synopsychic | (no subject)

Good evening, Travelers. And welcome, new arrivals.

[Beatrice seems to be borrowing Thorne's ability to Livestream again, broadcasting from her cozy created room, now full partly of furniture and partly with a looming goat demon dressed like a butler, who appears to be there mainly for effect, and to hold a couple of heavy, leather-bound books. Beatrice herself sits in a high-backed chair, which is a trick in her usual ruffled dress.]

I have much to talk about and have delayed overmuch in doing so. First of all...

[With a "nothing up my sleeves" flourish, Beatrice shows the camera the stylized Magician tattoo on her left arm.]

I spoke with one of our hosts during the Liminal interlude preceding our adventurs on the Bando Peninsula. She told me a few things, a few of which were confirmations of information I received from other Travelers - that there is a Phase 3 to their plans for us, and we're approaching it shortly. It will supposedly start once every Trump has had a "turn" overseeing a Jaunt - and oh yes, they're only "supposed" to mark us players on their turns, but several of them have found loopholes to mark people like myself and Mrs. Washburne off their turn.

And if you're new and don't know what I'm talking about, find someone who's been here. It's well-trod ground.

[She rolls her sleeve back down.]

It's also quite unlikely that there are very many Jaunts left before Phase 3. It's difficult to count who's had a turn from our end, but by my estimation, there are between 1 and 3 cycles left until the game changes. How, I cannot say. It's a matter that bears further research, or failing that, mental preparation.

[She takes a breath, conjures a cup of tea, and sips it for a moment before letting the cup and remaining tea disappear.]

Now. Other matters. While I'm still unclear just what the alternate Jaunt in Brooklyn's intended purpose was, one of our members did manage to gather information on a "Familiar Face" - beings like us who persist between Jaunts, but aren't connected to us or aware of their roles. The information found was this - in their thoughts and minds, they are no different from any other denizen of the Jaunt world, nor do they have any special connections to things outside of it that we can sense.

However, what they can do is instinctively sense us Travelers. To them, we are not obvious, but we are beacons of interest to their subconscious, the speaking roles on a stage full of extras, or the player characters in a world full of NPCs.

[Eyebrow raise at her camerawoman there.]

What this means, I cannot be sure, but if I had to guess, they are the means by which our hosts keep an eye on us within the worlds we visit. We already know that the Trumps are not omniscient within those worlds, but the Familiar Faces may be their eyes and ears. Or they may be an unrelated phenomenon. I don't have the magic to even start testing this, although I did apparently blow one's head off in Bando, so I suppose I'll see if that has any effect.

[Finally, she relaxes back, uncrosses and recrosses her legs, a striped-stockinged ankle peeking out from under her long skirt hem.]

And some personal matters from myself, Beatrice the Golden. First of all, I've completed several copies of a summary of my experiences in Misericordia, including details on the Illuminants. Stop by my little cottage and I'll lend you a copy.

[The goat butler holds up the smaller volume in his hands.]

And finally...its come to my attention that at least one of you has had the fortune of reading some entertaining novels based upon my exploits. To avoid confusion and argument, I've recreated the first two volumes of such, in both abridged and complete form. It's only fair, and these are novels that truly exist in my own world, so don't think too hard about it. You'll only get a headache.

[The goat butler lifts up a much larger volume.]

And even beyond reading about little old me, maybe you'll find a useful skill or two. Come by my place, I can copy this thing all day with magic.

[She smirks.]

I've gone on long enough this time. Bother me or Thorne for details at your leisure.

[She waves, and assuming Thorne listens, the psychic broadcast will end.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Interesting matters regarding the Familiar Faces, and in retrospect he can't say he's surprised by the revelation, really. It makes sense.]

The other perspectives would be useful to know, of course. [Learn all you can. Sort out what is significant and what isn't later.]

And this after you seemed put out when you'd assumed I was asking for a free clue a few incarnations of Liminal Space ago. [He could sound annoyed or amused, but he doesn't. Nor does he even feel either of those things. Just an interesting point.]

Ahaha, I was anticipating doing this even then. I'm not sure how interested a professional detective is in solving a novel, but if you are, I'm sure you want to go into it unspoiled.

If it's truly fiction, then it's a little less interesting, though what's fiction and what isn't are obviously a bit nebulous here. [He personally dislikes the idea that someone he's unaware of could know so many things about him without his permission or at least without any interaction. But he has to consider it a possibility. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it can't be real.]

As such, I wouldn't mind flipping through it when I'm not otherwise occupied. [Casual words, as if he's ever less than intent about anything he's curious about. Even so, the statement is a true one, because:] The imminent change of the game is the first priority, though.

On that, I have to agree. This would be rather less concerning if we had any idea what Phase One looked like.

If we accept the hypothesis that Death's turn will be the last of the round, given the symbolism, it's reasonable to assume that the start of the round was with the Fool's. There are still some present from before that.

Hm...the seventh in our collective memory, wasn't it? And apparently the same world as our adventure in the certainly-not-Tokugawa-shogunate.

I don't think they're going in numerical order. I do appreciate Fool and Judgment choosing the same universe, although Fool and World might have been a better pairing.

They're definitely not going in numerical order; Sun and Moon appeared in the next full Jaunt after the Fool's. I'm speaking symbolically. Death is symbolic of change, thus making sense for the end of a round, and the Fool is symbolic of beginnings.

Perhaps Fool began Phase One, but not Phase Two. And Death is the middle of the cycle regardless.

[Hm. That's not unreasonable, but.] That Jaunt was the first recorded instance of Travelers being marked. Could be indicative of it being a new element added to the game, a change with the change of rounds. If the Fool began Phase One but not Two, then each Phase would be far shorter than what we've been assuming. Or perhaps phases are not based on length, but particular parameters being met.

...Perhaps rather than beginning with the maximum extent of everyone's memory, Phase 2 began when the Marks began appearing.

After all, it's the Trumps' term, not ours.

Yes, I think that's accurate. [Definitely accurate, as far as he's concerned. It can't be seen or felt on the network, but he smiles a bit. It's correct. He's sure.]

I'll need to gather more information about the differences in the first six remembered Jaunts compared to the later ones. If those are part of Phase 1 and we actually remember them as a group, they could tell us about possible differences in Phase 3.

Review is necessary, I agree. [Psychic records from that time are sparse -- he knows this, having already checked because what else is someone like him going to do with his time? -- but there are of course other ways. And perhaps he should go at old things from different angles, now that they know a little more.]