Good Analysis _brightwing.

I like how much can be said about the cards in general and what you say about the Devil card is pretty intrestesting to me.
 
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This is my pitch for Empress Loafer and Emperor Athlete MPreg route, thank you for your consideration.




It was an odd sensation, he thought, feelings. Everyone had them, or everyone was meant to have them anyways, and yet he wouldn't find it impossible that he just didn't.


Not that he minded by any means, emotions were not a requirement for his continued enjoyment of his life on earth.


As weird as that might sound to the regular person, it wasn't like the Loafer was feeling the despair of being a grey canvas of indistinct existence as long as he didn't have to do anything bothersome. Simple, easy coasting, that's all he wanted and it was not much to ask for from life.


Besides emotions were clearly, as far as he could observe (and could he ever), troublesome endeavours for the rest of his fellow species. Anger, sadness, hatred..


…love.


Irksome, not for him.


Or so he thought, until that man came into his perfect life to ruin it with his broad shoulders, rippling muscles and that perfect smile of his that just radiated joy, unadulterated joy. If he could only wipe it off his handsome face.





He'd pull his hood over his face, stifling a deeply pained groan of embarrassment. An embarrassing gesture if it was for him strategically placing himself to be out of everyone's view. Even if people were looking, which he knew they didn't, he has already established himself over the course of the year as a lazy good for nothing, not worth talking to. A brilliant move to secure his peaceful life.


As he lifted the hood, just to let one eye peer back he would have thought about how this was so unlike him, he could already predict that stupid sexy jock's life and yet he couldn't take his eyes of him.


A mistake, he met his eyes, his beautiful round ocean blue eyes.


His ability came in, but it was looser than what he was accustomed to, muddied by these damn emotions.


It was a shared future, of him and the Athlete. They had built something great together, with the jock at the forefront and with himself right behind, supporting his endless ambition. This was a weird revelation, since they also came with a familiar and at the same time strange warmth in his abdomen. Always there when he thought of him, not that he hated it by any means though.


As the days passed, the Loafer found it increasingly difficult to ignore his feelings for the Athlete. He would catch himself stealing glances at him during classes, at the gym, or even during mundane moments like grabbing a coffee at the school canteen. Each time he locked eyes with the jock, that warm sensation in his abdomen intensified, and he couldn't deny the growing connection between them.


Yet, he couldn't bring himself to confess his emotions. He feared that revealing his feelings would disrupt the delicate balance he had maintained, jeopardizing the easy, carefree life he had built for himself. It was easier to stay in the shadows, basking in the unspoken affection he held for the Athlete.


One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting hues of orange and pink across the sky, the Loafer found himself walking aimlessly around campus, deep in thought. Lost in his internal struggle, he barely noticed when the Athlete fell into step beside him, a friendly smile on his face.


"Hey there," the Athlete greeted, his voice warm and inviting. "Mind if I walk with you?"


The Loafer's heart fluttered at the unexpected company, but he managed to nod. "Sure, I don't mind."


They walked in silence for a while, the Loafer stealing glances at the Athlete from the corner of his eye. He felt a lump forming in his throat, wanting to say something but afraid of what might come out.


The Athlete sensed the Loafer's unease and decided to break the silence. "You know, I've noticed you around for a while now," he said with a gentle smile. "You seem like a really interesting guy, but it feels like you're always hiding behind that hood."


The Loafer's heart pounded in his chest. He didn't know how to respond. Was the Athlete interested in him? Or was this just a casual conversation?


"I guess I prefer to keep a low profile," the Loafer finally admitted, his voice slightly trembling.


The Athlete stopped walking and turned to face him. "There's nothing wrong with that," he said earnestly. "But I can't help but wonder what lies behind that hood. You intrigue me."


The Loafer's cheeks flushed with a mix of embarrassment and joy. He never expected the Athlete to show any interest in him, let alone be intrigued by him. It was both exhilarating and terrifying. How could he have not predicted this?


"I... I'm just not used to being noticed," the Loafer stammered, struggling to find the right words.


"Well, get used to it," the Athlete said with a playful grin. "Because I'm not going anywhere."


The Loafer's heart skipped a beat. His mind raced, trying to make sense of the Athlete's words. Could it be that the jock was actually interested in him romantically? The thought seemed too good to be true.


Not that he wanted that or anything.


The Loafer realized that the more time he spent with the Athlete, the more his emotions became clear and unclouded. Love had found its way into his heart, and he embraced it, allowing himself to experience the joy and vulnerability that came with it.


Their love story unfolded like a breathtaking symphony, with its crescendos of passion and its delicate interludes of tenderness. They navigated the challenges of their emotions together, finding strength in each other's presence.


An Empress and his Emperor.
I'm not even sure whether to assign Credit for this, or take it away. Beautiful story!
 
So I'm not actually advocating we pick Devil.. but I thought it could be an intellectual exercise to explore the Role earlier in Discord. There is already a Devilman, so it's a good opportunity to embrace the roots of this Tarot and see where a paganic interpretation takes us.

Let's start with the zodiac aspect that the Tarot is represented as - creative energy in its most material form: Capricorn, the sign of the lusty goat. Capricorn's glyph represents the sea-goat, the head and horns of the goat followed by the curving fish tail. As the mountain goat, Capricorn climbs, gathering knowledge for his own ambitious purposes. As the sea-goat, Capricorn is the redeemer. The oceans of the universe hide precious ores churned from the metaphorical mountains it has worn away. The sea-goat sacrifices his liberty of the seas to bring these building blocks to humanity.

Capricorn embodies "I use." With a strong sense of duty, it's not content to merely have, it seeks to put its resources to use and growth. He can be rough, harsh, dark, even blind; the impulse to create takes no account of reason, custom, or foresight. It is divinely unscrupulous, sublimely careless of result. "Thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect."

It is in its essence, the complete appreciation of all existing things.. He rejoices in the rugged and the barren no less than in the smooth and the fertile. All things equally exalt him. the ecstasy of every phenomenon, from depraved to sublime. He transcends all limitations; he is Pan; he is All. Pan Pangenetor, the all-begetter. The Goat has horns that have grown in the spiraling form of all nature. Before him is the Wand of the Chief Adept, crowned with the winged globe and the twin serpents of Horus and Osiris - icon of the divine will of creation. Adorned with the grapes of Bacchus, he smiles. His third eye is open.

From a Kabalistic perspective the path of the Devil touches strongly on Sight. Capricious and mercurial, the Lord of the Gates of Matter is a deal-making, knowledge-loving trickster god. But he also bears the Hebrew letter Ayin, meaning "eye" or "to see." - understanding. It is two fold in nature, just as we have two eyes - one seeing Good, and the other, Evil. It represents our choice: to see illusions, or to see past illusion to the true nature of reality.

Structure of Ayin also connects the Devil to Mirth - He laughs, from disillusionment, madness, joy, or relief. No one can say.


I wanted to touch base on the Lovers Role while I'm on a roll. In my deep dive I have learned The Lovers were also The Brothers. I wanted to see what the older interpretation of it entails..

Castor and Pollux, are the Dioscuri - Sons of god. The alpha and beta stars of the constellation Gemini, from antiquity associated with twins. Castor was the prince of Sparta while Pollux an immortal demigod of Zeus. When his brother dies Pollox petitioned to share his godhood, and was so granted giving rise to the Gemini.

Fundamental nature of the Brothers is thus "Solve et coagula": Solve, to break down, and coagula, to recombine, to higher form.


Twin gods and sibling mythology have always been a classic. Geb and Nut, Shu and Tefnut, Apollo and Artemis, Osiris and Isis, Nemo and Tasmit, Hypnos and Thanatos, Eros and Anteros, Phobos and Deimos, Helen and Clymtamesta, Cain and Abel and countless others tell a tale of choices, sacrifice, and redemption. You often see the sacred twins as guardians in doorways. They stand embodying the saying - When one door opens, another closes. When we make a choice, something, is rejected. The domain of Choices.

The concept of the Sword, Zain also often comes into play especially in Kabalism. To achieve integration, the soul must first differentiate; it must divide by the Sword (the solve of Solve et coagula) and witness its shadow. Then, choose to sacrifice the ego to become whole.

This is Gemini's goal. To unite in the service of creative union, whether twin souls or just the mind united with itself - an ascension to divinity. Yearning for the horizon of possibilities Gemini reaches out to the World ever grasping for it.
 
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Enrolled
Enrolled

It was the beginning of the school year, around the comfortable dawn of autumn, and most of the students hadn't yet awoken from the funk of the summer break, that beautiful and confusing interstitial chapter between cozy restfulness and back-breaking work. The inevitable dread and stress of exams and tests hadn't sunk in for anyone yet.

A perfect opportunity to abduct some students, he supposed.

As cool as a cucumber and unruffled by the buzz of conversation around him, Solomon approached the vending machine to purchase a drink, about three minutes before the second period. As he opened his wallet, he slowly blinked in realization, and then exhaled with a hitherto newfound form of tiredness.

I'm Solomon Lancaster, but most people call me Sol because that's faster. I'm a junior year student at Midwood High. Anyway, look over there, a guy's about to trip.

A male student nearby was staring deeply into his phone and didn't notice a spilled pool of orange juice over the linoleum floor, and as a result, collapsed much as prophesied. Solomon, more or less unconcerned, finished buying himself a can of soda, as the aforementioned student groaned in annoyance at his now-sticky pants.

As you can see, I have incredible predictive powers. For some reason, I predicted that doing this internal monologue to myself like I'm pretending to be a Noir detective on a TV show doing narration was gonna slightly help my chances in surviving what's about to happen. I have no idea why but my predictions rarely fail, so I'm doing it. Go figure.

Solomon cracked open the can of Fizzlet and took a tentative sip.

Anyway... this is the story of how I was abducted with my classmates by some unmarried dude in his fifties. I guess. I'm not exactly sure how that's gonna happen yet. I'm seriously good at predicting stuff - I'm pretty sure it's a supernatural power - but I'm not a god or anything. And no one ever believes me when I tell them my predictions.

"Are you paying attention, Sol?"

"Hm?" He'd not, in fact, been paying even the slightest attention to Ethan's words. Hadn't even wholly noticed Ethan was there, really. Forgot that Ethan existed, in a sense.

"Yeah, I'm telling you, Mary's super fucking cute, man," answered Ethan. He was athletic in physique, lean and tall; with striking bright blue eyes and dressed in casual clothing with a short-sleeved white t-shirt and sports sneakers. "I think she's into me."

That's Ethan. He's not my friend, for the record. I don't really do 'friends.' Solomon took a sip of his soda, allowing the lemon-lime flavor to percolate over his tongue. He's something of an innocent idiot, I suppose. He's a soccer player of the sort that uses soccer metaphors in everyday conversation. For some reason, too, he's latched onto me like a remora this week. Hopefully not a portent of things to come.

"You mean Mary Robbins?" Solomon asked dismissively, eager to speedrun the conversation. Its outline already shaped itself in his mind. The entire issue Ethan presented was no larger than making a decision on the flavor of the soda you wanted to drink.

"Man, I knew you weren't listening!"

Well, your romantic life is irrelevant to me, so why should I listen to you?

"She's not even into you," answered Solomon blandly, eyes staring off at the buttons of the vending machine, as if each hid arcane secrets. "You shouldn't get your hopes up."

"Come on, you're kidding. I haven't even talked to her!" Ethan complained loudly. "How can she be actively not into me when I haven't even had a shot at proper conversation yet?"

Well, she's a lesbian, for one. And for two, even if she wasn't, you wouldn't really be her type. And for three, you and I are getting kidnapped later today, and she isn't, so tough shit.

Solomon finished his soda in one final swallow, crushing the can and discarding it one-handed into the nearest garbage bin. The final taste of modernity.

He clapped Ethan on the shoulder. "One minute to class. Let's go."

"Man, I wanted to grab a snack bar," whined Ethan, even as he followed after with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

As usual, Solomon decided to occupy his customary seat on the left side of the classroom, in one of the back rows. It allowed perfect cover to snooze in such a manner the teacher wouldn't notice or even have much cause to complain, and was therefore the optimal position. Solomon hated doing meaningless work, and that meant he consequently despised most of his schoolwork. An ABC test didn't mean too much when you could take a single glance and know almost every answer correctly on some kind of gut instinct.

"Hey, Nash," Solomon called out with curiosity, half-turning to look back at the brunette boy seated behind him, wearing thick-rimmed glasses. "How's your day been?"

"You aren't usually this talkative," answered Damien Nash, one arm supporting his chin as he looked out the window longingly, desiring to be free of the social cage.

"You aren't usually either."

Damien muttered something unintelligible. It didn't matter. Solomon started to tip his chair backwards, to bring their eyes closer, so he could drink in Nash's skepticism better.

"I have incredible news for you."

"Do you?"

"Yeah. The most incredible news."

"I'm all ears."

"Starting from about today, no one's gonna pick on you anymore. It'll be too dangerous. Especially if you aren't too stupid with your choices. Fuck, if you apologize to me after this and ask nicely, I'll even help you make the best ones to scare Josh and Francis off."

Arching an eyebrow, Damien looked at him like he would at an asylum escapee, dropping his arm to the desk. "What are you on about?"

"What if I told you that you'll get superpowers today?"

"Yeah, right." Nash snorted in response, and then dismissively opened his book, Chimitango Bruised Bananas, and started reading, as if intent on ignoring the conversation: most likely believing that either Josh or Francis were responsible for Solomon's intercession.

"You're skeptical. Just like that one time I warned you that you'd get stuffed in a locker in June, and you didn't believe me, because 'it does not make sense for you to be anywhere near school in June.' You didn't heed my advice then. Maybe you should heed it now?"

"Ugh, you're being freakier than Olivia." Damien retreated even further into the story of Bruised Bananas, and visibly disabled his interest in processing audible cues.

"Alright. Fair enough," said Solomon, a smile tugging at his lips. Despite himself, he was unusually excited. "Just don't call me a freak again when you can throw fireballs. I'm so nice and happy today that I'll preemptively forgive you anything you say until we get there."

"Uh-huh."

After half a minute or so, Ms. Parker walked into class and started writing out the topic on the blackboard and lecturing the students. Some claptrap about using multimedia for information. Not interested, Solomon leaned to the right and whispered to the column of desks across, directing his words at no one in particular.

"Hey, did you know the Educator's gonna kidnap us? It's gonna happen today and soon. I brought all sorts of supplies if you wanna buy them off me."

"Right. Look, Lancaster, you're acting like more of a fucking weirdo than usual," answered Josh Thompson, the de facto class bully - the same one that picked on Nash and rendered him such a colossal joy to converse with. "How about you go back to sleep and tell us about your glue dreams another time?"

He shared a chuckle with Francis, his lackey.

"In five minutes, this entire classroom will transubstantiate into another dimension," said Solomon, completely serious, the prediction of the event having become a mote clearer, more accessible. "And then you'll do nothing but maybe suck my dick, Thompson."

"Heh. That's gay," muttered Max from the back right corner with a giggle, having overheard the conversation.

"I'll bet you I'm right."

"Alright, freak, you wanna bet?" asked Thompson with a bloodless grin, voice rising an octave in an indication of considering it.

"Fifty bucks," said Solomon immediately. Ms. Parker then turned back to address the class, and the conversation needed to take a break to avoid her attention. Observing out of the corner of his eye, Solomon noticed that Thompson was at least a little intrigued. After she sat down in front of her desk, having assigned some workbook task, they restarted the talk.

"A hundred nothing happens," countered Thompson.

"No, fifty's enough."

"Cold feet?"

Solomon offered his most chilling confident smile - one that caused even Thompson's smirk to dampen. "No. Just trying not to bankrupt you. I'm nice like that."

"Fuck you," said Thompson, albeit agreeingly. "I'll do fifty. Easiest money of my life. Better keep your word, though, or else I'll beat the shit out of you so hard you'll make even Nash look like a well-adjusted citizen." Their hands met in the sacred bond of agreement, as several other students rolled their eyes at the exchange.

After that, everyone waited - not showing any degree of interest, or much faith in Solomon's prediction. However, diametrically opposite, Solomon's heart was thumping unsteadily in his chest, adrenaline rising and blood pumping in what might've been the first case of sincere excitement he'd felt in years. What if his prediction was wrong? The Educator was a supernatural being, so what if he could spoof the predictions? He could conceive of that as being a potential source of interference.

As the clock ticked away, his excitement started to almost boil him alive from within. Josh was paying only half attention to the ticking of the clock, more often preoccupied with his conversations with Francis and Noah. Solomon could feel his fists clenching involuntarily as he looked on, finding the fifth minute from their bet approaching.

After that, a man entered the classroom. He wielded a carved walking cane and was dressed immaculately in a navy blue suit dotted with all manner of starlike patterns and twinkling silvery constellations, small crescent moons, and even a brilliant sun brooch over the heart. His head was adorned by a modest cornflower tophat with an embellishment in the style of gilded beads. His face was impossible to discern, as if blurred and sheathed in darkness simultaneously as if you were actively forgetting its features the moment you looked, and yet were certain you could discern it from a set of similarly concealed 'faces.'

"Good afternoon," he said, causing Ms. Parker to abruptly look up from her computer. It was now a crystal ball lying on a lavender-blue cloth, and the entire classroom was transformed in a similar fashion. The windows had shrunk and were covered by thick layers of dark, violet, and azure drapes, producing only soft illumination. The interior of the class was mostly lit by a set of candles that appeared on a number of surfaces, which honestly seemed like a serious fire hazard combined with the drapes.

"Oh dear," she said, beginning to stand from her chair. "Excuse me, sir, who are-"

"I," he said, and the cadence of the word cut through every rising whisper and word and even the brewing thoughts in the classroom, dispelling shadows of doubt and banishing even the slightest, narrowest traces of uncertainty, until the only thing remaining was absolute and utter attention directed towards him, even as he raised a perfunctorily outstretched index finger, cane gently clacking against the hardwood floor, "am the Educator."

"No fucking way," whispered Sam, a short-haired punk girl with several piercings, dropping her pencil from where she'd been drawing outlines in her sketchbook. Several of the people around the classroom looked at Solomon with shock, and he could feel Damien's eyes drilling into his back with such inquisitiveness it was almost concerning.

"Once more," the Educator uttered, in a much a softer and gentler timbre, now that he garnered the desirable amount of silence and gravitas from the class, "Good afternoon. Ms. Parker, why don't you have a seat? I promise I won't be long."

As if shocked - too shocked to respond coherently - Ms. Parker slumped back into her chair, hand rising to caress her forehead, staring wide-eyed at the Educator.

"Now. I wish to welcome everyone here present to my Class, namely - or to be more particular - the Freshman Class. For various reasons, I've sought the Enrollment of your specific student body in my prestigious three-year Education Course. Before I proceed, I must ask, is there anyone present who has questions, or does not wish to be here?"

Slowly, almost hesitantly, a single hand ascended above the heads of the students.

"Yes, Ms. Storm?" the Educator asked, directing his full attention to the hand's origin.

The hesitant hand belonged to a young and pretty girl, with a radiant ponytail of blonde and dark eyes. As soon as the Educator acknowledged her, she steepled her hands and breathed in calmly, as if to psych herself up before speaking to him.

Penelope Storm, thought Solomon. She's easily the most popular girl in class, what with being the daughter of the world's most famous superheroes and all. Or the most popular in Class, now, I guess. Shit, man, he said that with capital letters. How did he do that? How did I do that, just now?

For once, he was stumped, even as Penelope spoke up.

"I assume that means we'll be acquiring superpowers?"

"I am not certain I understand the question," answered the Educator, settling both hands on his cane.

"We'll be acquiring abilities. Supernatural powers. Yes?"

"I misspoke," said the Educator, raising an arresting hand. "I can understand exactly the form of the question. I was requesting you to expand on its source, Ms. Storm."

"The fuck," whispered Francis, many times more quiet than he'd ever been even whispering during Ms. Parker's classes. "He's actually fucking real. And in front of us."

Several of the other students looked at him, as he, in turn, looked at Josh, who looked stumped - in equal measure, seemingly, by losing a bet that was impossible to lose, as well as the fact this was occurring. At the same time, the dialogue between Penelope and the Educator continued without interruption.

"I only wished to ask if this process might be interfered with in any way by my being the child of two Enrolled."

"No, I do not believe so, Ms. Storm."

"Thank you, sir."

"Thank you, sir," whispered Mia, copying the tone, albeit with a deep color of shock. "How's she so fucking casual, like he's Mr. Wilson?"

"Now," the Educator said, once no one else's hands rose, "Assuming everyone here is a willing participant, at least until I am informed otherwise-"

Solomon's own hand shot into the air.

"Yes, Mr. Lancaster?" the Educator asked, not sounding even slightly upset at the interruption or suddenness of the gesture. Solomon didn't care to ask how he knew everyone's surnames. Presumably it was some kind of fucked up magic.

"So, if we want, we can leave?"

"Yes, Mr. Lancaster," the Educator responded.

The man cast a look around the classroom as if to test the atmosphere, before looking at Solomon once more. "This course is purely voluntary. You may quit at any time of the day, any time of the week and month, simply by saying so out loud. I'll naturally deliver anyone who does so to any safe location they desire. However, I should warn you that without this course's Education, you'll not be able to call upon any of the so-called 'miracles' that I am said to teach. A full three-year attendance is mandatory to be capable of independent manifestation and development in such mores and disciplines. I hope this, too, is understandable?" He looked around the classroom, receiving a smattering of vague, shocked nods and mutters of agreement and assent. "Excellent."

"I have a question, too," said Damien, raising a hand only a half-second after. "Um, uh, you are... or... well..."

"I am not George Orwell, and neither is the Theme of our Class his famous novel 1984, no," answered the Educator, sounding as though he'd actually misunderstood the question. "That'd be an incredibly terrifying Theme, I'll admit. I'll have to consider it in the future."

"No, uh, what I meant is," Damien stopped to breathe for a second, and then restarted, "Can you explain where you've brought us?"

"That'll be explained at a later point in time, Mr. Nash. However, the enthusiasm to learn is noted and much appreciated. Any other questions?"

He looked around. There was nothing. It seemed they'd exhausted the well of immediate concerns, and were now simply burningly curious to see what'd come ahead.

"Majestic," the Educator said placidly. He moved on swiftly to the next topic, "Now, before we proceed, I ought to mention, my name is, formally and officially speaking, the Educator. It'd behoove you to show respect and refer to me as such. However, in the recent past, certain of my students have come up with the affectionate nickname of 'Mr. Ed,' to which I am not entirely opposed as long as it's utilized outside of class hours, either in private conversation or more informal settings. I merely wished to note this before we proceed with the actual lesson. Its topic, of course, being..."

He turned around, not approaching the blackboard, staying about three paces away from it. A wave of the hand caused the stick of chalk to levitate, and sketch in perfect Arial font on the blackboard, the words: 'Tarot Cards.'

"Tarot," he punctuated out loud, as the chalk landed back on the shelf. "This, for the next three years, shall be your Class Theme. I'm afraid for various reasons, this is not up to negotiation. Now... the Tarot! An exciting Theme, full of potential and wonder. Please open your books to page eleven."

"Books?" asked Sam, looking around. "We don't have any-"

A number of tomes clattered onto each desktop, poofing in out of nowhere.

"Books. Page eleven," the Educator calmly repeated, with the same cheerful intonation.

Everyone followed the instruction and found a short catalogue - or perhaps, more accurately, a cheat sheet - of tarot cards with their associations and meanings.

"Tarot is an old tradition," the Educator expounded. "Albeit not as old as some would have you believe. According to known occultist Aleister Crowley, its origins are founded in the Jewish mysticism of the kabbalah, a fact which is patently not true - its origins are much more humble, as a simple card game not dissimilar to poker. It was only because of its eventual inclusion of religious and mystical themes around the sixteenth or seventeenth century that it started to gather a more spiritual reputation. However, even if the depth of its history may not run as profound and cavernous as many like to believe, it holds a degree of true power and meaning, still."

"Take, for instance, the Fool," he said, manifesting a card out of nowhere. It displayed a cheerful blonde youth with an exuberant face, about to step off a mountain, with a dog barking at them in warning.

"Almost limitless potential, curtailed by a number of shortcomings. It represents freedom and new beginnings, adventure, and idealism!" He flipped it around, showing an empty space, the Fool having fallen off the proverbial mountain peak, the dog now panting over the edge and barking in grief at the loss of its companion. "However, its darker side represents carelessness, reckless foolishness, and sheer naivete. It does not do to be foolish! It can be as deadly as it can be innocent!"

He drew a hand back and threw the card across the room, and it sailed over everyone's head like a bullet from a gun barrel, hitting the opposite wall and lodging itself in the middle of a wooden pillar, before exploding into a swarm of luminescent butterflies.

"Fate. Destiny. Meaning. Symbolism. Narrative," the Educator recited clamorously, each punctuated by a short, dramatic pause. "These are the concepts the Tarot revolves around, that it draws on its essence from. It'll be your Theme as Enrolled. Give it due consideration, as its ethos can make and unmake your very futures! Endeavor not to follow in the Fool's doomed footsteps, or else you may find yourselves walking off a mountain blindly."

With such an ominous declaration, the Educator swept off to the side, raising a finger as the door opened. "Now, all of you, please read pages one to ten, while I have a short conversation outside the classroom with Ms. Parker... Ms. Parker, if you would?" He looked at the frozen woman.

The young woman, so chipper and upbeat only several minutes ago, was now entirely reeling from confusion. She almost winced at her own name, but stood, ramrod straight with a nod as the Educator requested her to accompany him.

"Uhm, yes... yes, I'm coming." She walked over to the Educator, offering the students one final look of utter defeat and uncertainty. The Educator closed the door, and they were left in complete silence. Only they, a classroom remade to look almost like a marriage between a fortune-teller's tent and wagon, and the books he'd produced.

"Holy fuck," said Josh almost immediately after the door closed, his former smirks now a faded and distant past, looking at Solomon with sweat on his forehead. "How did you know? How did you predict this?"

"I'm just that smart," Solomon smugged. "You owe me fifty dollars."

"Did I hear that right, you predicted this entire thing?" Penelope asked, turning around to face the back of the classroom.

Huh, usually everyone brushes off everything I say. Even if I'm proven right in the end. I suppose this is somewhat different enough.

"Yeah," Solomon answered dubiously, staring at the popular girl.

"How?" she asked, and leaned forward, closer in his direction. Her voice was frightfully grave. "No, seriously. How?"

"Uhm, I'll explain it to you later," he said, kind of shocked at the sudden reception. "For now I think we should read the stuff that guy wants us to read."

She nodded in agreement and returned to her book. Harrison, the muscular football player, looked at Solomon for a second and asked, "Any other predictions?"

"Uh, not really... I'll let you know if I have any."

What is this? Why are they suddenly not so skeptical anymore?

"Thanks," he said and started reading.

---

Mechanics

It seems you were right, although you usually are.

Now, the mechanics shall be explained. In this quest, there are two distinct types of spendable resources:

[Will], representing the Slacking Loafer's current willingness and motivation to take unpleasant action, its management and inconvenience being the foremost flaw of his character. It's most often expended on actions such as studying, learning, training, social interaction, making breakthroughs, and so on. It can be restored mainly by slacking off, loafing around, and doing nothing productive whatsoever. It's essentially the resource you utilize to increase the effectiveness of your baseline actions.

At the moment, you have [370 Will], a decent sum made even larger by your being correct, having your claims seemingly make an impact for once, and being thrown into a dreamlike fantasy scenario right out of a storybook in which you'll almost certainly gain highly desirable superpowers.

Student Credit, representing an abstract measure of the thread's efforts, argumentation, involvement, and activity. It can be expended on achieving true excellence; breakthrough that are impossible with hard work or genius alone, but rather, require a combination of both married to prodigious luck and fortune.

Right now, you have 4.7 Credit, a seemingly modest quantity, and yet impressive given the amount of discussion and content you've generated so far.

---

Starting Items

Now, before the main crux of the vote happens, you must decide the assembly of items that Solomon decided to bring along with him. A write-in here costs .1 Credit, otherwise, each mentioned option is free of charge unless mentioned otherwise. However, you can only pack a maximum of fifteen items, including copies:

[ ] Comfy Pillow - Your own favorite pillow to sleep on. It will passively boost your Will restoration by a minuscule amount. Having more pillows won't help you because you only have one head. If perhaps you had some way to sprout more...?

[ ] Coffee Jelly - Your favorite treat. Eating it as a reward can motivate you and increase your Will during a drought of impetus.

[ ] Baton - A self-defense baton you made through whittling during your free time, a relatively pleasant and relaxing experience. For some reason, you anticipate these may be useful in short order, and sooner rather than later, although they'll - naturally - eventually be discarded in favor of all sorts of amazing superpowers.

[ ] Lighter - Stolen from your dad, borrowed from your neighbor Ms. Smith with no intent of being returned, or simply picked up from the ground and manually refilled. If sold or rented out alongside the cigarettes, you can make awesome profits. A gut instinct combined with simple deductive logic tells you someone will probably figure out pyromancy sooner rather than later, so packing more than one would be slightly superfluous, and its usefulness is tragically short-lived as a result.

[ ] Cigarettes [Free, then 10 Will for each purchase after the fourth] - The most common sin perpetrated on the lungs, and the ultimate contraband. Every high schooler needs their dose of cancer sticks, and you're happy to oblige. You avoided paying for them - and therefore doing the work - by mooching off your old man's supply stash for the last couple of weeks, until you gathered a decent amount. If you want a truly ridiculous amount, you'll have needed to work, though. It debatably makes you slightly immoral to sell these. Or, perhaps, more moral.

[ ] Survival Handbook To Educational Enrollment [Free, then 10 Will for each purchase afterward] - A handbook to surviving and succeeding an Enrollment, written by one Cassandra Prescott, also known as the Archivist, a graduate of the History Theme. It contains a number of useful tips and tricks for your Education, a list of potential and useful arguments that can be levied against the Educator and are recorded to have worked in the past, and some minor footnotes about the sort of things you may encounter. Based on interviews with other Enrolled, including exclusive commentary from the Metaphysicist on page sixty-five!

[ ] Solar Charger [75 Will] - An incredibly useful yet expensive item, as most of them aren't cheap, you would've had to (retroactively) work your ass off part-time to afford one, let alone several. Such a treasure will doubtless accrue price until someone can figure out a way of charging phones with magic, something you predict won't happen or be reasonably available for at least several months, letting you sell it or rent it out to your classmates for immense profit and favor.

[ ] Tarot Deck [5 Will, .1 Credit] - In an incredible feat of predictive fortune, you managed to snag one of these. Oddly, you can't tell how useful it might be, though. Presumably, there'll be lots of tarot decks around, but maybe having one of your own is gonna do or mean something special with all the magic you'll be throwing around?

[ ] Write-in [.1 Credit, potentially also Will]

It's recommended you format this part of the vote as a plan. Under his circumstances, Solomon would've predicted you won't need anything in the way of food or water, so you do not have to worry much about that unless you wish to bring along luxury items such as peanut butter to sell at marked-up prices.

Selling for money doesn't make a lot of sense currently, but you can hold off your goods until one of your classmates has something you want. Or, you can give them out freely and hope to earn yourself some favor points with your classmates.

---

Enrollment

After you've selected your items, a natural question remains: how does Solomon's Freshman Class (no longer having the honor of being high school juniors, apparently,) design the Roles, once they are done with reading the assigned material that introduces the topic to the unaware?

Each Enrolled, naturally, has a Role, an aspect of the Theme they manifest as the core of their power and center of their learning. Already, the Educator introduced you with the example of 'the Fool,' a brash and naive, yet adventurous and greatly dormant youth capable of performing great deeds, if they do not suffer an early death.

For this particular section of the quest, each player may craft an [ ] Idea: [Role], proposing a conception of a particular Role, much as the Educator's proposed interpretation of the Fool. A conception may be as broad, narrow, deep, and shallow as desired, and expanded upon by other players. A player may also freely challenge another player's conception with their own, arguing for how a Role should operate based on a different conception of it. A player can make propositions for multiple Roles, although it's somewhat encouraged to give others space to develop their own ideas, and gradually build off of each other: bonus Credit may be assigned for such endeavors.

Abilities, specific limitations, and so on can be named, and should be named in a fair and discerning manner - both for maintaining the spirit of equity and because of more practical concerns! Remember that you won't be the only individual receiving some of these Roles, and your favorite may not necessarily fall freely into your lap: the more powerful a Role, the more enticing it is, and the more students will want it, with the Educator potentially resolving a tie of interests in someone else's favor! At the same time, the more powerful a Role, the more inherent danger it presents, marking anyone bearing it as a potential target later on in the quest. There is a safety in relative 'weakness.'

The shape of the Roles, as they emerge, is in your hands, but the Educator is the final arbiter and can veto anything he deems unacceptable, ridiculous, or non-fitting. He's also the final arbiter of who receives which Role, if any disagreements should arise that cannot be resolved by their respective parties. The Educator can also propose or challenge ideas, or back them up, although this form of interference is fairly rare, as he seems to value his students' input and creativity far more than technical correctness.

It should be noted he's generally willing to acquiesce to reasonable ideas, such as 'the Vampire' not burning up instantly into ash when exposed to direct sunlight, as that'd disincentivize anyone from picking such a Role, the price not worth the benefits. However, he does look fondly at reasonable limitations as well, and may be willing to tolerate a slightly larger leeway of amazing superpowers if they are accompanied by some Thematic drawbacks.

At the end of the day, the ultimate and accepted form of a Role shall be based on a mixture of the following elements:
- General average and crux of what the players / students can agree on as being reasonable.
- What the QM / Educator believes is reasonable, transcending the element above to a moderate degree.

Naturally, Roles revolving around the Theme of Tarot Cards should most probably include actual tarot cards as Roles - giving you an incredibly diverse and ironically predetermined spread of them to pick from - although you're free to include auxiliary ideas.

For instance, something like 'The Fortune-Teller' might act as a considerable support and prediction-based Role...

If an insufficient amount of Roles is proposed, more shall be provided diegetically by the students. Likewise, if some are bypassed, the Educator shall provide some baseline ideas of his own, ones that won't necessarily be inherently to any degree inferior or superior to what you might've come up with.
 
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Oh by the way please try not to shit on other peoples roles. Cause that could cause said roles to actually become worse for other people. As in my god our classmates may start to hate us and we'll have weaker allies.
 
Positive? No, this is us scamming the Educator for more powers while putting in as little effort as we can get away with. The basic thesis is as follows:

1. The Hermit is a role of education, the old man on the mountain filled with great wisdom. Others may seek this wisdom to grow on their own paths, but that requires the Hermit to have understood and walked their path.
2. Therefore, the Hermit should be able to see what they see and know what they know, because there's no substitute for empirical experience
3. Therefore, we should gain some access to the powers of the people we teach in addition to our own explorations of enlightenment

The benefits are:

1. Character interactions
2. Minimal effort required from our lazy piece of shit for power growth
3. We can spend most of our actual effort and credits grinding towards Enlightenment, and becoming whatever the fuck the Educator is
4. People will be forced to listen to our sage advice, putting us in a useful position to politically influence the class
this and this
Alright well moving forward, here are my thoughts on the Loafers compatibility. No use crying over spilled milk gotta make the most of it.

First I want to note that I think there's definitely an argument to be made where the cards could draw powers from the names themselves. Eg. The Fool has some ability to fool people, the magician can embody magicians in media, the devil can use stereotypical devil powers, etc etc. It adds some variety to the arguments, I don't think the powers should be entirely contained to classical interpretations of the tarot. The symbolism and well known interpretations can provide a lot of foundation to arguments, but I think using the names as well is a reasonably logical conclusion, even if those names might not have had the same implication when they were developed.

The Fool: only if we can argue for the Fool to have powers over trickery as well. Or that because he's not using his potential, that he has a lot of room to grow. Overall I think this card has bad-meh compatibility, I'd give it like a 4/10. Probably one of the strongest cards overall though.

The Magician: I think this one actually has pretty good compatibility, if we can get the Loafer to get over his determination issue. There's a lot of focus on skills and abilities, using them to the fullest. The Loafer is the most talented student in the class, the magician could easily be argued to enhance his innate talents should he put in the effort to fully realize them. In the short term I think there's some issues though simply due to the fact that the magician (in many interpretations I've read), has willpower as a defining characteristic. I think the ceiling on this card is extremely high and it might allow the Loafer an incentive to work past his problems, so I think it's like a 7/10 right now with the potential to become a 10/10. It's got some very busted implications about harnessing the power of the heavens (an infinity symbol is a common symbolism), he's a conduit for extremely powerful forces.

The High Priestess- Eh I think this one is ok it's just similar to the Hermit/Hierophant. I think it's better to leave this to an intelligent female character. 4/10 only because of gender.

Empress- Again just gender issues. Don't think the themes of this card particularly synergize with the Loafer either. 2/10.

Emperor- This is one of those cards that if we wanted to go kinda evil with it I think would have decent synergy. Loafer doesn't really exude authority though, he's more of a power through influence character. He'll convince you he's right without you knowing that you're a puppet on strings. Doesn't fit the themes of the card imo, the emperor is a domineering authoritative presence. 5/10.

The Hierophant- So this one is kind of similar to the Hermit but they have some key differences. The Hierophant is wisdom and intelligence with respect to tradition and strong social structures. He's an active teacher where I'd argue the hermit is more of the teacher that others must come to. Where the hermit is the wise old man at the top of the mountain, the hierophant is a priest guiding the flock. He's got some themes revolving divinity too. He's kind of the male counterpart to the high priestess, with some differences. Overall I think the hermit kind of fits the loafer more overall, and I think the hermit has more potential to branch away from focusing on pure mentorship. It's still got decent compatibility though, simply due to the loafers predictive powers and mental strengths. 6/10

The Lovers- nope: 0/10

The Chariot- absolutely not he has zero determination. Even if he overcame that I think it would be painfully mediocre at best in his hands. Leave it to the Athlete. 1/10, 3/10 if he's decently motivated.

Strength- Not particularly. He doesn't mesh well with the themes, not much to say. Strength is pretty straightforward and none of what it does is really in the Loafers ballpark. 2/10

The Hermit- WoG says this one has the best compatibility based on birdsies understanding. That says a lot about its potential, but I think once we throw in arguments about power sets things can get a bit fuzzy. It's definitely got some things going for it. It allows for the Loafer to go on a personal journey of self understanding. Wisdom might go a long way towards helping his nihilistic standpoint, and it allows for him to expand on his predictive capabilities. Has the potential to be very strong, but I think the magician has a higher cap if we can get the Loafer motivated. My biggest concern with loafer is the implications of a solitary figure. Hermits are isolated, they alone stand at the peak of the mountain. Their journeys are done solo, I think it could cause issues for our social game. 9/10, dropped from 10/10 purely because I'm concerned about social implications.

Wheel of Fortune- Actually very good compatibility, it's focused a lot on fate and luck. The Loafer as a literal seer, has the strongest connection to fate. If he wasn't the strongest candidate for Wheel of Fortune I'd be moderately surprised. With that said, I think the rest of his character and themes don't mesh as well with it, so the other cards edge out. 7.5/10.

Justice- Loafer doesn't really strike me as this type of character. He could, I think it's one of the easier ones to act out, but I think there are cards with significantly more synergy. 3/10.

The Hanged Man- I find this one to be very meh compatibility. He could go in this direction but I'm not sure I particularly want him to? Sacrifice is a rough thing to draw power from. Someone is always losing something. 5/10.

Death- I actually think that this one has amazing compatibility with the caveat that it is terrible for our mental state. Loafers more nihilistic tendencies can pair very well with having powers over death. "Everything ends eventually" is something I'm sure he considers a lot as a seer. Really really good for power but I don't think most of us want the Loafer to go down this road. 8/10, points detracted for issues with characterization.

Temperance- Not sure to be honest. I think this card is weird to draw up powers and compatibility for, 5/10 for thematic reasons.

The Devil- Reasonably high compatibility but similar to Death. He would have to embrace his manipulative side, which I don't think would have very good implications on his character journey. 7/10.

The Tower- Moderate compatibility, less so than Death imo. Depends on what direction you take Tower. This is one of those cards that has really powerful themes, so it could reasonably be argued in a direction to better fit the Loafer. It's got themes of destruction and chaos though. 6/10, could reasonably be argued up.

The Star- Meh, he's not really a font of joy and hope. 3/10.

The Moon- I think he's intelligent enough to use this to a very high degree. Illusions and trickery are good tools to have when you're smarter than everyone around you. Fear and secrets are things that go pretty well for a seer. We could try to argue some ties to the moon with divination, see if it provides us with some predictive assistance. Good card, 8/10.

The Sun- see the Chariot, 1/10, 3/10 if he's determined.

Judgement- You could argue that as a seer he has the strongest ability to judge others (since he can quickly interpret everything you have or will do wrong). He doesn't really strike me as the type to fit that power set though. 6/10.

The World- I think this one is actually pretty bad since the World is all about a completed journey and fulfillment. The Loafer is kind of like the opposite of that, he's seen a lot but he hasn't really done a lot. There's some argumentation to be had here, but for me personally this is like a 4/10.
I believe are fairly useful for arguments we can make right now.
 
[X] Coffee Jello Tycoon
-[X] Coffee Jello x15

This is.. the way.

Lets burn all Fifteen packs on powering the Role pick if we have to. Supplies we can get again. The mantle of the Role is permanent.

We must munchkin our way into the most interesting, compatible character possible. Let the options and secret synergies beyond our reach unveil with the power of.. Coffee Jello.
 
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Most of discord doesn't seem to want it I argued for it cause it could even turn into an artifact or something.
Man, it would be really polite for those people to have that conversation in the thread where everyone can see them instead of some chatroom, huh.

Anyway, general advice for making friends at school is to bring some cough drops and Tylenol, someone will need them at some point. Might look into the cards and suggest some roles later.
 
[X] The Con Is On

Outlined Items
Survival Handbook To Educational Enrollment
Tarot Deck
Comfy Pillow
Baton
Solar Charger
Phone full of + USB of Calibrated "Educational Videos" [0 Will, .1 SC]
Cigarettes
Lighter
Coffee Jello x7
All of this, and whatever else we might muster, is to be spent on securing a favourable interpretation of our desired role.

This early period is critical. We need to shove through as favourable an interpretation of our chosen role as swiftly as possible, ideally something that requires minimal to no effort to advance while still yielding substantial dividends. With that in mind, the answers are clear: we need to farm as much political capital with our class as we can, as quickly as we can. The entire set of items we buy are calibrated around that, wielding vice, information disparity, reasonable self defense ability and a shitload of coffee jello to give Solomon the will and tools necessary to turn his class to his side for this single, all important vote.

Whatever role we pick, making it something that yields maximal dividends for minimal effort is something that will yield increasing benefits over time. The long term is important, but less relevant that the immediate, crucial decision. Don't spend: invest.

Note: I will minorly adjust the above plan as needed in accordance with new information, but the core principle will remain the same.
 
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If were grabbing cough drops and tylenol at that point we should just grab weed at least that would work with a role. I imagine being high as a kite would make looking at fate very easy.
 
[X] The Con Is On

Shopping List
Survival Handbook To Educational Enrollment
Tarot Deck
Comfy Pillow
Baton
Solar Charger
USB of Calibrated Pornography [0 Will, .1 SC]
Cigarettes
Lighter
Coffee Jello x7

This early period is critical. We need to shove through as favourable an interpretation of our chosen role as swiftly as possible, ideally something that requires minimal to no effort to advance while still yielding substantial dividends. With that in mind, the answers are clear: we need to farm as much political capital with our class as we can, as quickly as we can. The entire set of items we buy are calibrated around that, wielding vice, information disparity, reasonable self defense ability and a shitload of coffee jello to give Solomon the will and tools necessary to turn his class to his side for this single, all important vote.

Whatever role we pick, making it something that yields maximal dividends for minimal effort is something that will yield increasing benefits over time. The long term is important, but less relevant that the immediate, crucial decision. Don't spend: invest.

Note: I will minorly adjust the above plan as needed in accordance with new information, but the core principle will remain the same.
Wait will we even be in a location that has a computer to use the USB. It may be better to just grab porn mags at that point.
 
[X] Purchase Plan: Coffee Jelly 1st, Survival 2nd
-[X] Coffee Jelly x9
-[X] Comfy Pillow x1
-[X] Baton x1
-[X] Survival Handbook To Educational Enrollment x4

Comfy pillow and Coffee Jelly for maximum willpower, Baton for self defense, keep one handbook for personal use, pawn/gift the rest.
 
Wait will we even be in a location that has a computer to use the USB. It may be better to just grab porn mags at that point.

It's a modern high school where the daughter of two of the most important people in the world are going. I'm betting they have personal laptops in class. If not, I'll adjust the plan in accordance with that.
 
Wait so are we being transported to a fantasy land or are we staying in the modern world. I'm only asking because if were going to a fantasy world we cant charge the computers.
 
Wait so are we being transported to a fantasy land or are we staying in the modern world. I'm only asking because if were going to a fantasy world we cant charge the computers.

That's what the Solar Charger is for. Given that its said to be important for a few months, we'll probably have a monopoly on charging power.
 
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[X] The Con Is On
For the one trying to get four of them we could rent the book out instead or gift it to people we like to borrow. We'll be spending three years here after all.
 
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