fandomhigh | Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

Karla had promised the class no final last week and she had no intentions of going back on her word for that, especially after the weekend the island had just had. They were meeting in the Danger Shop for their last class, though the food and drink from JGOB and the Perk were all real enough. The Danger Shop was programmed to look like an amusement park, complete with rides and games, though there was one pavilion tent sitting rather prominently in front of the midway.

"I hope you've all gotten some ideas on ways to avoid or defy whatever expectations you're facing in the future. Whether it's just carving out a little more room for yourself under the weight of your parents' wants or deliberately turning your back on whatever fate has in store for you, I wish you all the best of luck." Karla toasted the class with a cup of tea, giving them all a smile. "For the next hour, feel free to ride the rides and play games of skill to your hearts' content, though any prizes you win will be unable to leave with you. But for those who are interested, I've programmed another guest."

The tent flap opened to reveal an older woman standing there. "This is Helene--sorta--my mentor in the Hourglass. As a Black Widow, she is capable of seeing into the future." There was more than just simple Damger Shop protocols involved with that, but Karla saw no reason to get into that. "Black Widows are the caste of dreams and prophecies. For those who are interested, she'll take a glimpse of into your future and tell you what she sees." Helene didn't look much like an amusement park fortune teller; she was dressed sensibly, in sturdy blues and grays, with no shawls or turbans in sight. And she made no grand pronouncements or tried to entice anyone in to see her, she simply nodded at the class and returned into her tent.

"Regardless of whether you want your fortune told, have fun for the next hour and perhaps I'll se some of you next semester. Either way, I wish you best of luck for whatever life holds for you."

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Not a bad way to take one's tea. Helene would nod approvingly, if she weren't busy manipulating the energies in the web to peer into Mara's future.

When she spoke again, her voice had a faint, echoing quality, as if she were talking from the other side of a long hallway.

"The Empire will fall, little Hand, and all your blades in the dark cannot keep it standing. The seeds of its destruction were sown before its creation and there is nothing you can do about it. But you will not remain standing, and you will wander, and you will find yourself lost in a dark wood. But in that dark wood, you will find the light."

Mara was shocked to her toes, which meant that her eyes widened almost imperceptibly as she sipped her tea.

"I'm not one to spent time outside, really," she commented. "There aren't a lot of woods in my future."

"So you say, little Hand," Helene said, setting the box aside and picking up her tea. "But you also don't expect to see the end of the Empire in your future, but there it is."

"The Empire has been set up to last for centuries," Mara said haughtily.

Helene wasn't even going to dignify that with a 'bitch, please' expression. Not when she could give the universe a 'Can you believe this kid?' look instead.

"So?" she asked, draining her cup. "I'm sure many of the people you've killed also expected to live a lot longer, too."

"Then they shouldn't have disappointed the Emperor, who created the Empire," Mara retorted. "I'm just his instrument."

"Tools are made to be used and discarded," Helene warned. "Best you keep that in mind, little Hand. But on a class all about defying expectations, you expect your Empire to last simply because your Emperor has decreed it will? You're smarter than that--or, rather, you could be, if you weren't so willfully blind to what you don't want to see."

"I've heard what happened to the Jedi," Mara said. "I know what can happen to tools. And the Emperor is focused and...completely devoted to his vision. He simply doesn't allow for deviations from his plans. Planets have learned not to cross him."

Clearly a long-term strategy worth pursuing!

And this was what happened when you let males rule. Ugh. Non-matriarchies. Who even understood them?

"I'm not going to debate proper ruling practices with you, even if the ones you're describing most certainly are not," Helene said, lips pursed as if she'd swallowed some of that lemon Mara had added to her tea. "The future I saw is the future I saw, regardless of whether you believe in it or not. Your Empire will end, little Hand, and sooner than you'd like."

If Helene had a pair of sunglasses, she'd be sliding them on while the words 'Deal With It' flashed over her head

Mara pursed her lips. "If you say so."

She'd be Magneto-ing out if she knew such a thing existed.

As it was, if Mara wanted to flounce from the room, she'd have to get up and use the door, while Helene remained calmly seated, probably pouring herself another cup of tea.

"I do," Helene said sharply. "I saw it, I said it, and when it happens, you may spare me a thought for being correct."

Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks

Re: Get Your Fortune Told--NFB, thanks