Tarot post mark 3.

[harpbeat]

It has been quite a while since I've done this. Would anyone like a Tarot reading?

[A deck is on the table in front of her.]

Simply focus on your question while shuffling the deck, and inform me of your question when you return the deck to me. Then I can read your fortune.

[Any game, any character will be read with a real shuffling of a real Tarot deck!]

Comments

[truthsnomiracle]

Indeed.

[Not completely for his own sake, but still, he does hold his hand out so the deck can be handed to him.]

[harpbeat]

[She hands the deck over to him.]

Please focus on your question.

[truthsnomiracle]

[...Oddly, that instruction prompts a slightly awkward frown. Has Eater ever seen a god wear such an expression?]

Er... to be clear, I'm essentially incapable of being distracted...

[Even as he points this out, though, he's shuffling. The mental thread frowning and commenting and the one actually mustering the mental focus that goes with said shuffling are separate, after all.]

[harpbeat]

Well then, why don't you tell me what you're asking? I'm no mind reader.

[truthsnomiracle]

Through some unknown cause, I've... become a, er, undeniably supernatural being that presides over a practice that's essentially human in nature. The very existence of one such as myself seems like a contradiction, so what I've been left to wonder is simply this: what place, if any, does a god of prosecution have in the natural order of things?

[By the time Edgeworth has finished with this long explanation, he's also finished shuffling. The direct question itself is immediately followed by him offering the deck back.]

[harpbeat]

[Eater deals out seven cards and reads their meanings.]

Past: Two of Swords. This card represents blocked emotions, avoiding the truth. You have been defensive and pretended that you were completely fine.

Present: Four of Pentacles. A similar card, this represents trying to block change. You seek control over what is not in your control - in this case, your present state.

You are helped by the Eight of Wands. Sudden news and quick action - finding the missing piece of the puzzle. What is lacking from the situation shall be found.

You are harmed by the Nine of Pentacles. You have a natural tendency to be self-reliant, and that is simply not called for here.

The others around you are shown by the Knight of Swords. A person who is logical, intelligent, and acts with certainty.

Your actions should reflect the Hermit. Giving guidance and wise counsel to others. In other words, what you can do in your current state.

Finally, the results reflect the Two of Pentacles. While the juggler on this card must be flexible and cope with multiple demands, it is also a card of enjoying oneself.

You have been looking for your counterpart, have you not? This reading suggests that you might find them soon.

[truthsnomiracle]

(On one hand, that wasn't the question I asked, and it would not be difficult to suppose that I would be seeking such a person; she may have simply adapted to the circumstances. On the other, that is a dangerous game to play without basis under my watch, and I said nothing to indicate whether or not I knew my counterpart. Did her information come through normal means or... this?)

It is important to project confidence in one's work.

[...is he talking about himself, or Eater?]

[harpbeat]

Yes, it is.

I cannot speak with specifics of course, but the cards here point to people often - the Knight in its position strongly suggests a single person. I imagine a singular god with no counterpart would find himself quite unhappy compared to one with a natural balance to him. That I can tell you without cards - dark to light, defense to prosecution, two parts are required for either part to be of use.

[truthsnomiracle]

I have tried to be of use nonetheless, but at the same time I must exercise an extraordinary amount of restraint -- [read, enough to leave him dissatisfied, even frustrated at times] -- in part due to what you say.

[harpbeat]

Good luck with all you seek. As with all my clients, I wish that sincerely.

[truthsnomiracle]

(She's trying to end the conversation quickly... does she suspect that I doubt her, or is she merely trying to continue innocent work? Given the latter possibility and the fact that lives don't hang in the balance over this, perhaps this issue is best pressed at a later time...)

Er... thank you, I suppose.

[And with that, Edgeworth walks away... though this may not be the last time Eater sees him today.]