route_1065 | I'm Dreaming of the Life I Once Loved

Entry tags:

I'm Dreaming of the Life I Once Loved

Who: Meridiana (

occultigen) and YOU!
Where: Goldenrod City
When: Anytime during the month of February!
Summary: What do you get when you cross a Victorian-era seeress with a pack of tarot cards? There's one easy way to find out...
Rating: PG!
Log:

[It's not particularly nice out these days, but at the very least it's not snowing most of the time and the weather's usually above freezing, and even on the worse days of the month, with the benefit of a couple of Fire-type Pokemon (and a few who happen to know Sunny Day) it's not altogether difficult to keep warm in spite of the chill in the air.

Which is why, at various times during the month of February, you might just see Meridiana bundled up and sitting at one of the outdoor tables of a cafe in Goldenrod, facing the street and playing with a pack of tarot cards. Every so often, she'll make a face and shake her head at a card she turns up; most of the time, though, she's shifting and arranging them with practiced and familiar ease. She's done this sort of reading before, in a similar way, and made a little bit of money at it and helped give passerby some guidance into their circumstances and futures, so all in all it's a reasonable enough way of passing the time on a quiet afternoon.

On days when she's out, she's got a little handmade sign up to advertise her business (which her Tropius is helpfully displaying for her), so if you happen to be passing by and would like to sit and have your fortune told — or even just stop by to chat a while — feel free to pause and say hello!]

[OOC: Okay, so! This is an open log for people in Goldenrod who'd like to stop in and interact with Meridiana, either just to hang out or to use her fortune-telling as a hook! As a standard disclaimer, I am not anywhere close to being an expert at this myself, so I'll be using this website for any readings she's asked to give and just going with whatever it returns; if you'd prefer to handwave something or for character/plot reasons would prefer to have her give your character a specifically-tailored prediction or result (that is, specific cards, a particular overall meaning, whatever), feel free to let me know and we can swing it that way as well! And of course, you're not obligated to ask for one; you're just as welcome to chat and hang out with her instead!

This log is good for the entire month of February, so please give me a rough date of when a thread is taking place on your starter, along with anything else I might need to know before we get rolling!]

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Ahhh, good to know - though I'm sure you can take care of yourself just as well as any, I imagined that wouldn't hurt any.

[He sounds pleased, though; he hasn't missed the way that she reacted to his presence, really, and in several ways it's nicer than the words possibly could have been.

He gestures a bit toward the seat across from her, the motion easy.]

Do you mind if I join you for a while?

Oh, yes, please do! I'm very glad for the diversion.

[She picks up her tea in both hands, apparently not wanting to relinquish the warmth as she brings it up to her mouth and sips.]

I've been thinking, you know, that perhaps I'll put all these tips toward buying chocolates for Valentine's, this year. As I recall, it's my solemn duty as a lady to give them out on the fourteenth, hm?

It's a decent cause, anyway - and I'd imagine you have no shortage of people who would enjoy receiving some from you.

[It's casually-said, with no particular aim in mind, positive or negative; it's more of an observation than anything. After all, she's more than charming enough; he has a hard time imagining things to be otherwise.]

I've some in mind who warrant it, certainly.

[Here she is, the picture of subtlety. Still, once she's reached a point where she can't use her tea as cover to obscure her face behind, she sets it aside and reaches for her cards again.]

Now, then. Shall I consider this tea a gift, or as a fair trade in exchange for a reading, mm?

You know I never say no to having you read for me.

[And that's not an answer, but it's the closest he's getting to giving one, it seems.]

I may ask you for another in which I don't state the question directly, if that's all right with you.

Of course, I'd be delighted.

[From the look on her face, she really would; that's a far cry from her usual service-worker courtesy, and it shows in the inflection, too. So she starts shuffling her cards, giving them a few good go-overs before fanning them out to offer to him.]

Is everything all right? I'm happy to read for you, but you know if there's something I might do for you, I'll gladly help in more ways than just with my cards.

Ah - no, no, everything is fine.

[And there's a light laugh behind his words as he says it, but there's nothing harsh in it.]

The question I have now is more a matter of curiosity than anything; it isn't anything to be concerned about in the least. I would come to you with it, otherwise.

Oh, good, I'm very glad to hear it. Let's see, then...

[She chews on her lip a little, considering.]

Let's try this one. I'll have you choose five cards in all, and set them like so: one in the middle, the second to the left of it, the third to the right of it.

The fourth, put above the second card, and the fifth, put below it. So that it makes a sort of...sideways T, if you will. A spread of that sort ought to illuminate the question for you, without needing to ever say what that question is to begin with. Though of course, you'll need to think of it as you set the cards, certainly.

That sounds perfect, actually. Shall we?

[It sounds similar to a spread she's done for him before; even if it didn't, the directions are clear enough to give him an idea of what should be done. So...let's do this, then.]

[She watches him lay them out, then sets the deck aside, regarding the cards carefully before moving to the one he'd set down first and turning it over. When she does, the Knight of Swords is waiting.]

This first space represents the central issue to your question, and in it you've drawn the Knight of Swords.

[She sits back a little, folding her hands; it's apparent in all of her body language that this isn't a typical reading in the slightest. Rather than her usual neat posture and clear, steady explanations, she's focusing in much more closely on the cards themselves, and lingering over their meanings as she offers them to him.]

The Knight of Swords is about action — sometimes hasty or rash action. I'll not ask after your question, and you needn't tell me a thing about it. But I'd imagine that it's something to the effect of, you'd like to know whether or not to take some action, and the deciding is what's making it difficult.

And perhaps that's wise, because the Knight of Swords does represent someone who charges into things hastily, with great ambition. He's an energetic sort of card, and that energy can be a good thing, but it can also lead to rashness, which isn't wise. He's headstrong. And while he may have good intentions, his outcomes might not always be for the best, or at least could have stood to have been tempered with some moderation and care.

[She pauses.]

Barring that, the Knight here might also be representing a particular person; the court cards often do. If that's the case, then likely the other cards will shed more light on the problem, as they surround that person in particular.

[...All...right. The card surprises him a bit, surely, as Meridiana's readings often do, but it seems it's not a bad sort of surprise at all, actually.]

...I think that may be the case, honestly - do continue.

The next, then, is about...the obstacles that might be facing you, in your approach to your question.

[Over goes card number two; it's the Star, reversed.]

Mm. Upright, the Star is a card about hope, and optimism; reversed like this, it suggests that what's challenging you is a sort of pessimism. You're worried about what might come of your decision, perhaps? Or it may be that you're caught up in imagining the worst that might come of it, and that's what's been holding you back.

So, the Knight — a decision to be made. The Star, reversed — apprehensions that the worst might happen, if you do.

Ah...

[...You know, there's always this sense of "oh for god's sake how" about doing this that he tends to forget about until they're actually, well, in the middle of doing this. Here's hoping we don't once again blunder headlong into the damn reversed eight of cups yelling at him to stop ignoring his problems, because wouldn't that be a thing.]

...Yes, actually, more or less.

Edited 2016-02-11 05:13 (UTC)

Mmm. If that illuminates the problem, then...

[Her hand hovers over the third card.]

This one, the third, is about aspects of the situation that you ought to be aware of. Of all the cards, this one is likely the most...mm. If there's a message to be had, one might say, then it's likeliest to be found here.

[She turns it over, revealing Strength, and smiles at once. No hideous murder stabdeath today!]

Oh, that's fortunate. It's the Chariot, actually, that represents power and outward strength; this one speaks more of a strength of will, and of resilience. As you can see on the card, the lady taming the lion? It's that sort of strength, the sort born of patience and compassion.

That's very fine to have in opposition to your reversed Star, I should think. Though you might imagine the worst, Strength has turned up to remind you that it's very likely it won't be the worst. If the Star is your feelings of, "I can't possibly do it", then Strength says, "but you can."

[She pauses, humming under her breath.]

And in particular, with the Knight being so representative of hasty action, perhaps the strong message of Strength is about patience. That if you approach your problem with tact and compassion, and maturity, then you'll end up with a much more favorable outcome than if you simply rush in as the Knight would care to.

[And if the previous card had worked him up a bit, this one relaxes him again, and he laughs a bit under his breath once she's finished.]

If you want me to be honest, that's probably some of the best news I've heard in a while.

I'm very glad to be the bearer of it, you know.

[And she smiles at him, genuinely, before moving on to the card she'd indicated as fourth.]

These last two are for advice — things that might also help you, for guidance and whatnot. This one is about places you might find help, either in people or in new ideas, and so on.

[She says, as she turns over the Fool.]

...I see. It's creativity, then, that ought to assist you the most. The Fool is a card of potential, you see, and of both risk-taking and courage — but he's someone who has all of his options spread out before him, and the boundless creativity to consider them all before he chooses how to move forward. And...in the end, when the Fool decides his path, he does it by following his heart.

So...I think, then, that once you've considered your problem, and all of the options that you might take in addressing it...that you ought to trust your instinct, and follow it. Do what feels right, and likely it will be the right decision.

[...Actually.]

I think this is something like the third time now that that card has shown up for me.

[He's quiet for a moment, though he isn't displeased by it, just thinking.]

I think I understand, though - at least, in this context. If it's what I think it is, it's promising.

...It has, hasn't it. You know, if a card shows up again and again in your readings, Mr. Tsukiyama, it's often worth a bit more looking-into. Some cards are simply like that; goodness knows I've one of my own, that's that way.

[But she drifts on down to the last card, resting her fingers on it.]

This last one is about actions. Something you might do to assist yourself, some action you might take to help yourself toward the resolution you'd most like, in the end.

[She turns over the Two of Cups.]

...Er.

...Ah.

[WELL, THAT'S. UH.]

[Well, as well as she's been doing thus far, apparently we're just going to...trip at the finish line and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, because all of a sudden her composure visibly goes out the window; her face goes pink and abruptly she's staring at the tabletop instead of anywhere else, and she pulls back her hands to fold them in her lap but her skirt is about to get a workout, with the way she begins to twist it up in her fingers.]

It's, um. You might...that is, the Two of Cups, as you can see, there's two...people...

[Her head ducks down even further, so that her hair starts to fall around her face.]

Such that...if perhaps there's someone you...feel strongly toward, you might...confide in them, and perhaps find some...assistance and support...in their, um. Their company...

[BURY HER HERE]

[...did...did he seriously get the GO GET LAID card

is that what just happened here because christ- ]

I... Ah...well, I...

[fuck everything his life has decided to be right now]

I can see where that's...relevant...maybe? Though not to that...degree...

[oh my fucking god he is so red right now

if the ground could just, like

swallow him right now?

that'd be awesome]

[People passing by this table are going to look at these two assholes and wonder how it can possibly be that they're both bright red and seemingly overheating in this chill as fuck outdoor weather.

BOY THIS SURE IS HAPPENING, ALL RIGHT

But at some point, the urgent need to force a change of subject sends Meridiana freeing her hands to grasp at her cards, which she hurriedly flips over and sifts through until she unearths the Wheel of Fortune.]

U-Um...no, but — as I mentioned, yes, there are some cards that simply — when they come up often, over and over again, it's likely there's more to their meaning for you than just what's...just what they might mean, otherwise — and, um, this one, it's the one I'd been thinking of, this one is mine, of sorts, the Wheel of Fortune...

Is that so...?

[OH LOOK A DISTRACTION god bless you right now, meridiana everett]

That's...life cycles and the inevitability of change, isn't it? Something like that?

[It is all she can do to not slam this poor tarot card down on the table with the force of a star Super Bowl receiver hurling down the football in the end zone, but she manages to gracefully avoid that and YES, LOOK, A DISTRACTION.]

Just so, it's something like that, yes. The truth is, it's...not the card I like best, by any means, but I've learned that when it comes up in a reading for myself, it's something I ought to pay particular attention to.

Things get better, things get worse; someone high on the Wheel one day might end up brought to their lowest the next...and in the same way, someone at their lowest still stands a good chance of being carried back up again, if they only wait long enough to see it come true.

...It seems a bit passive, though, doesn't it? Having to wait through it, being held to the whims of fate.

If that's the case, I can see where you're not particularly fond of it.

(no subject)

occultigen - 2016-02-11 22:11 (UTC) - Expand

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