Arcana-talk time [A day or two into the new liminal]

[professorwolf]

We're still assuming that the liminal space before a Jaunt represents the Arcana competing in it, yes? I know someone's mentioned this earlier, but it definitely needs to be highlighted-- I think it's pretty obvious this time that the contest will be between Chariot and Tower. The giant wooden horse running through a thunderstorm really couldn't be more blatant. For once.

[He's not great at understanding symbolism, but damn if this wasn't an easy one.]

So if that's right, it'll be a contest of motion and persistence, versus dramatic change and catastrophe. I think it's easy enough to decide who we want to support, in this case. We'll just have to find ways to make sure we see what sort of conditions make for a win for each ideal.

Any ideas for what to look for and how to keep things from devolving into a catastrophe? Those seem to happen a lot when we're around, unfortunately.

Comments

[haremtrap]

[This psychic network thing is weird but let's roll with it.]

So I've heard people mention jaunts, I think, but not like.

What they are?

[leftbehindagain]

I don't know about keeping things from devolving into a catastrophe, but I do know that while reverting to whatever the place's status quo is would stop Tower, it wouldn't be good enough for Chariot.

Basically it'll need affecting a change without setting everything on fire. [No pressure.]

[butthemiracleneverhappen]

I agree that avoiding a more catastrophic World is in our best interests.

In this case, it means we must be the change we wish to see in the World, does it not?

[memoryandtheft]

Is it, though? Sometimes you need dramatic, sweeping change.

Unless you're looking at what's best for us, not necessarily for the world we land on.

[awitchdidit]

It's difficult to say what path to take without knowing anything about the particulars. That particular matchup seems extremely volatile, however. The best advice I could give is that we should probably decide on a course of action and stick to it as long as it's not obviously headed off a cliff. Hesitation and delay would surely be fatal in this case.

[vorenado]

It is unfortunately difficult to devise any worthwhile plan before knowing the details of the battleground in question. Though it seems, between the two options available, one could very easily lead to the other. Too much persistence can lead to a catastrophe, though moving towards a dramatic change may not necessarily be a bad thing in the end.

[what_do_you_see]

Sometimes you need to sweep away the dead wood, start over.

[runawaystory]

It's going to be quite a balancing act... We'll have to work with what's already in motion. So start with gathering as much info on all sides as possible?

[truerevelation]

I'm ... just gonna add a bit more on the symbolism stuff for now? Chariot's as much about 'control' and 'determination' and 'victory' as it is moving.
A big change can still happen if ... if that's the best thing, if that's what folks decide. It's just gotta be under control. No big disaster or ... burnin' the place down.

[Kanji privately adds to Lyall:]

Gonna come clean though. Chariot's mine. And I trust it a lot more than I trust Tower.

[helborn]

I'm new here, so I wouldn't be able to tell you what to expect, but... well. The Tower is disaster, upheaval, sudden change, and revelation. The Chariot is control, will power, victory, assertion, and determination. If I had to guess, I'd say it's a battle between order and chaos. Order isn't always the best thing to go by, either... but it depends what the fallout of the chaos would be.

If the fact that we're in a Trojan Horse is anything to go by, we'll be dealing with Greece, and possibly Bronze Age. The Trojan War was about... somewhere in the 1100 B.C.E. range? I think around there, anyway.

Needless to say, we're looking at a culture that's very war-focused. Do what you can to avoid being drafted into the war. Yell for help if you need it. Stay away from anyone named Paris, Achilles, or Ajax for a start.

[rustyhonesty]

One thing that'll likely help is to make me an infiltrator if I'm not one automatically. Last time we had a Tower jaunt, I definitely screwed up.

[It's likely he didn't mean to actually answer with that, but it just came up in his thoughts with the subject.]

[Private]

[triggerhappytraitor]

Keep an eye on Hajime.

[chalicejoker]

Tower can't win. We can't let that happen.

And now for something completely different

[reallymean]

So we know who the main players are likely to be.

Would you be willing to give an overview of the way these contests usually unfold? For the sake of those of us who are newly arrived or were long absent?

[laceandcarnage]

This is the Tower that Marked me, when I was Izanami?

...Will this contest between him and Chariot allow me the opportunity to rend the flesh form his bones and fashion his internal organs into a hat?

[papacerberus]

[Lupa's been listening to things quietly as is his wont, and trying to avoid the private conversations--a lot harder now that he accidentally filter intrusion. And he thinks it's about time he expressed his thoughts.]

I'm not certain it's possible, but I would suggest trying for a draw, or a situation in which the match is forfeit and they must both continue on to a rematch. A delaying tactic until we can find a way to adjust the game itself. Just one of the Arcana winning is not ideal, no matter which one it is. Many of them represent excellent qualities, but the expression 'too much of a good thing' exists for a reason.

As an example, when I spoke to Emperor, who marked me, I inquired in depth about what he represents. I discovered that he represents all order, and the results of the last jaunt should be an obvious reason why that can be terrible for worlds. Order can be a good thing, but when it becomes cold, or proud, it's ruinous. In my own world, there are numerous examples that fit Emperor's ideals, and none of them were good things, and how things ended in both the Junkyard and the world outside, I suspect, would greatly fit into Tower's representation. In spite of lives lost and destruction, that was a very good thing in the end. Increasing Emperor's influence, and diminishing Tower's, would have made that ending far less likely.

That is why I think we should work towards an end to this in which all Arcana are represented equally. They all have a place, and act as balances to the excesses of each other. Emperor dismissed it immediately as impossible, but they are so bound by what they represent that I wouldn't count his answer as full and complete. We are not so bound, and we have so many that are creative, intelligent and determined; if any group can find a way to alter the game in such a way, I'm sure it's us.

[not_the_question]

[He talks like he's been around awhile, but he hasn't.]

Everyone is focusing on this chess match. And while we're definitely caught up in it, I'm far more concerned about the innocent by-standers in these Jaunt things. Plus there's something else to think about: If we really are headed towards the Trojan War, then that is a fixed point in time. We cannot change it. Neither the fact that it happened, nor its results. To do so would result in a tidal wave of changes that could destroy the whole universe. Maybe all universes, given the number of different universes represented here.

[He's really not a fatalist, except when he is.]

[maximumest]

[why is everyone in his head.]

How are we to support one or the other? What sort of situation are we headed into that it's easy to go, do this thing or don't do that thing?

[phobophage]

[She'd been following some of the other public conversations because she's finding this to be of great interest to her.]

I've seen what the Tower stands for bring both negative and positive change. But I'm going to be figuring out a way to turn this against him, because being ruled by catastrophic change would just mean many'd die. Messing around with alternative options can wait for another time. This would be easier if most of my capabilities hadn't been taken away from me for who knows what reason. That only leaves me with the knowledge of someone who's been around in that time period.

I'm with the Moon, by the way.