Wet Highway Blues

[sahoni]

"Divination is the broad general term." Lang said, shuffling the long oddly-dimensioned cards with less ceremony than one would expect from some mystical event. He closed his eyes as he shuffled, an almost electric tingle traveling down his arm as he focused on pushing the energy into the cards he turning this way and that, making sure that some were right side up and others were upside down but all were face down. He visualized the process, energies enveloping the card and didn't stop shuffling until it felt right to him. Give us the answers we seek, please. he thought silently to himself, shaping that energy to something deeper.

"Now I picked this up in 'Nawlins. And they got a way of doing things down there." Lang explained, allowing himself to slide down into a slight southern drawl as his shuffling coming to a sudden stop. "I don't mess with it much, because it works, but I'm gonna need you to lay my palm. Pay me, to put in layman's terms. It doesn't even need to be much. A penny works just as well as five bucks. And I can even give it back when it's all said and done. It's the symbolism of the act that matter. You get that a lot in magic. This an exchange of goods. A kind of contract."Lang kept his eyes closed, keeping his breathing steady as he opened his perceptions to something wider. "Technically you've paid me already, but I've never done an arrangement like this, so I dunno if it would count."

"After the laying of palms I will give you the cards. You should clear your mind of anything but the question you want answered. Don't tell me the question. Not yet." Lang said, voice edged with caution. "Then, focus on the idea of pushing the question into the cards, shuffling until you feel satisfied. That is when I'll take the cards back and when you will tell me your question." Lang finished, finally flicking up his eyes to meet Cyborg's own, soft brown eyes replaced with a piercing predatory lupine amber. Knowing eyes that seemed to see right through Cyborg and focus on something inside him instead.

"Are you ready?" he asked, hand still outstretched.




((Don't worry! I'm fine with continuing if you are. I just like role-playing.))

[Elenaphant]

At the explanation of payment, Cyborg shrugged with a grin in a way that suggested he wasn't bothered by it, and reached down to take out his wallet. The smallest change he had on him was a five dollar bill, and he wouldn't be sorry to part with it. There was something of a prerequisite to be loaded when your entire existence depended on the latest technology. He held onto it as Lang further explained, and his brow pinched ever so slightly as he noticed the shift in colour. There really was more to this guy than met... the eye...

He placed the bill in his palm and nodded. Cyborg thought hard about what he wanted answered. Many things he wanted to hear he already sorta knew the answer to. If only the Titans were in the middle of an investigation, then he could use this opportunity to aid in a search or something. As there wasn't, it was totally up to him to come up with an inquiry. There were those questions he was afraid of having an answer too, like if he was going to lose one of his friends. He decided it was better to be embarrassed rather than anxious. Time for a love fortune.

[sahoni]

It only took a bit of concentration for Lang to open his second sight. A bit of thought and a flicker of focus to open his eyes to a wider perception. Psychic impressions and scars, spirits, auras, and the flow of magic itself made itself visible by overlaying itself like ghostly impressions over the solid. Not everything was pleasant, but it was always informative. There were a lot of things he saw with the sight on, but what he didn't usually see was stuff attached to electronics and machines. But when he looked upon Cyborg it was different. It's not that that stuff couldn't carry things his eyes could pick up, it's that it was just usually too new to carry the psychic and emotional history invested into other objects and too removed from everything and artificial for magic.

But not for Cyborg. That machine was a part of him and who he was, it had to be and Lang could see it in a sudden burst of insight. A lot of times people's auras were a swirling mess of personal symbolism. Puzzling and near indecipherable collections of images that might only make sense to the person they were for. Behind all the chrome and shine Lang saw the dark skin and muscles he left behind. There were other things that he didn't quite understand. Images of a starry arm with lifted above him and pointed towards the sky. Grimy metal, eaten away by rest laying defeated by his side. A third pair, one arm deceptively human and the other decked out with what looked like a more advanced form of the tech he had equipped posed in front of him in fist.. Over hovering over his eyes like a visor, or eye shields you would see on a football helmet scrolling with computer information and digits too fast too ride (even if he could have sworn he saw the word STARS). Embedded in his back was an old sword, rusted and almost stone

Getting the cards back he spread them out in a practiced fan in font of him, breaking his sight on Cyborg. "Romance huh? I didn't really see that coming. Alright, so you want to find romance as opposed to check on the health of one So I'm gonna need five cards from you, you hand them to me. I'll flip them over and tell you what they mean Just tap the ones you feel calling to you. Trusting your instincts is key." Lang instructed propping his chin up on a hand. Receiving the cards he placed them in a cross shape in front of him.

"Your first card is you. It's who you are in all your strengths and flaws, that's why it's in the middle." Lang explained, gently flipping over the long card. On it's face, a crowned sat in a chariot he felt no need to steer, holding up a rod towards the heavens as he was pulled forward by two horses, one white, one black."The Chariot, upright, huh? Unsurprising. The chariot is control, victory, determination, and willpower. Something I think you know a bit about. I'm willing to stake money on that willpower one at least. When you're troubled you probably feel a lack of direction, maybe even a bit of aggression." Lang tapped on the card for emphasis before glancing back up at Cyborg for confirmation. "Am I one the money so far?"

Lang flipped his card on his left with an exhale of air, puffing the hair out of his eyes. "This second card is the parts of you influencing your love life. Behaviors. Patterns. Stuff like that." Lang continued "Eight of swords, upright. This card is for isolation, imprisonment, and self-imposed restrictions. I'm guessing that last one is most relevant. You feel alone inside. You hide your feelings towards stuff and place rules around getting close, really close to people. Probably tell yourself no for one reason or another." Lang continued "Let's see why."

Lang flipped the card that sat above the "Self " to reveal a man hanging by his foot upside down, arms tied behind him and leg tucked behind him. "This card here is the parts of you that need growth to find love. This card is the hanged man." he said "Normally this is the card of restriction, suspension, and sacrifice. But when it's reversed like this, upside down, it's martyrdom, indecision, and delay. More confirmation you tell yourself reasons stuff won't work out before it even happens. Or maybe you have a reason why you don't want to go forward with any potential romances you see? You keep saying no and giving reasons why. If you want someone, this is going to need to change." Lang said with all the knowing of a radio therapist.

Picking up in pace he flipped the card beneath the self. "This is ..." Lang was given pause by the fourth card, hand placing it gently back against the table. "This represents areas you need to change, or things you need to process to find love. This is... Well you see it. It's upright, the 3 of swords. It's painful separation. Heartbreak.. In some context it can be grief or rejection." Lang bit down on the corner of his lip, jittering his knee as he thought of what to say. "You loved before, but something happened. That's your reason you keep saying no. Or one of them at least. You're holding on to them. Heartbreak or not."

Flipping the last card he look up back up, meeting his eyes in something like sympathy. "This is what needs to be liberated to allow yourself to be loved. Six of swords inverted says you got some emotional baggage. To make it right you need to make make a painful but necessary transition. You need to move on. Let go of those thoughts and reasons. You gotta dump that baggage and travel lighter. I dunno what happened to you bub, but the cards don't lie. They have no alternative motives."

ooc: That was super hard to write, but also quite fun. Hopefully it works for you.

[Elenaphant]

Having no experience with divination, he expected something like 'if you see a blue bird flying overhead your love is near' or 'go to this coffee place' or something that pointed him in a direction. Instead, he got some advice that hit a bit close to home. The memory of his time-travel romance was bittersweet, but he didn't consider himself still hung up over it. He had moved on, as time did, because as much as he wished it that sort of long distance relationship wasn't gonna fly. "So in other words..." he said with a cheeky quirk of the corner of his mouth. "Work on myself in areas most people need to when approaching relationships," he said with a touch of his dry wit. "Glad to know even I'm predictable like that."

Maybe the slight jab was just because he didn't really like the reminders of his insecurities, but it could also be because it had just been a tough, long day. Some of that emotional baggage had just been freshly revisited by a trip to S.T.A.R labs and dear old dad treating him like one of his experiments rather than his son. "I'm teasing," he amended his tone and gave a grateful nod of the head. "You warned me it's not all nice, and I can take it. What was fun is seeing it work. Them's nice cards," he complimented, glancing down toward the pictures turned up and down from his view.

He shifted up to get to his feet, stretching out to his full, impressive height. "Now, I'd like to chat and learn more, but it is getting late and I'm runnin' low. You ever in trouble, there's a big button on the side of that communicator and we'll help ya. If you need something less dire open 'er up and send out a message from one of the menu options. In the meantime," he said, and then gestured his hand out to the surroundings. "Make yourself at home."

[sahoni]

"It is what it is. People are still people when all is said and done." Lang said, tiredness creeping into his voice. "Judging by the cards, I'd say the insecurities and reluctantness to actually put yourself out there is more the issue that the heartbreak. But that's human nature I guess. Inescapable." Lang said with a small shrug, the glowing predatory amber fading back into the earthy brown they were before, wondering to himself if his opinion in that realm even really mattered.

Lang swept up his cards, taking care to make sure they all faced the same way before putting it back away into a box. "You're really giving this to me?" Lang asked, motioning to the communicator. "I dunno what to say, so thanks. Not just for the communicator, everything. If it wasn't for you I'd still probably be stuck in the rain. You have a good night."

[Elenaphant]

There was no arguing with those observations. Cyborg nodded absently, a bit preoccupied with muddling over this new insight into his love-life, and then slowly made his way to frame that marked the exit of the room as Lang picked up the cards. He stopped just short of it at Lang's tone of disbelief. They both had a bit of that tiredness on their face, but the mirthful grin on Cyborg's face lifted it at least temporarily. "Don't mention it," he said easily. "Honestly, we need people who possess your kind of knowledge. So who knows--maybe we'll be the ones contacting you. If that sounds good to you, feel free to to keep it," he said, and with a salute of his fingers he bid Lang goodnight. It was time for both of them to get some shut eye.

ooc: I think that can conclude this thread. It was fun!