[Video]

[neverfeltthatway]

[As he has after every jaunt for nearly the past two years, Armin appears 'on screen' to announce the release list.]

I have the list of Travelers who've vanished over the course of the jaunt. Elphaba, Eliza, Liara, Xena, Gabrielle, Jotaro, and Persephone.

[He closes his eyes for a long moment, still and silent in respect for those departed - giving everyone a moment to hear and accept his words before moving on.]

I know there have been other conversations about it, but, I think, nothing comprehensive where everyone can hear - we should share what we found out from the Arcana during out conversations with them. We've learned more about them, our past, and our situation in the past couple months than in years before that, it can be hard for everyone to keep up.

Comments

[hiding_honor_in_darkness]

When naming us slaves to their whims, Lovers had made no attempt to deny that fact. If we are but tools in their game than anything they are offering us in recompense is naught but a means to garner our cooperation.

[neverfeltthatway]

...That's not exactly new or surprising, but good to know nonetheless.

[professorwolf]

We particularly ought to make some decisions about who not to support. I am sure there are several who could be argued to be decent possible winners to this event of theirs, and I don't expect we will likely all agree. But there are many that I think we could, and should, agree to try to disqualify.

For the record, I was chosen at rather the last minute by Judgement, also named Penuel, who confirmed that they were the ones who influenced my visions during the Jaunt in Melasurei. Their goals appear to be related to reconciliation, forgiveness, and protection of the innocent. I did not receive any promises, except that going forward I might be able to... tap into their power, to use their words, to further those goals.

[neverfeltthatway]

That's true. I expect most of us would agree to work against the Devil and the Tower, although it would be good to have it clearly established. Was that what you had in mind, or was there some other Arcana you were thinking of?

...I don't think I've met Judgement, but at first glance, they would appear to be an acceptable winner. I'd like to learn more of their symbolism and what they represent from a source other than the Arcana themselves, however - even if they weren't lying, it seems likely most of them represented their best face to the Travelers.

[sharkened]

I've got an Arcana-related question? Since he wasn't very clear about it... which one is Don Orlea? A guy in bandages and stuff.

[neverfeltthatway]

Don Orlea is the Fool, the Arcana with a number of zero. He represents journeys and beginnings and potential.

[wholeheaded]

You met Mr. Cryptic? Yeah, that's the Fool and, ah... guess you're on the team. Hi, I'm Ambrose.

[chalicejoker]

Tower just wants to wreck everything, change things...and he doesn't care who or what gets hurt in the process.

...he'll also throw a ceiling on you if you try to punch him.

[neverfeltthatway]

A... ceiling? As in, he collapsed the ceiling on you when you tried it?

[wholeheaded]

The Fool - Don Orlea - told me he'd send us - or at lease me, and probably his other Chosen - back to where we began if he prevailed. Back to the moment we left our homes. He said opposing him would be opposing advancement, openness, and new beginnings.

...and he implied we'd keep the knowledge gained during these shenanigans.

[neverfeltthatway]

...Did he say what would happen to the rest of the Travelers? Those who were not his Chosen?

[senpaidol]

We might want to make a list of everyone who promised us to be able to go back. That's kinda important for some of us, although I'm pulling for a choice, which is apparently what Strength is offering.

[stopinthenameofawe]

Devil is a fucking asshole.

[look armin she came out of hiding that just for you.]

[forcechanic]

Justice called him an edgelord.

[Which is really a great word. And probably gives them a clue about alliances.]

[awitchdidit]

I'm sure I could summon some sympathy if Devil had managed to select me, but I'm thankfully more forward-thinking now than I was in life. We should probably make a concerted effort to oppose...

...what even is Devil's possessive pronoun? Anyway, one should oppose Devil's interests even if one happens to be Marked by Devil. It's the only arcanum designed specifically to be liberated from by any means possible in the Fool's Journey, after all.

[fearinahandfulof]

Strength said she would send people back to their worlds if she won, as long as they had a place to go. People who don't could stay in Liminal Space if they wanted, and she'd...

[There's a short pause as Cassandra tries to remember her exact words]

"Ensure we were mostly undisturbed in future cycles."

When I asked her how they chose us, she said that those without... impetus?... were "removed from candidacy" and then possible Travelers were chosen at random. But who shows up and when varies wildly, because that's how Fortuna wanted it.

[There's another pause, longer this time.]

I asked her if we were copies and she said no, but her phrasing was slightly strange.

[uzoda]

I was talking with Strength, too. That's.... pretty much the promise she gave me, too.

She also said that Fortuna had "unfortunately passed". Maybe that's not news? Maybe it is. It's confirmation, anyway.

[triggerhappytraitor]

The one I spoke with... didn't say much. He mentioned something about a proxy not needing to speak much, but didn't explain what he meant by it.

[neverfeltthatway]

Which one did you speak to?

Do you know, did they mean a proxy like a clockwork machine? Or proxy as in they were only standing in for the Arcana?

[thornsofmalkav]

Wow. [Someone's tone over the network can come across as flat if you don't put any extra effort in it. But one gets the feeling that in this case, Thorne's being deliberately flat.] You're actually bothering to ask people for once.

[The rest of her tone is brisk and businesslike as she continues:]

Priestess confirmed that both Questing Country and Purgatory were their attempt to get or learn how to create something to patch the 'incursus' that the King In Yellow was using to poke his slimy fingers into Liminal Space. She succeeded where Judgement failed.

[neverfeltthatway]

...It's good to have that confirmed, thank you. [He doesn't say anything about her first statement.]

[awitchdidit]

That's a distressing number of interesting people I barely got a chance to talk to. Oh well.

Magician and I mostly spoke about personal motivations. Each of the Arcana has their own goals and style, but all of them want to win the game they're playing and enforce their various agendas on the universe. Magician, in particular, seems quite curious about us as individuals compared to some others, but obfuscates her own emotions as is her idiom. She's a bit of a tsundora that way.

But no, she was specific in saying that she was fascinated by and enjoyed studying us, and that she was one of the first who recognized us as individuals and not just...background noise. Each Arcanum understands itself perfectly, and sees everything else in relation to itself. They're static. Archetypal. I assume even the ones who embody change can only embody change and never remain consistent, which is stasis in its own way. I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got from ROSE.

Also, they can see into Dungeons, so be prepared for someone to have that kind of private knowledge if one of those has happened to you. Just thought you should all be aware.

[neverfeltthatway]

A tsundora?

And my conversation was much shorter, but that's my impression from what I've heard as well - that they are their arcana, and cannot be otherwise. Which is part of why they need us, to advance their interests and ideas in ways they might not be able to.

[senpaidol]

Most of what me and Durga-san talked about was specific to me and her, but she definitely confirmed that each of the Arcana want to make the universe more like themselves. She's really dedicated to winning, and is also planning on bringing back the dead Arcana. I'm not sure whether that happens regardless or if it's specifically something she'll do if she wins, since that'll make things more stable. She's Strength, so she's big on peace and stability and harmony.

[neverfeltthatway]

From what I've heard, most of them want to bring back the dead Arcana - but they don't all trust Devil or Tower to do so.

[whydoyoushine]

Chariot's cool. We played basketball! Seems alright to me.

[neverfeltthatway]

...Is that all you did? Did you talk about anything interesting?

[theflyingone]

I wrote down what I know of the Arcana and placed it in the Workshop's library, in the section for past Jaunts. My first encounter can be found in the Newport Codex. My Infiltration delivered a letter to who he thought was King Malcolm Doyle, but was in fact the Emperor. There is not much there. My second encounter is detailed in A Conversation with the Magician the Arcana and the Emperor the Arcana. That has an appendix of theories regarding it. My third contribution is to do with... while I was... in the floor. That is called Dying in Liminal Space, which is something I warn heavily against, for those of you who are new.

[ He neglects to mention that none of these give any details that he was Marked by the Emperor. He's kept the secret of his Arcana from all but a couple people thus far... ]

[neverfeltthatway]

I'll be sure to check them out, thank you. [Useful, for all that it misses the point that this was about getting everyone to share and to hear what was learned. Though he does plan to read these accounts, Armin is confident that most of the Travelers will not.]

[cloudpotter]

[He's been listening, and Yakumo's getting the distinct feeling that he lucked out with Justice.]

Summarizing it all... might not be that easy.

[and try as he might to do this as a team, it's kind of hard to trust nameless voices and strange faces appearing in your head.]

[neverfeltthatway]

Worthwhile things rarely are. But you don't need to summarize everything - just those things that might be important for us to know.

Forgive my lateness

[vorenado]

When I spoke with The Magician, she claimed that Travelers who have gone missing have become lost, and that it would take to much power for them to return them to Liminal Space. Dungeons are only one place they can end up, she described them as different states of being.

If she was speaking truthfully that would mean that those who are gone have not made it home like some have believed.

Re: Forgive my lateness

[willyousee]

No...

[Whoops, he didn't mean to broadcast that. Quick.]

Do you believe she was telling the truth?

[bite_the_hand]

The Chariot told me a lot more than just what was talked about the other day. [Meaning when Riddick asked about Moebius, but that's a topic he's been very careful about bringing up. Has been for a long time now.] It said if it wins it'll bring the other four back, and called Fortune its friend. And even it doesn't want Devil or Tower to win. It doesn't trust them to revive the others. It also said it plans to keep Traveling if it wins, starting with all of our worlds so the people that want to go home can. I think it'd be willing to help our worlds too, if something important needs doing.

I also asked it about what happens when we Infiltrate and Chariot said our minds end up in other people's bodies while our real bodies are kept safe. We do have an influence on them, but it said how much depends on the person we end up in. And we can recognize the Infiltrators because of the Network, I think? It wasn't really clear on that. The reason stuff sometimes carries over to our real bodies is because being in Liminal Space makes us a little liminal too. Something about Liminal Space making our thoughts and expectations affect our bodies.

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh my fucking god I was right, we are liminal. It's not just our clothes and everything else, liminality gets into us too.

[Look, she can't help but be pleased one of her theories came out right. Maybe it means her goo experiments are also on track.]