Characters: Diwa and Merrill (played by my roommate)
Content Warnings: None
Location: Diwa's Trailer
It's the first days of the show, when letters haven't particularly opened yet. Everyone in the show gets assigned a personal trailer to live in.
Diwa gives Merrill a tarot reading of nebulous findings. Things get a little tense after that.
Diwa's trailer is elegant and a little maximalist. The outside is decorated with a blanket put up over poles to shield some of the outside from the sun.
The inside is decorated with darker colours and vague trinkets aplenty. Seems like Diwa has already unpacked for the month.
After unpacking her things, Merrill thought it was high time to get to know the other contestants a little more closely. Although there were many more …. Eccentric characters to choose from, Merrill had already gotten a good enough gauge on them to know what to do next. Diwa, he was uncertain about.
Merrill approached Diwa’s trailer and knocked lightly. “Hello~? Mind if I come in?”
The trailer door is ajar, which is social convention for: I'm not expecting visitors but you're allowed to come in if you desire.
That, or Diwa forgot to close the door.
But they're sitting on one of their dining chairs, idly shuffling a deck of tarot cards with a disinterested expression on their face.
Until Merrill knocks. Diwa puts the cards on the table and stands, opens the door all the way. Without the veil and the distance you can inspect their face a little bit closely. It's riddled with beauty marks and sun spots, but the part that stands out most are their eyes. It doesn't even look as if they belong to them.
Whatever that means.
"Ah--Merrill, yes?" Merrill: they greet you with a smile. "Not at all. Make yourself at home." 🙂
Merrill returns the smile full force. Diwa was quite pretty up close, they thought. But those eyes…. Hm.
“Thank you for your hospitality~! I’m so excited to have the chance to chat with you.” They enter the room with a bit of a skip in their step, their skirt flowing behind them slightly.
“Wow, your sense of decor is quite nice~ Ah! Are those tarot cards?” ^-^ She reaches for the deck lying on the table.
Diwa thinks that Merrill is about what they expected from a contestant for Seeking Monster. Cute, smiling...vaguely inhuman in a nonoffensive way. Call it a gut feeling.
"Thank you." They close the door after Merrill and sit back down, lifting up the deck to show her. The edges of it are old but gilded in gold.
"I've had this one for a while. It's always good to do a few readings in new situations. It makes me feel..in control, I think."
Merrill glanced briefly towards the closed door, then hummed.
“I can understand that. I quite like to do tarot as well, from time to time.” Her voice had lowered into a softer, more wistful tone.
He seemed to get lost in thought for a moment, taking in the look of the cards. Then he quickly snapped out of it.
“So!” He beamed, clapping his hands together. “Why don’t we do a reading right now~? Since we’re in this new situation together, and all!”
Their eyes lock onto Merrill with more interest at the suggestion. They raise their eyebrows some, the corner of their lips quirking up into a smile.
"Interesting." What is bro talking about.
"I don't see why not." They begin shuffling the cards again. Their hands are elegant and nimble.
"Standard past-present-future is okay with you?"
Merrill smile grows at Diwa’s heightened interest, and she sits down next to the table excitedly.
“Sounds perfect! You lead the way~”
"Great." Merrill sees Diwa squeeze the cards, nails tapping against them idly.
"First you need to ask the cards a question. Make it open ended, please."
Merrill’s eyes linger on Diwa’s tapping motions. Sort of mesmerizing..
“Hmm~ How about this: How will this show go for the two of us?” She smiles. “Maybe it’s not wise to lump our fates together, but I figure we’re already intertwined anyway~”
"I see." Her question doesn't faze Diwa, who cuts the deck and draws three cards from it.
"I will interpret the cards for you and you will choose to take this interpretation however you wish. Standard tarot--" Whatever that means. "--relies more on the user's introspection rather than actual magic."
Merrill nods. Standard tarot.. Actual magic..? What does Diwa know about these things? She’ll have to keep an eye out.
“Alright, interpret away~”
Diwa is normal 🙂
Merrill is 🤨🤨
"We have three cards in front of us." Ignore the pink cutting mat. It's not canon. "I will flip them over one by one and give you information about the card."
"Our first card is the reversed Page of Swords. This card represents your--or I guess our--past. I have handy notes in the cards themselves for ease of interpretation."
"Swords typically represents one's mind. The truth, your intellect, whatever you want to call it. The Page of Swords upright typically represents curiosity, but we don't have an upright page here."
"Reversed...there is a lack of restraint shown in the past. The image you are--or were--putting out into the world is one you should question. We can assume an uncertain and perhaps unplanned past in this card."
Merrill’s eyebrows raise slightly, but his ever present smile does not leave his face.
“Hm… I see. I suppose I am a little flighty~” he laughs a little. “What about the next one?”
Diwa does not agree nor disagree with Merrill. Their voice sounds painfully neutral. They flip over the next card.
"The Moon--reversed. This card symbolises our present." Something about it makes Diwa's eyes crinkle up in a genuinely amused smile.
"The Moon is a major arcana card. These cards typically represent something bigger than the minor arcana does--whether that be a constant theme in your life or a significant lesson throughout."
"The Moon when it's upright is still a mysterious card. It represents uncertainty and illusions--the moon's light is only reflective of the sun and receives none of its own."
"Reversed, again...it takes on a more commanding meaning. You're in the depth of these illusions--there is something you're hiding that's hindering your progress in life. But The Moon reversed means that you'll soon come out on the other side. Keep your eyes open for any signs of the illusion clearing and the truth showing itself."
Merill bursts out in laughter at that, remembering to cover her mouth with her hand a little too late.
"That's so dramatic~! Ah, if only my life really was that intense... that would certainly make things more interesting. Maybe this one's more about you than me, Diwa~" He rests his chin on his palm. "Are you in the depth of an illusion?"
"You may interpret this as a metaphor if you wish." Diwa seems unamused by Merrill's laughter, and as such, they deign to ignore it.
They smile some, toying with the edges of the golden card.
"I'm quite fond of this card. It comes up often in my readings, for reasons I can't tell you." But they try to give Merrill something to feed on anyway. "I find my vision to be straightforward enough. Though that's not to say I'm not concealing a part of myself for this show--I'd argue everyone is."
Merrill nods, noticing Diwa's displeased reaction to her laughter, and opts for a small smile. "Ah, yes! That would make sense. It's a big part of the premise, after all.. anonymity and whatnot. I think it's lovely that you have such a deep connection with it."
They clear their throat abashedly. "I apologize for my rudeness! Should we go on to the final card?" ^^
Diwa graces Merrill's attempt to recover with a punishing nod. You get no polite pleasantries, gardener!
They flip over the last card and raise their eyebrows. There may be a little surprise showing in their calm face.
"King of Swords. Reversed. Swords as we established is associated with the mind and intellect. Linking it with our previous page may indicate an ascension to a higher position of sorts."
"The King of Swords represents a guiding mentorship. Reversed it shows the same mentorship, but it may have ulterior motives in your life: seeking to teach by manipulation or abusing the power given to them. You are advised to learn from this figure but keep your distance--though of course, this is only a recommendation."
Merrill seems to be working to maintain her neutrally pleasant face, and she glances at Diwa then back at the cards a few times. She nods and says nothing for a moment.
"Well!" He smiles more fully, now. "That is certainly interesting. I may have joked around a bit before, but... this was quite nice to do with you, Diwa. Thank you for your insight~!"
"It's good that you enjoyed it." No: of course--or--my pleasure.
"If I read cards for people, I tend to ask for their own interpretations of them." They place their elbows on the table, tuck their chin between their hands.
"So tell me, Merrill. What does the reading mean to you?"
Merill breathes in deeply, and for maybe the first time since being here she looks genuinely uncomfortable, if not for just a second. But he quickly recovers, and his face goes back to being unreadably relaxed.
"Hmm~ Well, I can't say that I'm too sure, but... "
First, he points to the Page of Swords. "Like I mentioned before, I would say I'm not the most disciplined person~ I just take things day by day, following wherever life takes me, even if I'm not particularly happy there. My job, for example~" He sighs, looking exaggeratingly put upon.
"And then..." they point to the Moon. "... I suppose I do tend to put up a wall around myself, on occasion." He gives a small smile. "Especially in my love life~ It's hard to be completely honest with everyone, you know!"
Finally, they point to the King of Swords. "And, well.... this one's the future, so I suppose I'm not sure what it means quite yet." His avoidance is palpable.
He smiles broadly and openly. "But technically, this reading wasn't just about me. So, what does this reading mean to you?"
Here lies what Diwa may argue is their greatest weakness. They always seek a way to get the upper hand on their opposition.
Even more specifically: they seek a way to prove they're better than others. When being met with Merrill's vague descriptions they hum and nod with vague consideration. And then Merrill bounces the question back, and well, is it not a show of power to willingly provide someone with information they just refused to give to you?
"The Page." Their painted nail (dark turquoise) points to the glossy card. "Most of my life has been surrounded by a pursuit of knowledge which has been withheld from me. When I was younger my desperation to find it was messy and unpractised. I didn't know what I was doing--only that I wanted something, and I wanted it terribly badly. I'm ashamed to say that set me back quite a lot--I've spent years atoning for my younger self's mistakes." A response with an extreme amount of detail, yet nothing at all.
"The Moon." They tap on the next card. "As I said before, is a frequent visitor in my readings. Most of what I want right now is vague and insurmountable to other people: I find it easier to hold it close to my chest instead of showing my cards, even if it would allow others to help me, and me to return that favour." A pause. "I believe I am the moon in this hypothetical reading."
"And finally, the King." This time they lift the card up a bit and toy with its edges. "Symbolising a wise mentor who might not have your best interests at heart."
They raise their gaze and meet Merrill's lilac eyes with their own blank sclera.
"I believe I'm bound to become someone's King of Swords soon enough."
Something in Merrill's demeanor changes. Their smile doesn't drop, but they meet Diwa's eyes with an intensity that wouldn't have seemed fitting for the dreamy gardener of this morning.
They can't lose complete grasp of their veil so early on in the game, though, so they breathe in, breathe out...
"Is that so?" She muses, and leans back in her seat. Her voice is as soft as ever, and it clashes so fiercely with the face she's making that it's slightly uncanny. "Well~ Thank you for being so honest with me. I suppose it is a little embarrassing how closed off I was with you, now."
"But," she stretches, standing up. "I'm afraid it would not be wise of me to reveal my own hand so early. I'm sure you understand that intimately, since you seem to have a similarly fraught background."
"I'll tell you this one thing, though." She puts her hand on the table and leans closer to Diwa's face, tilting her head a little. Merrill's own face is completely deadpan, at this point. "I have a mission to accomplish here. I don't have time to waste peddling about. And I don't have the energy to put up with anyone who will get in my way."
Merrill smiles at Diwa benignly.
"So if we're both destined to become Kings... let's make sure our paths don't cross."
Diwa returns Merrill's stare of intensity with an almost smug grin that boasts an invisible victory. Of what game is entirely unclear to both of them.
Up close, Diwa's skin is a little dry and textured and littered with sun spots and beauty marks. It's easier to make out the ring of their iris when Merrill is up close like this. Diwa uses the opportunity to inspect her in kind.
"I do understand." Their voice is a little less calm, a little more exhilarated. Call it a victory rush. "And I can reassure you that I don't believe our paths will cross. But if they do..."
There's a pause of consideration.
"I won't make it easy for you, Merrill."
Merrill grins wide and unabashedly, now. The expression holds none of the same sickeningly sweet friendliness that it usually does. Up close, her face doesn't look too different-- beyond some freckles and small scars that aren't visible from far away.
"Likewise, Diwa."
Finally, he backs away, then turns on his heels in his usual graceful way to head back out the door. He pauses at the doorframe right before leaving.
"It really was nice to meet you~ Whether or not we meet this way again."
And then Merrill is gone, and the door is closed.
🙂
Always nice to make new friends!