The world is changed drastically. Most of Oregon is ruled over by the Phantasian Council and its Shining Prince. The United Kingdom serves the Crown of Logres and the Court of Camelot. And even five years after the Metaphysicist's debut, the northern hemisphere continues to experience dimensional imbrication with worrying regularity.
(Not to be confused with that one superhero setting with the Russian Gun-toting Batman Anime Girl.)
For thousands of years humanity has attempted to prove Moral Realism as the true absolute model of Ethics. From Plato tying it to his ideas to Religion later on, a lot of people want the idea that the right thing to do is a set in stone objective truth as gravity is.
Penelope couldn't believe that it was anything more than absolute, undeniable, Cope.
Cope, Cope, cope.
How could anyone see that school of thought as anything else?! When even gravity was something to be disproven, as a matter of fact there were hundreds of people who disproved the laws of physics casually and dozens of them left education on a regular basis. Her parents did it. A regular basis, it was practically their job.
She then used a large amount of mental fortitude to stifle a sigh and stop herself from letting her head fall on her desk.
It was a bad time to remember her private philosophy lessons and she could do less with thinking about old Greek guys and their beliefs, despite how much her dad enjoyed ancient Hellenic crap. You didn't name yourself Olympian if you weren't a fan in some ways.
Probably why she was named after a female figure known for her shrewdness, loyalty and patience. Or maybe she was named this way because in some traditions she cheats on Odysseus with all suitors and gives birth to Pan, the embodiment of natural chaos.
If she was their hope for the future though why not pick a name like Athena or feminization of a heroic name. Unless they wanted her to weave her way out of problems. It wasn't like being named Atlanta Storm or something would make her stand out any less than Penelope.
Though it seems like it wouldn't be something her goody two shoes old man would do. It would certainly have some fucked connotations, luckily her father hasn't displayed any telltale signs of the evil superman trope. He had a good relationship with his family, he doesn't talk about humans as mortals, or inferiors or anything. He can get rough with bad guys though, however most of those bad guys can take it. The Metaphysicist can more than take it actually, according to several fanfics her fellow students have published online.
Mpreg is so fucked up. She could only flag so many before she realised her best bet is to simply ignore that they exist, for her own mental health.
It was not easy being their daughter. She had to carry the expectations of the people who carried the expectations of the entire world, and she didn't have superpowers, not yet. This was it though, the hours upon hours of extra curricular training, the lifetime of being the perfect child to embody their expectations.
This was gonna be the moment to rise up to the occasion. Even with Solomon's freaky precognition she still held a massive sway of the class, she could angle for whatever role she wanted.
The Sun, World and Emperor stood out to her as classical leadership and powerful roles. Though all in different capacities depending on varied interpretations.
Why the fuck did it have to be tarot cards though? Why couldn't it be super duper ultra God's or like at least something where there was a clear best option, like with the Evil Mastermind or her dad for fuck's sake!
Even thinking of that Saturday Cartoon villain made her upset, though a lot of things made her upset. Still she felt like it was a fair emotion to have over the fact that her dad's arch Nemesis could be and is likely plotting his demise through her. She really was a secondary character in their story, she just hoped this was her being set up for a future story where she was the protagonist instead of a tragic turn where she gets assassinated at her moment of glory. Though from what she knew of her classmates, it would be extremely lame of her to get put down by any of them except the Senator maybe. At least he had the build and if he was revealed to be acting this entire time at least it would be a good twist.
Once more she used her immense self control to not groan in indignation.
Maybe this actually was her chance to escape it all. She could with the Moon or something and slowly and steadily escape to the shadows and take some time thinking about what she would like to do with her life as opposed to what was expected of her.
She wasn't gonna take drugs or go mental with evil, maybe take a couple years or decades consuming mindless media and eating copious amounts of ice cream. That sounded nice, not doing anything.
If she wasn't bothered by the idea of disappointing her ageing parents she would have maybe probably gone for it. There were other people obsessed with being good people, it didn't have to be her. Though at the same time she didn't hate the idea of being the next Olympian for the world, it was just that she didn't really know what else was available to her realistically. It would be nice to window shop a bit for a casket before hammering the nails in.
She couldn't hold it back any longer as she broke the tip of her pencil against the notebook by pressing too hard.
Letting her thoughts roam freely she simply began to just feel bad. On one hand, she wasn't immediately and undoubtedly jumping to her birthright of being the class leader and paragon and on the other hand she wasn't willing to truly consider what her happiness away from common perception would be like.
Sun and Moon, day and night. She had to pick which side she would live on and there was probably no going back. Tarots were up to interpretation but you couldn't really argue that the Sun should allow to retreat from the view of the crowds and maybe explore the world, find out about why things happen and what her parents hide from her. Same thing for the moon, you can't see it and expect to stand as a sole undeniable paragon of Virtue and source of power for people to rely on.
She looked up from her notebook and at the regular sized blackboard with way too many words written out clearly. Maybe this was actually the moment her namesake would do something and she would have an epiphany.
Weave a shrewd tapestry where she could both be someone to be relied on, where she could have the knowledge kept away from her, where she didn't have to be the Olympian or the recluse who turns away from the world.
The High Priestess smiled back from the drawing on the board, as if it already knew.
(Cameo from my dog tier traditional art, I promise to redraw it digitally to a palatable status when I am not working)
[X] The Devil: Keeper ofSheol[290 Will, 25 Credit]
The Keeper of the gates that divides the realms, laughs. From disillusionment, madness, joy or relief.. None can say as they pass beneath his sight. The Tempter and the Redeemer, Do as thou wilt. He cares not.
*Capricorn's Ascension: As mortal conflicts you participate escalate, your third eye opens. You see the the footholds in time where branches spilt to possibilities of triumph or doom - the precipice that changes the course of everything, decreed by the hand of Fate. Whether or not you possess the ability to execute the shatterpoint lays on you.
*Beloved of Saturn: you will always have, Time. Your form in the world of Matter is effectively frozen to your idealized permutation. As the Child of Time, ripples of the stream submit to your will. Slicing off branches, temporal permutations of yourself, hastening or slowing the flow to a crawl.. is all within your palms. Za Warduo.
Additionally, you may also reverse entropy, for as long as Saturn's grace wills. Replenish life force of beings and systems, negate the effects of deterioration.
*Pan's Labyrinth: Bearer of the keystaff of Caduceus, unlock the Gates of Matter. Powers of True Alchemical Transmutation is in your hands, constrained by only your heart.
*Open the Gates corporeally into the material world, calling forth the Goetic daemons into being. As they manifest, they take on forms for this realm drawing from your shadow self. You will feel their void in soul, and should they be slain a measure of your self will be lost.
*The Maw, fed by strife and spiritual energies will gape wide vomiting forth hordes of lesser denizens that fade back to the conceptual realm, lasting heartbeats.
*Additionally, step through the Gates. Time trickles to a crawl, branches of time shaping themselves into the Labyrinth. Witness the shards of possibilities of what was, and could be peering through the branches. Don't stare too long lest you be lost.
*Eyes of Ayin: Through the mystical connection to the concept of Ayin, you gain True Sight, allowing you to see truth in all things. Illusions fade, mysteries unravel, souls lay bare before you. Deceptions fall apart. No mortal may lie while staring into the beacons of Truth.
*Ledger of Souls: Enter binding pacts with any sentient, laying open the Gates of Matter. Bestowing its blessing and dreams of the labyrinth. And the services of those within. For each contract or adversary defeated claim a steady well of spiritual energy. Live on interesting times, feasting on strife and upheaval.
@Birdsie
Collab with OctarineStrike, new iteration of a possible Devil combing the best of both. We tried to include in as much Devil symbology as possible so as to sway the Educator in a power debate. [X] Rihaku
