fandomhigh | Destiny & Free Will, Week II [Monday, Period 4]

The class met in the Danger Shop today, as ~~handwavily~~ ordered. The room was set to a giant circle, with plenty of overstuffed pillows for laying on in the center. Along the edges were small round tables, each with two chairs and various items placed upon them.

Once the bell rang, Ghanima looked up from where she was sprawled on the floor playing with some cards and smiled. "Destiny," she began with preamble, dropping the cards and pushing to her feet. "Refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe."

"Destiny may be seen either as a fixed sequence of events that is inevitable and unchangeable, or that individuals choose their own destiny by choosing different paths throughout their life." Ghanima paused to smile at them briefly. "Confusing, isn't it?"

"Many Greek legends and tales teach the futility of trying to outmaneuver an inexorable fate that has been correctly predicted. This form of irony is important in Greek tragedy, as it is in Oedipus Rex or Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey, where in spite of all the character's attempts otherwise, it does not preclude a horrible fate," she said, wandering the room to pass out a handout on Oedipus.

"Some believe that one's destiny may be ascertained by divination. In the belief systems of many cultures, one's destiny can only be learned about through a shaman, babalawo, prophet, sibyl, saint or seer. In the Shang dynasty in China, turtle bones were thrown ages before the I Ching was codified. Arrows were tossed to read destiny, from Thrace to pagan Mecca. In Yoruba traditional religion, the Ifá oracle is consulted via a string of sixteen cowries or oil-palm nuts whose pattern when thrown on to a wooden tray represents the 256 possible combinations whose named "chapters" are recited and verses interpreted for the client by the babalawo." Ghanima grinned and waved her hand in the international 'blah blah blah' manner. "Every society has their own way of fortelling a future, from worm entrails to crystal balls. My empire put its fate in the hands of a family that can walk the veils of time, forward and back, to see what lies beyond, and now they're stuck with the future that the Mahdi chose. Oracles can be a tricky bunch, and you must always assume that they may have a hidden agenda of their own."

"Today, it's time for you to face your destiny." Ghanima gestured to the tables ringing the room. "Pair up, wander around, and pick a method of divination that speaks to you. Read your own destiny, or that of your partner, and then discuss if you agree or disagree with the results you obtained."

[OOC: OCD UP. Up way-early, so I don't miss it tomorrow.]

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Karla prowled around, poking at various equiptment with an interested-yet-slightly-jaundiced eye. Landens had some of these things that they used to 'tell the future.' Still, she could experiment with some of these for now. And, later, if she found a partner who wanted a real reading, she could offer to spin a tangled web. It was for class, after all.

Leda thought the crystal ball thing was funny. "You have a favorite method?" she asked.

Karla laughed. "I do, but none of these things." She gestured to the myriad tools Ghanima had laid out for the class. "I weave tangled webs of dreams and visions and from there I can glean the future." She gave the crystal ball a dubious glance. "Would you like me to weave a web for you?"

Leda had a feeling that she didn't actually. She couldn't quite tell why precisely except maybe her not quite liking the idea of destiny. "Maybe later." She looked around at the stuff. "I can't believe there's no magic 8 ball. Or fortune cookies."

"And, lo, this is my shocked and surprised face," Karla said, pointing. "For, completely without precedent, I find myself uncertain about what you mean."

Leda laughed. "A magic 8 ball is this toy that supposedly answers people's questions. You shake it, and ask it a question, and then you turn it over. There's this little window in the bottom and a message appears in the window saying things like, yes, no, ask again later." Hey in Bordertown they sometimes even worked. "Fortune cookies...have you had Chinese food yet?"

Karla shook her head. "Not yet. I'm slowly working my way through the staggering number of different 'cuisines' you people have here."

"It is a lot." Leda agreed. "Even I've never tried all of them. But anyway fortune cookies are, they're like, little shells made out of dough. And you break them open and there's a little slip of paper inside that tells your fortune. Or gives you a bit of advice on life."

"And they work?" Karla asked, intrigued. "That's a fairly impressive bit of Craft."

"It depends on who you get them from. Ms. Wu back in Bordertown could do it. Mostly it's just for fun."

"Really? Maybe...we should go try one, sometime," Karla said, glancing up at Leda from under her lashes.

"Which? A fortune cookie?" Ohhh that was a dangerous look. Leda wasn't sure if she wanted Karla to figure out the effectiveness of that look on her or not. Might even convince to try that web thing.

"Sure," Karla said easily, paring the look with a teasing smile. "Fortune cookies and tangled webs. Sounds like it's destined to be a fun-filled evening."

Rimshot.

Aaaand Leda was done. "Sounds like we've got lots of things to plan. That and the party."

What? It hadn't been that bad. Except for that part where it was.

"We do have a lot of plans together, don't we?" Karla smiled.

"We should get on that. My schedules pretty free for awhile."

"I should figure out when the play is," Karla frownled, thinking about her schedule. "You'll come, won't you?"

"Of course I'll come! I wouldn't miss your theatrical debut for all all the gold on Dragon's Tooth Hill."

Put another way and Leda would have just come perilously close to proposing marriage.

Wouldn't that have been an interesting end of class?

Karla grinned. "I'm going to weave a few tangled webs to make the witches more witchlike, too."

"Do they know you're going to do this?"

Karla chuckled. "Of course! Well, sorta. I have to run it by Zack, our new stage manager now that Tony's back in Vancouver. But I'm sure it'll be okay."

She pretended to shiver. "I wouldn't do it behind Geoffery's back. He's a little crazy. He keeps a razor under his tongue."