synopsychic | [open to all] Regarding Trump metaplot and tattoos

Forgive me, everyone, I... have some announcements, of sorts.

[His mental voice sounds remarkably hesitant. Still, after a moment of silence as he waits for everyone's attention, his mental voice calms as he continues.]

Several Jaunts ago, in the Labyrinthine Shoal, myself and two others were given strange markings, like tattoos. We did not think much about them at the time, though we have noticed that each of them includes a zero symbol somewhere on them. Mine is on my left shoulder, so understandably, many of you may not have seen it. If you would like to see it, I can show you in private... but let me get to the point.

As many of you may have already discovered, there were two Trumps at this dance - who I will call the Sun and the Moon. They were wearing a brilliant gold mask and a pale silver mask with a half-moon, respectively. Just recently, I discovered that at least two of our number were given tattoos as well, one with symbols related to the Sun with the number Nineteen, and one with symbols related to the Moon with the number Eighteen. I do not know the trigger, but I do know that they spent at least some time in the Trumps' presence and were then marked with tattoos.

For those of you unfamiliar with Tarocchi decks, or Tarot decks... they are a set of playing cards, used in fairly simple games. I will not get into those here. These decks have important cards which are all higher rank than the numbered and other face cards, and are collectively called the Trionfi - the Trumps. The size of this set differs from deck to deck, but many of the decks I am familiar with contain twenty-two of them. These numbers on the tattoos match the cards for the Moon, number eighteen, and the Sun, number Nineteen. The Fool is listed as the number Zero.

I can only conclude, then, that Don Orlea was a Trump, and more specifically, il Matto, the Fool. Further, something the Sun said to me... about being "spoken for", the Moon mentioning the beginning of the cycle, and then marking others with these tattoos, all lead me to believe that the Trumps are marking us for some unknown purpose. They cannot mark us more than once, that I know for sure. But as to why...

[He pauses again, to let all of this sort of sink in with everyone else.]

If you find such a mark, I think it would be wise to let us know, especially if it is from il Sole o la Luna. If you are not comfortable doing so, I understand... but this may be an important clue as to our purpose here.

If you have any questions, too, as always I will be happy to answer what I can. Thank you for your time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I can think of a few explanations for why they can't. None of them are comforting.

If nothing else, I imagine they'd want to observe how we respond to various situations more closely than they could were we in our respective worlds.

[Raidou highly doubts that that's the only reason.]

Not without coming into conflict with other powers. Gods are jealous of their own domains.

True.

[Raidou would know; he's had to deal with enough of them.]

Are you an initiate?

[There's genuine curiousity there.]

...Or is this simply not your first time being meddled with by greater powers?

Initiate?

[He's not sure if she's referring to this situation or something entirely different.]

I... have some experience dealing with greater powers, yes.

[Some of whom he's now carrying around with him.]

Someone who's been brought into the deeper mysteries of a faith.

[A thin thread of something like humour.]

That must come in handy, from time to time.

Edited (idk what I was even doing with that html...) 2015-01-10 19:41 (UTC)

[Raidou's tone is rather dry.]

Less often than one might think.

[He's still not entirely certain how to answer the question of his being an initiate even with that definition - not when he regularly has to deal with multiple pantheons. He supposes his training as a devil summoner might qualify on some level, although he started so early that he doesn't remember ever not being a part of it.]

Pity. If there are rogue powers lurking in the wings, someone should know how to deal with them - beyond the typical rituals of appeasement.

[Raidou's method usually involves hitting them until they either see reason or stop moving. So far it's worked pretty well.]

I suppose it would depend on how powerful they actually are.

Powerful enough to bend worlds to their whim.

Which circles right back around to why they might need those rules. Intermediaries who can't destroy worlds could be key for no other reason than that nobody wins if everything's fucked up beyond all recognition.

A Pyrhhic victory would not suit their purposes.

Pyrrhic...?

[It's one of those pieces of idiom that trip her up, mark her out as someone not from Earth, in any of its variants.

No Earth, no Greece. No Greece, no King Pyrrhus to donate his name to the concept of victory that might as well be defeat.]

A "victory" that costs the victor at least as much as defeat would have.

Ah. That much is familiar.

[There's something there, not quite bitterness, but a similar flavour.]

I'd venture the name has a long story behind it.

[He wonders at the change in the color of her voice, but as curious as he is, he's not entirely comfortable prying about such things if they're not part of a case.]

They usually do.

Perhaps you'd be willing to share it sometime? Understanding the nuances of one another's worlds can only help.

[Since, even if they haven't stopped off in someone's true home, as far as she knows, there have clearly been some worlds that have been more recognizable to her fellow Travelers than others.]

Western history is not one of my strengths, but I can try.

Interesting, how that divide persists across several different worlds.

[There's a brief pause, and then with a flicker of humour:]

The next time we have space to breathe, I may need to start acquiring maps.

It could be interesting to compare the places we've been.

And potentially useful, if we find ourselves in another place that anyone finds recognizable.

Of course.

Something to look to once we're no longer playing at being squirrels.

[Not that she minds the tree - the vertical space is more comfortable than most liminal manifestations she can name - but it's not, perhaps, the best set up for in-depth discussion.

Or distraction.]

That's something that could be left to the actual false squirrels.

[He doesn't really mind the tree very much, either, although he's been giving the bubbles a very wide berth.]

It could be, but even if they're not Gentled, they're not real enough to have a proper appreciation for things.

[Unless they are and only seem like whimsical nonsense, which gives her a headache just thinking about.]

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capital_asset - 2015-02-01 03:16 (UTC) - Expand

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