#ruleroverpower

The January air is just as brick within AEON as outside the occult store, yet....more. It's the sound of ripping, of tearing. A fabric stretching at its seams, but felt. Akin to the senses, as if something from the very fabric of reality was torn asunder.

Or someone.

The proprietress of the occult store was nowhere to be seen, her partner and younger brother similarly absent. At least, when given a first glanced, it appeared so.

'Trust not only one sense, trust not just one's eyes, dear thief'

Nothing stood out of place, the wares of the shot crystalline within the unworldly lighting of the shop, but silent. The Aria of the soul, her songstresses and pianist silenced, only heightening the coldness.

Then, a tarot card. The Empress. Then another, the world. Thee cards leave a trail, meaning lest uncomprehending in their wake without their reader to speak life into them. Without their ruler to bring about the PERSONAS that were imparted to each.

A sign of a struggle or....futility, perhaps.

Le grimore is lies closed, a foreboding in it's sense of finality. The book withholding knowledge beyond human comprehension was never one to be left alone, its pages never stained with imperfections. Yet the golden trim is akin to rust, azure hues blackened.

And beside it is a heap of a formerly touchless being.

Golden eyes are unseeing, pupiless and bright. Crimson lips remain still. A single card hid one of the dolls eyes and snow dust lashes.

XIII DEATH.

happy third semester ryuji

To think that bliss in itself could be used as this brand of weapon. Normally, Ryuji wasn't the sort to dive his head into profound concepts, yet the cranking gears of life were making a demand to step up by each goddamn day. Layered over Tokyo, no, beyond that, it feels like endless worlds were a sensation of a grasp that could be actively sensed by his inner self. Feeling the imposed realm of tranquility has never promoted such a disturbed ache within his fundamental being.

In short, akin to many things life tossed at him so far, it was pissing him off.

The first order of business would be to see exactly how much has changed. Knowing the workings of the Mastermind on this scale, loved ones being harmed at least would never be an issue. This journey as one of the world's saving forces, pariah, to saving force to another goddamn time has led to a wide sleuth of struggling souls who aimed to ally themselves with their cause.

So why wouldn't this lead one of his first stops to be directly before this mysteriously little shop? The delinquent's gaze was fixed in a sharp, mildly anxious stare as he peered into the dark innards of the store through the modest glass framing. That said, why would such a sensation be rolling heavy in his gut? Ever since he found himself actively breaking through that reality with an unknown quality known as Observation, what was once a paradise felt like a parasitic grip upon those supposed desires.

..Not that they weren't gone, rather, damn it, too complicated.

"Let's just see if shit is rollin' the same in here." He grunts while the mild winter chill bit at his face. Gripping at the handle, a modest jingle rings from the front of this particular little store as the blonde finds himself entering the establishment.

"Yo, ol' face coming through for the home gang here." He announces with a brisk and lively tone, laced with grit. While the usual array of instrumentals and good opera singing would be the fondly expected at this point, Ryuji is met with this disturbed sense of silence.

....

Not that silence in itself stirred like an unusual concept. 'Nahhhh man. Nah nah nah, my body has been screamin' this kinda junk at me the whole damn time. This is like that kinda quiet when you're ten damn seconds away from getting mugged. Not like when the heater stops it's whinin' on a Saturday night.' He internally summarizes. Thus, the thief's steps are laced with caution as he begins to actively advance through the small isles of knickknacks.

An irregularity brings pause upon these liveless floors as Ryuji is compelled to pause, his attention drifting down to the array of those particular cards he's leagues more adjusted to see floating compared to being anywhere bound to the ground. Abruptly leaning down and sliding the cards into hand with a wave of his arm, he brings them back up, not giving too much attention to details and moreso to their state. The way he knows this store's owner, this is one of the last damn things that would ever be like this.

Thus he immediately drives deeper into the store, irritation masking worry as he barks out. "Yo, Margaret! New years prankin' time has been stuffed to the wayside! Where the hell are you!? Cause I sure at laughing!"

What he stumbles upon causes those very cards to be dropped from his hand. A choked breath is seized within his airways and the raw pressure of such a situation creeps up his spine like an ancient curse. Processing is harshly grated against a need to take action, to do something, any-damn-thing. Scrambling to the back ends, another hand was hastily ripping his phone from his jacket pockets as he immediately slides down by her side.

"Damn it all, Margaret!!"

Death would peer its gaze from that very card as the blonde couldn't pay it any mind. Not when someone who stuck by him through some true hell could've been reflecting the definition pained upon that ethereal slate that held wisdom of the Arcana.

"Shit man! Just listen I got a damn emergency here!" The harsh grip within his throat was making it difficult to even ground these words out. Keeping her carefully lied flat upon the floor, the conversation to get some help feels like a blur in itself. All he could truly focus on was the disturbingly fragile appearance of one of the strongest damn people he knew. Too many questions, not enough answers, concern, all that roared through his mind was that he needed to do something.

She couldn't be.. could she..?

❛   hey,   you’re the tarot card reader,   right   ?   could you do me a reading   ?   ❜    there’s something   ...   oddly familiar,   almost as if the air is recognizable.   but it’s a foolish thought   ---   she’s never been in here before.   ❛   a co-worker of mine recommended the place to me.   ❜

Entertainment outside the Casino? Such a notion was unheard of to the residents of this world, save for one. The Manager’s perceptions were woefully limited by the few things that captured the attention of her busied self in the other world. How kind of her to take notice of something new for once. A new, lone outlier gleamed brightly amidst the dull, empty carbon copy of Tokyo that existed within her slice of the Metaverse. What lied within? 

That was exactly what she wanted to find out. Oddly enough, she didn’t have an answer, unlike with other things in this case. Sae’s perceptions and expectations usually formed a picture her Shadow was well aware of. But this shop? It’d been enough to capture her attention momentarily, yet the expectations held by her other self were a complete mystery! For once the gambler was presented with the unique opportunity to be surprised. 

[~☪~] The door creaked open as the male stepped into the room that he found now looked very similar to the inside of a cushioned car with a mini bar...

Having been asked by their Master to look after the abandoned Elevator that was all that remained of the space in the Velvet Room that once belonged to the Guest that had been under Elizabeth’s Guidance...

It wasn’t often he would emerge unless he wanted to speak with a certain Empress... since was always willing to listen to his questions and answer with the best of her ability.

It was fair to see that she wasn’t assisting her Guest at the time.

   This...was a far cry from the velvet limousine, and yet. Decorated with baubles aplenty, wreathed in deep blues and chased in gold . So many years removed from the case -- the entirety of college -- and yet, the Attendant’s presence was unmistakable. Safe in his bookbag, a spiral bookmark still kept to its solemn duty, recalling his place in the latest book. Unbidden, an old man’s words echoed through his mind.

Do you believe in fortune telling? Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different... Life itself follows the same principles, does it not?

   He’d gotten a tip -- okay, okay, he’d read about it on 2ch -- about an occult shop that offered eerily accurate tarot card readings. Given the dire straits of the Shadow Operatives, supplies were slightly more difficult to come by than Charlie preferred. With the strange activities hurtling around in Tokyo, it would be useful to have someone to compare notes to, if this Aeon proprietor was reliable.

   And there were few more reliable than Margaret.

At the rate Morgana was skipping out on Akira’s school, he was fit to become another delinquent like Ryuji... not. This was strictly an investigative matter, one that could be a potential boon for the team. Some chatty students had mentioned this store, particularly it having some ‘pretty cool stuff you can’t get anywhere else’.

scandal sentence starters

“Well, if I was spying on you, I would have been trying harder not to be noticed.” After all, what kind of Phantom Thief was he if he was easily noticeable? Then again, with the aura of power that hummed from her, the kind he was familiar with from a set of twins, his normal stealth might not have been so helpful.