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3pm, Backlund Time, above the gray fog
"Mr. Star, would you please mind explaining yourself."
Around an ancient, long bronze table with ten high-back chairs on either side were several people seated, their faces hidden by a thin layer of gray fog. In the middle of the table, two seemingly abstract objects were being showcased for everyone to see.
"Ahem. As you can see, I came up with an idea to strengthen the anchors of Mr. Fool and Mr. World to fasten their awakenings. It’s been 6 years and 7 months after all." He motioned to the things lying on the surface of the bronze table.
Eyebrows twitched, someone drew a clockwise circle on their chest.
"And.. there wasn’t any other option? Instead of, instead of..this-?" The owner of the female voice shivered slightly.
"I- I think Mr. Star has a good point." A youth with blonde hair nervously admitted. Someone else nodded. "For the younger believers, this should have an impact that should not be underestimated."
The green eyes of the man with a poetic temperament sparkled with excitement. "Exactly! Especially for the younger generation it is important to have a tight bond with their god, thus not losing faith and weaken the anchor of the deity."
A man with dark blue hair grabbed one of the objects carefully, holding it on eye level, scrutinizing it. "With all due respect Mr. Star, but isn’t this too..too blasphemous?" For him, this felt like a fever dream. How did they develope to this point? Really..
Some nodding, some mumbling. "But what are the alternatives? In my opinion, we should give it a try, that’s what we owe them. Mr. Fool will surely understand."
Glances were exchanged. After a moment, the blond youth again carefully raised his hand. "I, uhm, might have another idea."
Eyes turned immediately to the source of the voice. "Little Sun, I knew I could count on you!" The red-eyed sanguine almost looked like he had found a new pillar of light in his life.
The tiniest droplets of sweat formed on the forehead of the youth, now being in the center of attention. Breath in, breath out "S-so my idea is: Mr. Fool is very wise and has a broad knowledge about everything; what if we made a collection of 'His‘ words and advices?"
Someone tapped his arm in thought. "Just like a quote collection? But 'He' didn’t say that much and mostly they were in riddles..“
Another frown. "‘His‘ words included a lot of knowledge about mysticism, we can’t possibly make it available for everyone..“
The Sun’s shoulders slumped for a moment, before he beamed with new vigor. "Then, what about Mr. World?"
Everyone stared absentmindedly into the air, imagining different scenarios. They could see the crazy adventurer frowning, giving off an extremely chilly and deathly air.
"I have a sequence 5 characteristic for sale today", someone whispered, others shuddering at the words.
Meanwhile a certain official Beyonder reminiscing: 'Can I get a reimbursement for this?‘ before he snapped back to reality and focused on the others.
There was a silent consent that they wouldn’t elaborate further on this idea.
The Moon regretted putting his faith in The Sun. "Nobody else? Really? Do we really have to go with.. this?“ He gestured wildly at the things still in The Hanged Man’s hands.
A sigh. "It’s worth a try. If it works, it works; we will face the consequences after Mr. Fool wakes up." They felt a cold shiver down their spine.
May Mr. Fool be merciful towards us!
"Then, it’s decided. Let’s discuss who is responsible for which part in 'mass-producing‘ these things."
…
After an undefined amount of time, they came to a conclusion.
"So: Ms. Justice for funding, Little Sun for the integration into Mr. Fools Church, me and The Hermit for promoting it overseas, The Magician for writing and including it in child books and the rest.. you know already." Nodding in agreement. They ended the meeting, disappeared from Sefirah Castle and prepared to face their own respective tasks.
3 months later, a place near the coast.
An ocean breeze swept through the streets, birds chirping and the sun shining, temperature not too warm nor too cold. Some pedestrians were walking around, minding their own business.
"Excuse me! Can you lend me your attention for some moments? I would like to introduce you to some special items that only exists within our great Lord’s Church." Derrick Berg tapped the shoulder of the young man with an ordinary face walking in front of him, getting his attention.
"Sure. I’m open to learn anything new." The unnamed man’s lips formed a gentle smile.
"Thank you!" The blond youth fished something out of a bag slung around his shoulders, proudly shoving it into the strangers hands. "Ahem. This is our way to show our strong bond with our God, Mr. Fool, and a way to be closer to 'Him‘. There is a wide variety of shapes and some come with unique extras. The material is also very high quality and doesn’t invoke any health issues. Not only the young, but also the old people can find joy in squishing it."
"So is it like a representation of The Fool?“ Looking into the youth sparkling eyes, the other man’s smile turned into a grin, his eyes forming crescents. "I see. That’s very interesting. Truly admirable."
The Sun cheerfully gestured to the object he had stuffed into the man’s arms. "Thank you very much, if you’d like, you can take it with you. May the Lord bless you." With that, he turned around and left, his face still beaming with joy.
Being left behind, the young man put his hand in his pocket, fished out a monocle and placed it over his right eye, adjusting it ever so slightly. "Honorable Mr. Fool, your believers‘ ways of saving you are very interesting." He chuckled in amusement, looking on the soft object in his hands, squishing it. It was, in fact, a plush doll in the form of a black cat, small tentacles replacing the cats paws.
He pushed his monocle up, turned around and left, humming something in a light melody, displaying his good mood.
Exactly 7 years, 4 months and 3 weeks after 'He' went to sleep, The Fool opened 'His' eyes once again.
Klein sat up straight in The Fool’s high-back chair, tapping the tables surface and sorting through his memories. The atmosphere was eerie, the tentacles under his robe moving around indiscriminately. 'Even after sleeping for so long, I still feel so incredibly tired.' he mocked himself.
Collecting himself, he casted his gaze over the Northern and Southern Continent, wanting to get a picture of what was going on in the world. After a few moments, he put his gaze especially on things related to The Fool’s Church. 'Heh. They indeed did a great job promoting me.'
His gaze wandered over countless believers, praying devoutly, and the bishops and deacons holding masses and speeches. Klein nodded to himself. 'Very well. Time to announce my return.'
He was just about to turn away and touch the crimson red stars resembling the members of the Tarot Club, when he paused for a second.
"No freaking way-" he blurted out, unbelieving. In the corner of his eyes, something caught his attention. A statue. Of The Fool. Naturally, this wouldn’t be too strange if not for one crucial detail. Kleins eyes almost fell out of his eye sockets. "Cat ears?! Really?!“
Indeed, the magnificent statue, sculpted to perfection in every fine detail, radiating a lofty and holy aura, had, in fact, a pair of precisely carved cat ears on its head. This was when Klein caught sight of the altar besides the statue, holding several objects.
"P-plushies? C-cat shaped? Am I still dreaming?? I-is this Tianzuns new attempt to gain control?!" Klein was at a loss of words, pinching his forearm. A variety of different shaped cat plushies were lying on the altars surface, some wearing a gentle man-ish suit, a top hat or a pair of gold rimmed glasses; others being dressed in a black/yellow cloak with or without tentacles growing out from underneath it.
"Who the fuck is responsible for this shit-!" he growled.
The Lord of the Mysteries, a Pillar of the Universe and the one being able to fool space, time and fate almost lost control over some cat-shaped plush dolls.
Legend has it that at the next Tarot Gathering, the mood of joy created by The Fool’s return was quickly dimmed by a certain question from The Fool himself, asking if they knew any closer details about why The Fool’s Church now had a cat mascot and was associated with this animal. Heck, they even invented an "International Cat-Day"! No one dared to speak, eyes darting around aimlessly before settling on a certain man seated at the bronze table.
Sorry Mr. Star, but better you than us! May you be blessed with the survival of Mr. Fool’s wrath!
The man in question started sweating profusely before resigning himself to his fate; admiring the unique shape of the crannies decorating the table's surface. 'Ah..breathing is quite fun.. I wonder if Mr. Fool just like Klein is bribable with some cakes and sweets?..' He casted an apologetic glance over to The World’s seat.
Nobody saw how The Fool’s eyelid twitched. 'Poet Classmate, I will make sure to have a nice little talk with you after this, just a small catch up between friends. Alone, just you and me.' Klein had the urge to shake this poet to maybe awaken his braincells that had seemingly entered a deep slumber and let him act on autopilot.
"Mr. Star, you may stay after this." The Fool voiced in a chilly tone. The Tarot Club sent a silent prayer to this unlucky soul, watching him with pitying eyes. Leonard mentally wrote his testament.
The rest of the gathering was.. interesting, to say the least.
Meanwhile, in a kingdom filled with a neverending silence and countless moonflowers, an extremely beautiful lady in a black classical dress that isn’t overly complex was silently sitting at a coffee table, sipping black tea from time to time. On the other chairs were various cat shaped plushies seated, each having a piece of Desi Pie and a cup of sweet ice tea placed in front of them.
Those plushies were the latest edition, each one strictly limited in numbers. Only a few had the luck to get one for themselves, a true rarity. The lady watched them with a serene smile.
...
..
Amanises: in memories of the kitten I’ve raised; I’ll collect them all! (*´ω｀*)
Leonard: ..a-at least it’s in the form of a cat and not a curly-haired baboon (;ŏ﹏ŏ)
Klein: just let me go back to sleep ಠᴥಠ
Roselle: Little Zhou, now you won’t dare to threaten me with my diary, or else you shall be the one suffering! ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ
Amon: dear Mr. Fool, this is truly interesting~
ASG/008: a very reasonable development (人*´∀｀)｡*ﾟ+
Mr. Azik: ...