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[presgarddihellis]

[Action | Prayers]

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[presgarddihellis]

[the real Annabelle's a Raggedy Ann doll, please.]

Oh?

And what do you think?

[ordimame]

A little dry for my tastes.

[said with a grin as he flips the book open to the chapter on "The Fool."]

Interesting, though. You really like this stuff?

[presgarddihellis]

[looks to the page that it's opened to, to the image of the traditional tarot card of The Fool.]

Well, I studied it to impress a girl...

But also, a certain Emperor from Intis two hundred years ago brought the idea of those cards from our mutual homeworld. So I guess it's also nostalgic for me in that way.

I even got a free reading from a beast tamer pretending to be a seer at a circus when I first woke up in Tingen.

[it was all very silly at the time.]

[ordimame]

[it sounds very silly to Puck, who doesn't believe in the supernatural powers of divination. even now!! even after living in a haunted ghost school for nearly two months!]

[but still, he can't help but ask. . .]

How accurate was it?

[presgarddihellis]

[even when sitting next to a literal god...]

Mm... she didn't manage to give me the full reading.

I drew three cards--past, present, and future, and only turned the middle over before the actual fortune teller came in. And, well... the real fortune teller's reading wouldn't have been free, so I left.

[ordimame]

[EVEN WHEN SITTING NEXT TO A LITERAL GOD]

[a curious tilt of his head]

What was the middle card?

[presgarddihellis]

[welp.

there's a pause because... he can't just say the name of the card?]

The zero card. So that much was accurate.

My present was full of new beginnings.

[ordimame]

[. . . hm? giving him a quizzical look, but otherwise not thinking too much of Smith's careful avoidance of that word]

The Fool, then. That's what you called me.

[glancing down at his book, features thoughtful]

. . . it feels a lot more accurate now that I know what it means.

[presgarddihellis]

[if the other person doesn't know it's a title or a name, surely the spirits haunting here won't know it if he doesn't react to it?

he manages to keep his expression consistent.]

Mm... a lot of people misunderstand it when people bring up the archetype. It's a bit more... complex of a role. It's not just simple idiocy or foolishness. But it's also not so innocent, either.

[ordimame]

[a thoughtful noise]

I got the impression it was supposed to represent. . . untapped potential?

[archetypal analysis is not his bread and butter. it says a lot that he is trying!]

Like someone taking their first few steps into a new journey. Or. . . something?

[presgarddihellis]

That is the usual meaning of the card. But that meaning can shift depending on its placement in the reading. And which card it accompanies.

For example, in my reading, it was strictly about the "Present". So "first steps in a new journey" is an accurate reading of it.

But I don't know what the other two cards were. That could change the perspective entirely. Say... "Death" being the Past--it doesn't just mean the literal death of a person, but also a metaphoric kind of change. In which case, it's less about the "new beginnings" and more about "picking a new path" or "being unaware of the coming trials".

Especially if the Future card had been something like... "The Tower". Or "The Hierophant". Or even "The Hanged Man".

[small bitter smile of irony at mentioning that last card, considering what he DID experience.]

[ordimame]

[and thaaaat's where things start to get a little hairy. he still only has the most basic understanding of the tarot, after all]

The "Hanged Man?" What's that one again?

[flipping the book to that chapter next, falling silent as he reads]

[. . .]

[AND THEN MAKES A FACE AND SNAPS THE BOOK SHUT]

I don't like it nearly as much.

[presgarddihellis]

In my case, there was a certain evil god who tried to descend and come into power who was often called the Hanged Man.

We managed to stop it, though. The Evernight Nighthawks. The Hierophant card probably would have represented them, if it had been there.

[ordimame]

[an evil god who was often called the Hanged Man. . .]

Are all of the gods you know associated with tarot cards?

[presgarddihellis]

[ahahaha...

oh dear...






wait--no, curse, c'mon--]

It's more a retro-active fit. There are twenty-two established Pathways of the Divine that were written on a Stone of Blasphemy. So when Tarot was brought into it by that Emperor, it was easier to make the associations.

1/2

[ordimame]

[lmao]

So that's a really vague "yes."

[he almost asks. the question is right on the tip of his tongue-- so which one belongs to you? but he stops himself as he looks down at the book in his lap again, hand resting flat against its cover. he may be clueless, but he is not. . . that clueless]

[. . .]

[ordimame]

[. . . . . . .]

[with!! a tiny little huff as his gaze flickers away, chin lifted a bit petulantly]

Your pantheon is weird.

[RUDE]

[presgarddihellis]

[RUDE.

but also, INTERNAL SCREAMS ABOUT A NAME BEING KNOWN BUT NOT SAID BUT SOMEONE KNOWS AND KNOWING WHAT CONTROL SOMEONE CAN HAVE WITH JUST A NAME IS JUST ALL THE TRAUMAS--

he just smiles.]

I don't claim to belong in among that group.

I have my own.

[Tarot Club is superior, okok]

[ordimame]

[MEANWHILE PUCK IS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW BEING CALLED A FOOL BY THE GOD OF FOOLS MAKES HIM FEEL. . .]

Tarot Club, right? [hah] I think groups you make yourself are way better, anyway.

[presgarddihellis]

[The Fool calls 'em as He sees 'em!




WELL.

WELL.

He is The Fool, afterall. so he makes a grabby hand for the book.]

[ordimame]

[an amused smile dances on his lips as he hands Smith the book]

I'm finished with it. Keep it, if you want.

[presgarddihellis]

I might.

[but no, he's opening up the book to the page about the Justice card.

taps the title of the chapter.]

Miss Psychiatrist.

[ordimame]

[ah. his grin fades, though the smile still remains]

Truth. Fairness. Balance. Right?

That feels appropriate.

[presgarddihellis]

She is from the Spectator Pathway, so it stands to reason that she has a more impartial view of things.

[flipping through the book...

Hanged Man.]

Mr. Seafarer.

Honestly, better for the card than that god I mentioned was.

[ordimame]

[frowns!!]

I don't know if I'd want to be associated with that card. . . sacrifice, right?