video @molly

[devilstongue]

[The camera clicks on, and is a little wonky and dark for a moment until a lavender hand corrects it to face the right way. An old dark-wood table comes to view, covered in dripping candles and shiny knick-knacks, and the room is covered in tapestries and drapery, like someone tumbled through a fabric shop and grabbed anything pretty or vaguely mystical.

You can almost smell the incense through the camera.

On the other side of the table is your friendly neighbourhood circus man, dressed about as colorful as the room and smiling coyly as he looks into the camera. (Or at least he fucking hopes he is, stupid modern technology.) Those solid red eyes reflect some of the candlelight, and the baubles and jewelry he wears glimmer as well - all to draw attention and make him look even more devilish.]

Good evening, gentlepeople of Riverview! I hope you are having a lovely time, working together in this little sanctum of ours until we find our way home.

I am Mollymauk Tealeaf, a not-so humble entertainer, here to bring you mystery and magic to your life!

[Leaning back, he flicks his hand and a fan of cards appear in it, the backs decorated with moons and suns. It looks old and expensive, and very well-used.]

Have you felt lost in this place? Uncertain were your life will take you after appearing here? Looking for guidance and signs on how to proceed?

[He sets the cards on the table, making a gesture with some quick sleight of hand to turn one up. It's a very intricately and finely drawn star.]

The cards are always here help you. Past, present and future lies in them, and at Cards of Curiosity, they can answer your questions.

[There's a bit of a movement again, and the cards all have turned over, showing different faces - a serpent, a sun, a tower. Molly smiles again - all fangs, this time. Some people liked a little goosebumps with their entertainment, and he knows how to work his lineage to his advantage.]

Come visit me as I interpret the mystique of the cards. For answers, for guidance or simply just for fun, I promise you an experience like never before!

[Insert Street Here], at the corner. Let your quest for answers lead you there!

[A little wave, and the camera turns off. Molly leans back against the beanbag and exhales. Things were easier in person, but hey. Baby's first commercial.]

Comments

video; @sage

[muskeg]

[ s q u i n t s

usually Sage doesn't bother with people who are clearly frauds but--

well those are really nice cards and he is a little curious about the fanged bit.

he still looks hella unimpressed though, sorry.]

You sound like a 3am infomercial aimed at old people, drunks, or idiots. Or fuck that, all three. [ a pause. ] nice deck though, at least they aren't fake.

video @molly

[devilstongue]

[ Molly didn't actually expect people to answer, but hey. He also doesn't know what an infomercial is, he barely knows how to work the phone. ]

Ah, but then I'll at least have customers? I'm not picky, anyone's welcome as long as they are not drunk enough to vomit on my carpet.

[ He bought it himself, it has shiny threads in it, he's almost as happy as he was when picking up gaudy tapestry. ]

perma-video;

[muskeg]

[ well doesn't that just ruin all his sass, wow. rude.

Sage just-- blinks a few times because what the fuck dude.]

.... you know there is a spell for sobering assholes that come into your establishment up once they set it off. But that might not be the best idea for you and your, uh, business.

[ not that Sage is really in a place to judge considering that he was aswamp witch that literally sold potions out of his decrepit looking victorian home in the middle of a swamp, but hey. Sage is nothing if not a hypocritical asshole. ]

Mind if I ask about the cards themselves? Never seen a deck like that, but considering where I am, not surprising.

{ action }

[goblinemperor]

[ Guidance is something Maia is absolutely in need of - that is the first reason he decides to stop by Mollymauk's establishment. The second reason is that he made his own post on the network, not long ago, soliciting suggestions for how he should use his new freedom. Nearly everyone had said to try new things out, take risks, experiment. This would definitely be a new experience, for Maia.

And there is a third reason, as well. It occurs to Maia, watching the video, how much scorn and bile it would have provoked in Setheris, had he seen it. Maia's guardian would have called it frippery, superstition, foolishness, wickedness - and that wasn't even to touch on the things he probably would have called Molly. Maia, who had spent so many of his own young years as the object of Setheris' loathing, feels a natural liking for anything he would have disapproved of.

So he comes by the parlor the very next morning. The alley makes him a little wary, as does the rather overdone decor when he enters. Maia himself is dressed very simply - a plain black long-sleeve shirt (one that is entirely unsuited to the very warm weather the Quarantine is having that week) and his long hair done up in a neat braided bun. He certainly no longer looks like an emperor - one of the perks of living here is that he got to ditch the fancy, elaborate robes, and all the heavy jewelry. But if there is not much in his clothing to give hints about what kind of person he is, and what sorts of answers he might want, his body language is clear enough - he is nervous, and forcing himself to hide it.

When he pokes his head in, he calls out: ]

Hello?

[devilstongue]

[ Molly is sitting on a golden bean bag when Maia enters, and he looks up from the phone where he had been trying to follow the network with little success. A distraction was very much appreciated, especially when it came to a searching soul in need of some entertainment.

He smiles at the grey-ish(?) elf and stands up, moving over to greet him with a little bow and a dramatic flick of his tail. ]

Welcome to Cards of Curiosity! Please, come in and have a seat. Make yourself comfortable and relax.

[ Gesturing to the chair by his extravagant table (deep red with an old look and a blanked hung over the back), Molly then lights a few more candles for 'ambiance'. ]

golden bean bag ksndjfksndf what kind of #aesthetic

[goblinemperor]

[ Maia has never seen a being like Molly before, but in the few weeks he has been living here, he has grown more accustomed to strange races and peoples. Horns and a tail? Why not! And the bow is a surprising little familiarity; Maia bows, back, with the grace that shows he is long accustomed to doing it.

He comes over to the chair that Molly indicated and sits down. He... doesn't look relaxed, sitting straight and proper with his hands folded in his lap, but he at least doesn't seem any more nervous than before. Maia never stops watching Molly as he goes around, lighting candles. He is aware that, perhaps, this man is a charlatan. But he is equally willing to believe that he does have a connection with the gods of his own world, and that they grant him extraordinary powers. Candle-lighting had special meaning in many ceremonies that Maia's mother had taught him as a child. ]

We saw your message, on the network. We... have never frequented an establishment like this, but we wished to- to try something new.

[ Probably not necessary to say all that, but Maia wants Molly to know that he's not an expert at having his cards read, that if there are procedures and expectations, he will be completely ignorant of them. ]

video; @fromTV

[spellslots]

Look at you, pumpkin, your're all set up. Seems like you've got a pretty sweet place there.

[He's proud of his eccentric friend.]

[devilstongue]

All thanks to this place and its very loose definition of 'business loans'.

[Paying him to buy all the pretty things he liked? A+ place.]

Friend readings on the house, obviously.

[spellslots]

Right? They're real fucking chill about handing out money.

[It's not quite that simple, but Taako likes to undersell things if they required thoughtfulness or effort on his part.]

You sure you wanna read for someone tangled up with the goddess of fate?

[Also tarot readings remind him of Rin a little too much.]

video; un: hawke

[indigobird]

[Well if this isn't quite the set up.]

So a fortune teller, then? One who uses cards. How interesting. I've never met one before.

[devilstongue]

[ It's horrible and he loves it. ]

I tried crystal balls but I kept breaking them or get caught up looking at my face.

[indigobird]

An understandable problem, I'd say. [She winks.] You know, I just might stop by. Just for shits and giggles. [She knows all of this is bogus, but it still sounds fun.]

[ action ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki is well acquainted with soothsayers and charlatans. That being said . . . he's really at his lowest point. Could it really hurt to hear what someone else would say? So he shows up in person, not willing to broadcast his intent publicly. ]

I must warn you. I'm a hard man to please.

[devilstongue]

[ Since Molly's shop is also his home, the tiefling is chilling on his couch-bed when someone enters. He really needs to put a bell or something on his door, or put a 'knock' on it.

(Otherwise someone was gonna end up seeing purple dick one day.)

He gets up from his leisurely position with somewhat lacking grace, giving Loki a curious look and then an inviting smile. ]

Ah, but I am very good at pleasing hard men.

[ Molly no. ]

[dothelokimotion]

Not by being passive, I hope.

[ But Loki is not bothered by the flirting. ]

What is your price?

audio un:pnwsalex

[11calls]

What kinds of things do the cards show?

video @molly

[devilstongue]

Past, present, future... little glimpses into your destiny.

[11calls]

Okay. I'm game. When do you want to do it?

action

[somnioergosum]

[After seeing that commercial, Ronan wasn't sure if he should be more disturbed by the demonic appearance combined with the cards or just the room. But it'd been a while since he'd seen actual tarot cards or put his immortal soul in possible peril by being in their vicinity.

Ronan looked bored as he arrived. He didn't even enter the whole way, lingering in the entrance. As usual, his raven was perched on his tattooed shoulder, looking far more interested.]

Am I gonna drown in patchouli if I step in here?

[devilstongue]

[ To be honest it's all a fucking mess, but hey. Most things are.

Molly is seated on his sofa-bed, doing a sun-cross spread with his cards for a little guidance of his own when the man and the raven stops by his little eye-burning place. Raising a brow, the tiefling then gives a little amused snort as he gets up to properly greet Ronan. ]

I'm more of a Nag Champa kind of person, that goes with everything.

[somnioergosum]

I'll take your word for it.

[He finally stepped inside, looking around. As a collector of random trinkets among other things, he couldn't help but take notice. After a while, he let his attention rest on the cards.]

Is that for you or for practice?

video; @chronicler

[scholiast]

(Interesting. Lucretia taps her chin for a moment, intrigued albeit skeptical.)

Is... this divination magic? Or simply clever card tricks?

(Not that she doesn't believe in such entertainments, but they have only ever felt like that: entertainment. Never to be taken seriously. Perhaps it would help if she knew a little more about divination, but she is woefully in the dark on the subject.)

[devilstongue]

Who knows!

[ He says with a dramatic shrug, smiling at her. ]

I just read the cards, whatever guides them is beyond me. The card acrobatics are the tricks.

[ He makes a card fan again with a flick of his wrist. ]

action

[tetherer]

[Teth has been excited about this new shop ever since they saw the advertisement on the network. They've never had the chance to indulge in divination before, and they are well acquainted with the fact that different worlds hold different forms of magic that are beyond their understanding.

Basically, they take everything at face value until proven otherwise, which may be a poor quality for a diplomat, but they're certainly not a diplomat or a god anymore. Fuck off, Nexus, the Tetherer is a crappy barista now.

So when they enter the very mystical looking building on their day off, they spend a little bit marveling at the surroundings before trying to peek around some colorful tapestries to find the equally colorful man they had seen on the network, a man whose appearance is hard to forget. They love the Quarantine for novelties like this.]

Hello? Is Mr. Tealeaf here?

[devilstongue]

[ By now he has actually put up that little bell on his door, and it makes a soft chime as the Tetherer enters. After a moment, the tiefling appears from behind a curtain that led to his miniscule kitchen and bathroom, smiling at his new visitor. ]

Mr. Tealeaf is certainly here! Welcome, my friend, to the Cards of Curiosity!

[ He bows a little, tail swishing dramatically. ]

What can I do for you? Are you in search of guidance? Fortune? A bit of fun?