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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[And that gets him to hesitate for a moment, because...well. No one knows about that, do they? Papyrus knows, yes, but Papyrus wouldn't have said anything about it, not with so much else to focus on after the televised battle. No one else, though, to his knowledge; Undyne certainly doesn't...

(...Yet. Undyne's gonna kill him when she finds out about what he did, but that's an impending fistfight for another day.)

It takes him a moment to reply, and a moment longer to work out what the actual fuck he should be doing with his face, hang on.]

W-Well, darling, I... That's very impressive! Very, very impressive. I actually don't think I've told anyone about that here.

[The "okay, but how though" is implied, but pretty clear.]

You're not wrong, though. There was a...fight, let's call it. For something very important to me. We were interrupted before I could finish what I was there to do.

[It's far from the first time she's seen a reaction like that out of someone she's read for, certainly. Everyone is different, of course; some people hide their surprise, others wear it openly, some fall in the middle. This gentleman, his astonishment comes through in the tone of his voice, and she listens patiently as he explains his circumstances for her.

She is, after all, a little bit vain, and everybody likes acknowledgement that they've ended up being right.]

I see! In that case, I think you're right that the Nine is referring to that; likely your other cards will shed a bit more light on things, as well.

[Speaking of which, she reaches for the middle card, and turns it over to show the Three of Swords.]

Oh...er. I'm very sorry, but if you'll forgive my asking — this fight of yours, and the goal you set out to complete. Was it, er...rather, I should say, was it something that involved a great deal of sacrifice? And perhaps of...well, of broken relationships, in pursuit of that goal?

[The first few things that come to mind are immediately self-centered - "Come on, you know I'd never leave you behind" and "Hello, theoretical person, Dr. Alphys loves you! Too bad you're not real!" and the heavy slam of locked doors - but after a moment the rest clicks too; it's a combination of the fight a few days ago with Undyne and the phrasing this girl is using now, but it's not particularly deniable that saving humanity is leaving his own people to suffer, and damn, that's unpleasant, isn't it.

The, uh, buffering period is kind of obvious, but thankfully he's not a total mess when he collects himself; he smiles eventually, and again, he'll do her the courtesy of verifying that she isn't off, because that's only courteous - whether this is proper magic or an elaborate show, you tell the damn performer when they've done well if they have.]

Two for two so far - you're good at this.

But... No one knows the full story behind that, and I think I'm going to keep it that way for now. I'll verify that there are broken relationships and sacrifice involved all over, though. Moreso than just the average person's occasional broken bridges.

I see. Of course, I'll not ask. Rather, um...

[She hesitates a little, inwardly debating how to gracefully go about this, and decides to proceed in steady, objective terms as opposed to directed ones.]

Well. It's a painful card, the Three of Swords. It represents are such things as rejection, loneliness, separation...sometimes feelings of betrayal. It suggests that a choice has been made, and consequences will follow from it — sometimes painful ones. But I think...as painful as it can be, it can also serve as a reminder of sorts, that...well.

[She motions to the last card, still facedown.]

One oughtn't forget that the story isn't through yet. Sometimes events are painful, and sometimes the pursuit of a goal...can break relationships. But that's something to reflect upon, as you move forward, to grow and to learn from. Some things must be accepted, as it were, and made peace with in order to properly move forward.

...Huh.

[And for a moment, that's all he really offers in response to that, along with a slight tilt of his head while he mulls that over.]

I was under the impression that that wasn't something we should be able to accept, actually - not that I think self-flagellating is any better! Far from. But that doesn't seem like something that someone should just move on from, either, so hearing someone say that sort of thing is necessary is a bit...strange.

[That's...probably the most mature thought he's ever had on this whole matter, even if it is coming from a place of being completely emotionally assbackwards about it; basically, Mettaton Tried Really Hard, um.]

I suppose in some ways I'm hardly the best person to speak on it — I've not always done so well with...sensibly handling those sorts of feelings, either. But...well. One never knows what the future might hold, so it's good not to get...bogged down, in that sort of thing.

[She eyes that last card as she says so, reaching for it tentatively.]

And as for what the future might hold, we'll find...

[...A MAN WHO'S BEEN BRUTALLY MURDERED BY STABBITY SWORD DEATH HOLY SHIT.

are you kidding

are you fucking kidding her right now

she tried so hard and got so far

and in the end

it didn't even matter™]

[WOW UH

THAT SURE IS A LOT OF STABBING, THAT'S-]

...Well, the best thing I can say about that is that I'm entirely certain I'm not in a position to die back home?

O-Oh! No, no, goodness, it's nothing like that at all!

[...okay it's a little bit like that at all but for god's sake why does the Ten of Swords have to be so gruesome, even reversed as it is...]

It's, um. The Ten, when it's in Swords...it means an ending. And when it's reversed in this way, it's — well, it's...perhaps it's the sort of ending one is resisting, or one that shall be very painful to undergo, but the fact of the matter is that it's...it's one that's inevitable, and must be faced sooner or later. As tempting as one might find it to avoid or delay it, or pretend that it isn't so...it's one that isn't going away, and that must be confronted sooner or later.

But as dismal as it might look, what's optimistic about the Ten is that the forced ending creates the potential for a new beginning. And perhaps it's a much-needed beginning, one that can't be reached by holding on to these...

[She waves her hand over the previous two cards.]

...old hurts, old challenges. It means in the future there's the chance for a new and fresh direction, if one is only willing to undergo the temporary grief of confronting the things that might be holding one back, and putting things to rest once and for all.

[...You know, as emotionally tone-deaf as Mettaton tends to be, he's been around enough people who are total trainwrecks to be very aware of when someone is both screaming internally and trying to keep the person they're with from screaming externally, and after a moment he settles back a little, listening to what she's saying without getting worked up over it.

And if he thinks about it long enough, she's not...wrong, is she? Not if the way things ended back home is any indication. Perhaps it's started already - after all, the human will fight Asgore, and it's not as though he's in much position to do a damn thing about it now. And if the new beginning she's talking about is to be obtained by letting go of...well, what he was trying to do in the first place-

...All right, she's telling someone that's a complete control freak deep down to be decidedly less so and just let things go where they will and like hell if he's going to be able to do that, but it's a nice sentiment. Maybe.

So when he finally says something about it, his voice is back up to the usual level of enthusiasm, and the dryness in his tone that was present moments before seems to have been shrugged off.]

That's fascinating, darling - and I do mean that, I'm not just saying it.

[...Please stop with the internal screaming, honey, it's okay.]

Does it help any if I confirm that I know what you're talking about? When you put it that way, I mean! If anything, it's probably a good sign, truth be told - I made a decision just before coming here, actually, and I think this might mean I did something right in making it.

It's a little jarring, but I promise I'm not upset.

[Her relief is palpable, and not just from what he says but out of recognition for what it is he does — she's well aware of a social save when she sees one, and it registers that he wouldn't be offering her one in the first place if he weren't being honest with her about not being upset. So she does let the reassurance smooth down her frazzled nerves, and resists the urge to scowl at the cards in favor of offering her customer a gentle smile, instead.]

Well...if it helped, in the end, then I'm glad for it. That's all I really set out to do, with such things as this; I'm very glad you've found it so.

A-And, er...if ever you should think you might care to have another, to have a question answered or something else of the sort, I'd be more than happy to assist in any way that I can. I'm always glad for repeat guests.

I may have to take you up on that, sweetheart! Seeing as you're so good at what you do and all - if there's some sort of trick to it, I haven't any idea what it is, so I'm completely convinced!

Is it magic, or is it another learned skill of some sort...?

[He sounds completely and utterly straightforward about the magic bit; whatever he means by it, it's not derogatory in the least and he is completely prepared and willing to accept "it's literally just fuckin' magic" if that is the answer she has to offer him.]

Well, um...I suppose it's a bit of both, really? Reading the cards themselves is something anyone might learn, there are meanings that go with each one. But, er...

[She hesitates again.]

This sort of thing, fortune-telling, it's something I was rather known for, in the place I used to live before here. I was known as Meridiana the Seeress...people were very taken with my predictions. So that much is something unique to myself. A...sort of magic, yes.

I'm used to seeing some strange things, but this sort of talent - predicting the future and mind-reading and all - isn't something that we do as a practice. I've really enjoyed seeing someone who's so good at it.

[...Yeah, he's. He's going to tip you really well today, once he actually locates his wallet, good lord.]

Meridiana, is it? I'll definitely be seeing you again.

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I'm Dreaming of the Life I Once Loved

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