♣": "club",
+  "♧": "club",
+  "♥": "heart",
+  "♡": "heart",
+  "♦": "diamond",
+  "♢": "diamond",
+};
+
+function escapeHtml(value) {
+  return String(value)
+    .replaceAll("&", "&amp;")
+    .replaceAll("<", "&lt;")
+    .replaceAll(">", "&gt;")
+    .replaceAll('"', "&quot;");
+}
+
+function isVariationSelector(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint === 0xfe0e || codePoint === 0xfe0f;
+}
+
+function isSkinTone(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint >= 0x1f3fb && codePoint <= 0x1f3ff;
+}
+
+function isEmojiBase(codePoint) {
+  return (
+    (codePoint >= 0x1f000 && codePoint <= 0x1faff) ||
+    (codePoint >= 0x2600 && codePoint <= 0x27bf) ||
+    codePoint === 0x00a9 ||
+    codePoint === 0x00ae ||
+    codePoint === 0x203c ||
+    codePoint === 0x2049 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2122 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2139 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3030 ||
+    codePoint === 0x303d ||
+    codePoint === 0x3297 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3299
+  );
+}
+
+function readCluster(chars, index) {
+  let value = chars[index];
+  let next = index + 1;
+
+  while (next < chars.length) {
+    const codePoint = chars[next].codePointAt(0);
+    if (isVariationSelector(codePoint) || isSkinTone(codePoint)) {
+      value += chars[next];
+      next += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (codePoint === 0x200d && next + 1 < chars.length) {
+      value += chars[next] + chars[next + 1];
+      next += 2;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    break;
+  }
+
+  return { value, next };
+}
+
+function symbolHtml(cluster) {
+  if (CHESS_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-chess" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster].replaceAll(" ", "-"))}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  if (CARD_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-card" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  const codePoint = cluster.codePointAt(0);
+  if ((codePoint >= 0x1f0a0 && codePoint <= 0x1f0ff) || isEmojiBase(codePoint)) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-emoji">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function splitText(value) {
+  const chars = Array.from(value);
+  const nodes = [];
+  let text = "";
+
+  function flushText() {
+    if (text) {
+      nodes.push({ type: "text", value: text });
+      text = "";
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < chars.length; ) {
+    const codePoint = chars[index].codePointAt(0);
+    const shouldCluster =
+      CHESS_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      CARD_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      isEmojiBase(codePoint);
+
+    if (!shouldCluster) {
+      text += chars[index];
+      index += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const { value: cluster, next } = readCluster(chars, index);
+    const html = symbolHtml(cluster);
+    if (html) {
+      flushText();
+      nodes.push({ type: "html", value: html });
+    } else {
+      text += cluster;
+    }
+    index = next;
+  }
+
+  flushText();
+  return nodes;
+}
+
+function transformChildren(parent) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(parent?.children)) return;
+
+  const nextChildren = [];
+  for (const child of parent.children) {
+    if (child.type === "text") {
+      nextChildren.push(...splitText(child.value));
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    transformChildren(child);
+    nextChildren.push(child);
+  }
+
+  parent.children = nextChildren;
+}
+
+export default function remarkSymbols() {
+  return (tree) => transformChildren(tree);
+}
diff --git a/sites/reflections/src/styles/article.css b/sites/reflections/src/styles/article.css
index e39264f..64b7e91 100644
--- a/sites/reflections/src/styles/article.css
+++ b/sites/reflections/src/styles/article.css
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@
 
 .article-content {
   color: hsl(var(--foreground));
-  font-family: var(--font-heliotrope);
+  font-family:
+    var(--font-heliotrope), "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji",
+    "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", sans-serif;
   font-size: 1.0625rem;
   line-height: 1.78;
 }
@@ -129,6 +131,25 @@
   text-underline-offset: 0.18em;
 }
 
+.article-content :where(.symbol) {
+  display: inline-block;
+  line-height: 1;
+  vertical-align: -0.08em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-emoji) {
+  font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji", emoji, sans-serif;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-chess, .symbol-card) {
+  font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", "Symbola", serif;
+  font-size: 1.04em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-card[data-symbol="heart"], .symbol-card[data-symbol="diamond"]) {
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, crimson 80%, hsl(var(--foreground)));
+}
+
 .article-content :where(code) {
   border: 1px solid hsl(var(--border));
   border-radius: 0.25rem;
diff --git a/sites/research/astro.config.mjs b/sites/research/astro.config.mjs
index 254caf9..c38ee73 100644
--- a/sites/research/astro.config.mjs
+++ b/sites/research/astro.config.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import remarkCallouts from "./src/remark/callouts.mjs";
 import remarkCodeFenceLanguages from "./src/remark/code-fence-languages.mjs";
 import remarkInlineFootnotes from "./src/remark/inline-footnotes.mjs";
 import remarkSemanticBlocks from "./src/remark/semantic-blocks.mjs";
+import remarkSymbols from "./src/remark/symbols.mjs";
 import remarkTypography from "./src/remark/typography.mjs";
 import { ACTIVE_BLOG_SITE } from "./src/blog-sites.js";
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ const remarkPlugins = [
   remarkMath,
   remarkTypography,
   remarkCallouts,
+  remarkSymbols,
 ];
 const rehypePlugins = [rehypeKatex];
 
diff --git a/sites/research/src/remark/callouts.mjs b/sites/research/src/remark/callouts.mjs
index 56f6a1f..e9bd010 100644
--- a/sites/research/src/remark/callouts.mjs
+++ b/sites/research/src/remark/callouts.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ const CALLOUT_LABELS = new Map([
   ["warning", "Warning"],
 ]);
 
+const CALLOUT_MARKERS = new Map([
+  ["📝", "Note"],
+  ["💡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚠️", "Warning"],
+  ["⚠", "Warning"],
+]);
+
 function textFromInline(node) {
   if (!node) return "";
   if (typeof node.value === "string") return node.value;
@@ -30,6 +38,13 @@ function paragraphCalloutLabel(paragraph) {
     if (match) {
       return CALLOUT_LABELS.get(normalizeLabel(match[1]));
     }
+
+    const trimmed = first.value.trimStart();
+    for (const [marker, label] of CALLOUT_MARKERS) {
+      if (trimmed.startsWith(marker)) {
+        return label;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   if (first?.type !== "strong") return null;
@@ -46,6 +61,10 @@ function removeLeadingLabel(paragraph, label) {
   const first = paragraph.children?.[0];
   if (first?.type === "text") {
     first.value = first.value.replace(/^\s*\[!(aside|caution|note|tip|warning)\]\s*/i, "");
+    for (const marker of CALLOUT_MARKERS.keys()) {
+      const escapedMarker = marker.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+      first.value = first.value.replace(new RegExp(`^\\s*${escapedMarker}\\s*`, "u"), "");
+    }
     if (!first.value) paragraph.children.shift();
     return;
   }
diff --git a/sites/research/src/remark/symbols.mjs b/sites/research/src/remark/symbols.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e477a04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sites/research/src/remark/symbols.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+const CHESS_LABELS = {
+  "♔": "white king",
+  "♕": "white queen",
+  "♖": "white rook",
+  "♗": "white bishop",
+  "♘": "white knight",
+  "♙": "white pawn",
+  "♚": "black king",
+  "♛": "black queen",
+  "♜": "black rook",
+  "♝": "black bishop",
+  "♞": "black knight",
+  "♟": "black pawn",
+};
+
+const CARD_LABELS = {
+  "♠": "spade",
+  "♤": "spade",
+  "♣": "club",
+  "♧": "club",
+  "♥": "heart",
+  "♡": "heart",
+  "♦": "diamond",
+  "♢": "diamond",
+};
+
+function escapeHtml(value) {
+  return String(value)
+    .replaceAll("&", "&amp;")
+    .replaceAll("<", "&lt;")
+    .replaceAll(">", "&gt;")
+    .replaceAll('"', "&quot;");
+}
+
+function isVariationSelector(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint === 0xfe0e || codePoint === 0xfe0f;
+}
+
+function isSkinTone(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint >= 0x1f3fb && codePoint <= 0x1f3ff;
+}
+
+function isEmojiBase(codePoint) {
+  return (
+    (codePoint >= 0x1f000 && codePoint <= 0x1faff) ||
+    (codePoint >= 0x2600 && codePoint <= 0x27bf) ||
+    codePoint === 0x00a9 ||
+    codePoint === 0x00ae ||
+    codePoint === 0x203c ||
+    codePoint === 0x2049 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2122 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2139 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3030 ||
+    codePoint === 0x303d ||
+    codePoint === 0x3297 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3299
+  );
+}
+
+function readCluster(chars, index) {
+  let value = chars[index];
+  let next = index + 1;
+
+  while (next < chars.length) {
+    const codePoint = chars[next].codePointAt(0);
+    if (isVariationSelector(codePoint) || isSkinTone(codePoint)) {
+      value += chars[next];
+      next += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (codePoint === 0x200d && next + 1 < chars.length) {
+      value += chars[next] + chars[next + 1];
+      next += 2;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    break;
+  }
+
+  return { value, next };
+}
+
+function symbolHtml(cluster) {
+  if (CHESS_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-chess" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster].replaceAll(" ", "-"))}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  if (CARD_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-card" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  const codePoint = cluster.codePointAt(0);
+  if ((codePoint >= 0x1f0a0 && codePoint <= 0x1f0ff) || isEmojiBase(codePoint)) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-emoji">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function splitText(value) {
+  const chars = Array.from(value);
+  const nodes = [];
+  let text = "";
+
+  function flushText() {
+    if (text) {
+      nodes.push({ type: "text", value: text });
+      text = "";
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < chars.length; ) {
+    const codePoint = chars[index].codePointAt(0);
+    const shouldCluster =
+      CHESS_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      CARD_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      isEmojiBase(codePoint);
+
+    if (!shouldCluster) {
+      text += chars[index];
+      index += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const { value: cluster, next } = readCluster(chars, index);
+    const html = symbolHtml(cluster);
+    if (html) {
+      flushText();
+      nodes.push({ type: "html", value: html });
+    } else {
+      text += cluster;
+    }
+    index = next;
+  }
+
+  flushText();
+  return nodes;
+}
+
+function transformChildren(parent) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(parent?.children)) return;
+
+  const nextChildren = [];
+  for (const child of parent.children) {
+    if (child.type === "text") {
+      nextChildren.push(...splitText(child.value));
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    transformChildren(child);
+    nextChildren.push(child);
+  }
+
+  parent.children = nextChildren;
+}
+
+export default function remarkSymbols() {
+  return (tree) => transformChildren(tree);
+}
diff --git a/sites/research/src/styles/article.css b/sites/research/src/styles/article.css
index e39264f..64b7e91 100644
--- a/sites/research/src/styles/article.css
+++ b/sites/research/src/styles/article.css
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@
 
 .article-content {
   color: hsl(var(--foreground));
-  font-family: var(--font-heliotrope);
+  font-family:
+    var(--font-heliotrope), "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji",
+    "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", sans-serif;
   font-size: 1.0625rem;
   line-height: 1.78;
 }
@@ -129,6 +131,25 @@
   text-underline-offset: 0.18em;
 }
 
+.article-content :where(.symbol) {
+  display: inline-block;
+  line-height: 1;
+  vertical-align: -0.08em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-emoji) {
+  font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji", emoji, sans-serif;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-chess, .symbol-card) {
+  font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", "Symbola", serif;
+  font-size: 1.04em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-card[data-symbol="heart"], .symbol-card[data-symbol="diamond"]) {
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, crimson 80%, hsl(var(--foreground)));
+}
+
 .article-content :where(code) {
   border: 1px solid hsl(var(--border));
   border-radius: 0.25rem;
diff --git a/sites/reviews/astro.config.mjs b/sites/reviews/astro.config.mjs
index 254caf9..c38ee73 100644
--- a/sites/reviews/astro.config.mjs
+++ b/sites/reviews/astro.config.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import remarkCallouts from "./src/remark/callouts.mjs";
 import remarkCodeFenceLanguages from "./src/remark/code-fence-languages.mjs";
 import remarkInlineFootnotes from "./src/remark/inline-footnotes.mjs";
 import remarkSemanticBlocks from "./src/remark/semantic-blocks.mjs";
+import remarkSymbols from "./src/remark/symbols.mjs";
 import remarkTypography from "./src/remark/typography.mjs";
 import { ACTIVE_BLOG_SITE } from "./src/blog-sites.js";
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ const remarkPlugins = [
   remarkMath,
   remarkTypography,
   remarkCallouts,
+  remarkSymbols,
 ];
 const rehypePlugins = [rehypeKatex];
 
diff --git a/sites/reviews/src/remark/callouts.mjs b/sites/reviews/src/remark/callouts.mjs
index 56f6a1f..e9bd010 100644
--- a/sites/reviews/src/remark/callouts.mjs
+++ b/sites/reviews/src/remark/callouts.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ const CALLOUT_LABELS = new Map([
   ["warning", "Warning"],
 ]);
 
+const CALLOUT_MARKERS = new Map([
+  ["📝", "Note"],
+  ["💡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚠️", "Warning"],
+  ["⚠", "Warning"],
+]);
+
 function textFromInline(node) {
   if (!node) return "";
   if (typeof node.value === "string") return node.value;
@@ -30,6 +38,13 @@ function paragraphCalloutLabel(paragraph) {
     if (match) {
       return CALLOUT_LABELS.get(normalizeLabel(match[1]));
     }
+
+    const trimmed = first.value.trimStart();
+    for (const [marker, label] of CALLOUT_MARKERS) {
+      if (trimmed.startsWith(marker)) {
+        return label;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   if (first?.type !== "strong") return null;
@@ -46,6 +61,10 @@ function removeLeadingLabel(paragraph, label) {
   const first = paragraph.children?.[0];
   if (first?.type === "text") {
     first.value = first.value.replace(/^\s*\[!(aside|caution|note|tip|warning)\]\s*/i, "");
+    for (const marker of CALLOUT_MARKERS.keys()) {
+      const escapedMarker = marker.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+      first.value = first.value.replace(new RegExp(`^\\s*${escapedMarker}\\s*`, "u"), "");
+    }
     if (!first.value) paragraph.children.shift();
     return;
   }
diff --git a/sites/reviews/src/remark/symbols.mjs b/sites/reviews/src/remark/symbols.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e477a04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sites/reviews/src/remark/symbols.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+const CHESS_LABELS = {
+  "♔": "white king",
+  "♕": "white queen",
+  "♖": "white rook",
+  "♗": "white bishop",
+  "♘": "white knight",
+  "♙": "white pawn",
+  "♚": "black king",
+  "♛": "black queen",
+  "♜": "black rook",
+  "♝": "black bishop",
+  "♞": "black knight",
+  "♟": "black pawn",
+};
+
+const CARD_LABELS = {
+  "♠": "spade",
+  "♤": "spade",
+  "♣": "club",
+  "♧": "club",
+  "♥": "heart",
+  "♡": "heart",
+  "♦": "diamond",
+  "♢": "diamond",
+};
+
+function escapeHtml(value) {
+  return String(value)
+    .replaceAll("&", "&amp;")
+    .replaceAll("<", "&lt;")
+    .replaceAll(">", "&gt;")
+    .replaceAll('"', "&quot;");
+}
+
+function isVariationSelector(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint === 0xfe0e || codePoint === 0xfe0f;
+}
+
+function isSkinTone(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint >= 0x1f3fb && codePoint <= 0x1f3ff;
+}
+
+function isEmojiBase(codePoint) {
+  return (
+    (codePoint >= 0x1f000 && codePoint <= 0x1faff) ||
+    (codePoint >= 0x2600 && codePoint <= 0x27bf) ||
+    codePoint === 0x00a9 ||
+    codePoint === 0x00ae ||
+    codePoint === 0x203c ||
+    codePoint === 0x2049 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2122 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2139 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3030 ||
+    codePoint === 0x303d ||
+    codePoint === 0x3297 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3299
+  );
+}
+
+function readCluster(chars, index) {
+  let value = chars[index];
+  let next = index + 1;
+
+  while (next < chars.length) {
+    const codePoint = chars[next].codePointAt(0);
+    if (isVariationSelector(codePoint) || isSkinTone(codePoint)) {
+      value += chars[next];
+      next += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (codePoint === 0x200d && next + 1 < chars.length) {
+      value += chars[next] + chars[next + 1];
+      next += 2;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    break;
+  }
+
+  return { value, next };
+}
+
+function symbolHtml(cluster) {
+  if (CHESS_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-chess" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster].replaceAll(" ", "-"))}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  if (CARD_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-card" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  const codePoint = cluster.codePointAt(0);
+  if ((codePoint >= 0x1f0a0 && codePoint <= 0x1f0ff) || isEmojiBase(codePoint)) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-emoji">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function splitText(value) {
+  const chars = Array.from(value);
+  const nodes = [];
+  let text = "";
+
+  function flushText() {
+    if (text) {
+      nodes.push({ type: "text", value: text });
+      text = "";
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < chars.length; ) {
+    const codePoint = chars[index].codePointAt(0);
+    const shouldCluster =
+      CHESS_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      CARD_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      isEmojiBase(codePoint);
+
+    if (!shouldCluster) {
+      text += chars[index];
+      index += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const { value: cluster, next } = readCluster(chars, index);
+    const html = symbolHtml(cluster);
+    if (html) {
+      flushText();
+      nodes.push({ type: "html", value: html });
+    } else {
+      text += cluster;
+    }
+    index = next;
+  }
+
+  flushText();
+  return nodes;
+}
+
+function transformChildren(parent) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(parent?.children)) return;
+
+  const nextChildren = [];
+  for (const child of parent.children) {
+    if (child.type === "text") {
+      nextChildren.push(...splitText(child.value));
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    transformChildren(child);
+    nextChildren.push(child);
+  }
+
+  parent.children = nextChildren;
+}
+
+export default function remarkSymbols() {
+  return (tree) => transformChildren(tree);
+}
diff --git a/sites/reviews/src/styles/article.css b/sites/reviews/src/styles/article.css
index e39264f..64b7e91 100644
--- a/sites/reviews/src/styles/article.css
+++ b/sites/reviews/src/styles/article.css
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@
 
 .article-content {
   color: hsl(var(--foreground));
-  font-family: var(--font-heliotrope);
+  font-family:
+    var(--font-heliotrope), "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji",
+    "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", sans-serif;
   font-size: 1.0625rem;
   line-height: 1.78;
 }
@@ -129,6 +131,25 @@
   text-underline-offset: 0.18em;
 }
 
+.article-content :where(.symbol) {
+  display: inline-block;
+  line-height: 1;
+  vertical-align: -0.08em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-emoji) {
+  font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji", emoji, sans-serif;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-chess, .symbol-card) {
+  font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", "Symbola", serif;
+  font-size: 1.04em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-card[data-symbol="heart"], .symbol-card[data-symbol="diamond"]) {
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, crimson 80%, hsl(var(--foreground)));
+}
+
 .article-content :where(code) {
   border: 1px solid hsl(var(--border));
   border-radius: 0.25rem;
diff --git a/sites/vibes/astro.config.mjs b/sites/vibes/astro.config.mjs
index 254caf9..c38ee73 100644
--- a/sites/vibes/astro.config.mjs
+++ b/sites/vibes/astro.config.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import remarkCallouts from "./src/remark/callouts.mjs";
 import remarkCodeFenceLanguages from "./src/remark/code-fence-languages.mjs";
 import remarkInlineFootnotes from "./src/remark/inline-footnotes.mjs";
 import remarkSemanticBlocks from "./src/remark/semantic-blocks.mjs";
+import remarkSymbols from "./src/remark/symbols.mjs";
 import remarkTypography from "./src/remark/typography.mjs";
 import { ACTIVE_BLOG_SITE } from "./src/blog-sites.js";
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ const remarkPlugins = [
   remarkMath,
   remarkTypography,
   remarkCallouts,
+  remarkSymbols,
 ];
 const rehypePlugins = [rehypeKatex];
 
diff --git a/sites/vibes/src/remark/callouts.mjs b/sites/vibes/src/remark/callouts.mjs
index 56f6a1f..e9bd010 100644
--- a/sites/vibes/src/remark/callouts.mjs
+++ b/sites/vibes/src/remark/callouts.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ const CALLOUT_LABELS = new Map([
   ["warning", "Warning"],
 ]);
 
+const CALLOUT_MARKERS = new Map([
+  ["📝", "Note"],
+  ["💡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚡", "Tip"],
+  ["⚠️", "Warning"],
+  ["⚠", "Warning"],
+]);
+
 function textFromInline(node) {
   if (!node) return "";
   if (typeof node.value === "string") return node.value;
@@ -30,6 +38,13 @@ function paragraphCalloutLabel(paragraph) {
     if (match) {
       return CALLOUT_LABELS.get(normalizeLabel(match[1]));
     }
+
+    const trimmed = first.value.trimStart();
+    for (const [marker, label] of CALLOUT_MARKERS) {
+      if (trimmed.startsWith(marker)) {
+        return label;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   if (first?.type !== "strong") return null;
@@ -46,6 +61,10 @@ function removeLeadingLabel(paragraph, label) {
   const first = paragraph.children?.[0];
   if (first?.type === "text") {
     first.value = first.value.replace(/^\s*\[!(aside|caution|note|tip|warning)\]\s*/i, "");
+    for (const marker of CALLOUT_MARKERS.keys()) {
+      const escapedMarker = marker.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+      first.value = first.value.replace(new RegExp(`^\\s*${escapedMarker}\\s*`, "u"), "");
+    }
     if (!first.value) paragraph.children.shift();
     return;
   }
diff --git a/sites/vibes/src/remark/symbols.mjs b/sites/vibes/src/remark/symbols.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e477a04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sites/vibes/src/remark/symbols.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+const CHESS_LABELS = {
+  "♔": "white king",
+  "♕": "white queen",
+  "♖": "white rook",
+  "♗": "white bishop",
+  "♘": "white knight",
+  "♙": "white pawn",
+  "♚": "black king",
+  "♛": "black queen",
+  "♜": "black rook",
+  "♝": "black bishop",
+  "♞": "black knight",
+  "♟": "black pawn",
+};
+
+const CARD_LABELS = {
+  "♠": "spade",
+  "♤": "spade",
+  "♣": "club",
+  "♧": "club",
+  "♥": "heart",
+  "♡": "heart",
+  "♦": "diamond",
+  "♢": "diamond",
+};
+
+function escapeHtml(value) {
+  return String(value)
+    .replaceAll("&", "&amp;")
+    .replaceAll("<", "&lt;")
+    .replaceAll(">", "&gt;")
+    .replaceAll('"', "&quot;");
+}
+
+function isVariationSelector(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint === 0xfe0e || codePoint === 0xfe0f;
+}
+
+function isSkinTone(codePoint) {
+  return codePoint >= 0x1f3fb && codePoint <= 0x1f3ff;
+}
+
+function isEmojiBase(codePoint) {
+  return (
+    (codePoint >= 0x1f000 && codePoint <= 0x1faff) ||
+    (codePoint >= 0x2600 && codePoint <= 0x27bf) ||
+    codePoint === 0x00a9 ||
+    codePoint === 0x00ae ||
+    codePoint === 0x203c ||
+    codePoint === 0x2049 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2122 ||
+    codePoint === 0x2139 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3030 ||
+    codePoint === 0x303d ||
+    codePoint === 0x3297 ||
+    codePoint === 0x3299
+  );
+}
+
+function readCluster(chars, index) {
+  let value = chars[index];
+  let next = index + 1;
+
+  while (next < chars.length) {
+    const codePoint = chars[next].codePointAt(0);
+    if (isVariationSelector(codePoint) || isSkinTone(codePoint)) {
+      value += chars[next];
+      next += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (codePoint === 0x200d && next + 1 < chars.length) {
+      value += chars[next] + chars[next + 1];
+      next += 2;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    break;
+  }
+
+  return { value, next };
+}
+
+function symbolHtml(cluster) {
+  if (CHESS_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-chess" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster].replaceAll(" ", "-"))}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CHESS_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  if (CARD_LABELS[cluster]) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-card" data-symbol="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}" aria-label="${escapeHtml(CARD_LABELS[cluster])}">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  const codePoint = cluster.codePointAt(0);
+  if ((codePoint >= 0x1f0a0 && codePoint <= 0x1f0ff) || isEmojiBase(codePoint)) {
+    return `<span class="symbol symbol-emoji">${escapeHtml(cluster)}</span>`;
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function splitText(value) {
+  const chars = Array.from(value);
+  const nodes = [];
+  let text = "";
+
+  function flushText() {
+    if (text) {
+      nodes.push({ type: "text", value: text });
+      text = "";
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < chars.length; ) {
+    const codePoint = chars[index].codePointAt(0);
+    const shouldCluster =
+      CHESS_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      CARD_LABELS[chars[index]] ||
+      isEmojiBase(codePoint);
+
+    if (!shouldCluster) {
+      text += chars[index];
+      index += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const { value: cluster, next } = readCluster(chars, index);
+    const html = symbolHtml(cluster);
+    if (html) {
+      flushText();
+      nodes.push({ type: "html", value: html });
+    } else {
+      text += cluster;
+    }
+    index = next;
+  }
+
+  flushText();
+  return nodes;
+}
+
+function transformChildren(parent) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(parent?.children)) return;
+
+  const nextChildren = [];
+  for (const child of parent.children) {
+    if (child.type === "text") {
+      nextChildren.push(...splitText(child.value));
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    transformChildren(child);
+    nextChildren.push(child);
+  }
+
+  parent.children = nextChildren;
+}
+
+export default function remarkSymbols() {
+  return (tree) => transformChildren(tree);
+}
diff --git a/sites/vibes/src/styles/article.css b/sites/vibes/src/styles/article.css
index e39264f..64b7e91 100644
--- a/sites/vibes/src/styles/article.css
+++ b/sites/vibes/src/styles/article.css
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@
 
 .article-content {
   color: hsl(var(--foreground));
-  font-family: var(--font-heliotrope);
+  font-family:
+    var(--font-heliotrope), "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji",
+    "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", sans-serif;
   font-size: 1.0625rem;
   line-height: 1.78;
 }
@@ -129,6 +131,25 @@
   text-underline-offset: 0.18em;
 }
 
+.article-content :where(.symbol) {
+  display: inline-block;
+  line-height: 1;
+  vertical-align: -0.08em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-emoji) {
+  font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Noto Color Emoji", emoji, sans-serif;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-chess, .symbol-card) {
+  font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols 2", "DejaVu Sans", "Symbola", serif;
+  font-size: 1.04em;
+}
+
+.article-content :where(.symbol-card[data-symbol="heart"], .symbol-card[data-symbol="diamond"]) {
+  color: color-mix(in srgb, crimson 80%, hsl(var(--foreground)));
+}
+
 .article-content :where(code) {
   border: 1px solid hsl(var(--border));
   border-radius: 0.25rem;