[OPEN] *draws a tarot card* oh sh—

[silentabyss]

who: Noah & You
what: Tarot readings~
when: Post-Disney fieldtrip, so 02/12 and on
where: Dorm Common Room
warnings: I'm on my pagan bullshit again it's fine

[If you venture into the dorm common room at any point after the fieldtrip ends, you will find Noah sitting in the middle of the floor with a deck of tarot cards, Trying His Best. He only recently acquired these cards (they were scattered about his room, see) and he hasn't had too much time to play with them.

Obviously, the correct thing to do is to play with them now. Step right up and get a very amateurish tarot reading free of charge! He has a book open in his lap about how to do this, including multiple spreads that he can use. If he spots you while he's nose-deep in studying, he'll wave you over with a hand and ask if he can read your fortune — you just have to tell him what you're interested in knowing. Past, present, future? Love? Interpersonal relationships of a non-romantic nature? Just ask!

As a disclaimer, Noah is not responsible for any harm that comes to you if he divines your future and it turns out really badly. That is not his fault. Your fate was written in the stars, after all.]

Comments

[adsum]

[ There's a little flinch every time Noah draws a reversed card, as if already expecting it to say something bad, hands wringing when he draws the centermost card— it's graduation, after all, that's been the looming deadline all this time, that no matter how scared they are of it, it's going to come no matter what.

Be careful on the stairs, they tell themselves. Get home before dark. Uhh... what else should they be careful about... ]

Uhh...

[ It depends, of course it does. But this isn't a step by step manual of how to save their brother, just a general feeling of how it'll go. ]

Doesn't all this mean that even if I try my best, something's going to go wrong and Aniki's going to get hurt or worse?

[ It really is no different than the Tower, then. ]

[silentabyss]

...I... yeah. I would think so.

[Noah waffles over the results visibly again. He wants to say "everything will be fine", but the deck has pulled virtually the same result twice now.]

Um... you're trying to save him from getting hurt in any way, right? While the cards are telling you to be mindful and dare I say intuitive to avoid being hurt while contradicting itself and saying it'll happen anyway... maybe following their advice will lessen the impact?

[For example, if Keigo's brother is going to get hurt beyond repair, maybe being mindful of their surroundings and intuiting everything will soften the blow, like maybe their brother will only get hurt but slightly?

It's a lot of maybes.]

J-just because it says it can't be stopped, it doesn't say the blow can't be lessened.

[adsum]

So the best outcome is that he'll be severely injured but he won't die?!

[ Noaaaaaaaahhh!!!! Why can't he have a deck with only good cards, aren't fortune tellers supposed to say things that make the client happy, that's what Natsume does!! ]

[silentabyss]

Maybe not severely! It could be really minor if you're super careful!

[That's absolutely not what they're supposed to be doing, fortunetelling is about divining the secrets of the universe so people can prepare for every eventuality, even if it sucks! Natsume's not even nicer than Noah is so why is this happening like this!

Noah puts his face in his hands. He's sorry.]

I'm not trying to freak you out. I know it's too late for that... I really do feel bad. But listen, the cards said you'd be successful somewhere, somehow! Even if that success might be a little or a lot off from what you're expecting it to be...

[adsum]

[ Mmmm... Being super duper careful was something they would used to do, but they're not sure if they can anymore— be hyperfocused on one thing only and lose sight of everything else, that is. ]

"Somehow" huh...

[ They sound a bit glum at that, but, you know. It's vague, and the sort of success they expect is what they need it to be. ]

...it's not like this fate is set in stone either, right? I'll keep trying hard, but... before graduation, can I come get another reading? Do you think it would change? Even just a little bit.

[silentabyss]

I don't necessarily think fate is entirely set in stone, no. I mean... there's certain unavoidable things, but... I think fate can be changed a bit. It has to be.

[Otherwise, how would people like Add or even Harque be able to do time magic? Still... the reading doesn't sit right with him anyway. He wishes it was nicer. Better.]

You can come get a reading whenever you want to, yeah. It might change by then. Who knows how long in the future this is set for anyway.