synopsychic | (no subject)

[Before the rebellion, before liminal space changes, Matthew speaks to the network]

We have information to share.

First: This is Fool and Judgement's jaunt. They're still in liminal space, by the way. It's all the other ones that are in the jaunt, being a giant rock. They are, according to Fool, pursuing a 'possibility'. One that has 'a chance to restore many worlds whose possibilities have been forever lost' to them. Don't ask me what that means beyond that; Fool's allergic to answering questions and Judgement is a prissy bitch.

I believe that to pursue this possibility, they are draining the dreamworld of it's power, and stealing it's secrets. Fucking the place up in the process is apparently an unintended side effect. [and why yes, Matthew does indeed sound rather dry when he says this particular point. Someone is not impressed.]

We also have reason to believe that whatever is behind the Starquakes, they are...similar, but not the same, as the Arcana. Something on the same scale, perhaps. Or perhaps the Arcana are also more like places than people. Or maybe they all just really like fucking up this place! Seems to be common theme at this point, really.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Of course I'm not really sure. But I am as reasonably sure as I can be, as any of us can be, of the meaning of a tarot card and its application to the lives of others. The whole point of the card "Judgment" is to offer forgiveness and renewal when it has been earned, not simply willy-nilly, that's why the card is called "Judgment" to begin with. I suppose that might explain Penuel's irritation with her fellow Arcana, if they don't believe their forgiveness has been earned yet. I just wish they would show more interest in things outside of judging, like the fate of the Travelers.

Either way, unless the Arcana is planning on forgoing a sizeable portion of the card's meaning, then no, a world with more forgiveness will not make people forced to play nice with horrible people. I hope, rather, that it would mean fewer horrible people, at all, as in my experience many horrible people tend to be that way out of fear and uncertainty. With more forgiveness in the world, I would think they would be less likely to be fearful and uncertain.

Every Arcana has a potential downside, but the downsides of Judgment I can envision seem less extreme and less dangerous than just about every other card I can think of. If we're stuck with one of them, Judgment as an idiom is one of the safer bets. That's why I am thinking about the balance between Arcana personality and card idioms. Just because Penuel is an unpleasant person doesn't mean them winning is necessarily a bad thing-- just like while Lovers may come across as a pleasant person in most situations, I am fairly sure none of us want her to win.

The reason no one wants Lovers to win isn't because of her idiom; it's because she's really a complete bitch who see as all as dolls for her to play with.

And all you are doing, when you talk about what you think a universe under her idiom would be like, is guessing. Thats it. Because you don't know what will happen. You hope that things will be better, but you don't know. None of us know. Because none of them have told us, really, exactly what will happen when one of them wins this game. Do you realise the arrogance of it, to assume that you can pick an Arcana, and look at all the things they represent, and know what that will mean for the universe? Not just your world, but every other world out there? Throughout all of time? Throughout all of history? Against which your experience is nothing more than one brief speck of dust against the endless infinity of all that is and all that ever was?

[Sigh. Did we really have to resort to insults, Matthew?]

Arrogant or not, we are stuck in this game until someone provides us with a reliable way out to keep any of the Arcana from winning. Until that time, we can only assume that one of them is going to win. So, I feel it would also be a bad idea for us to not make any kind of value judgment based on the Arcana's idioms. I honestly don't care nearly as much about their personalities, since it's not their personalities that are going to affect people I care about. Their personalities are not what's going to be affecting the universe. Their idioms are.

No, we can't know what will happen when one of these beings wins. But we can make educated guesses. Not random, chance-only guesses-- educated ones, with the information that we have available to us. I am all for collecting more information with which to make better educated guesses, but in the meantime, it's what we have to go on.

[[Apparently? Yes. Yes they do.]]

I'm not saying we shouldn't take their idioms into account. But we should be taking their personalities into account. What they do. How they act. How they treat us.

And Judgement, apparently, is one that we aren't safe with. One who is more concerned whether we do what's permitted. And one who's also has decided that all of her chosen should get to sit in judgement upon the rest of us. We know that if she wins, you - and everyone else she's slapped her Mark onto - will be deciding what happens to the rest of us. The fate of the many, decided by the judgement of the few.

I'm sure that bodes real well for a universe she gets to shape in her own image.

Yes, they did mention that. The thing where we get to decide what happens to everyone else after this-- I think that's more out of a lack of care, on their part, than a conscious choice. Which is utterly ridiculous, if you ask me, they ought to care. I certainly have no desire to make decisions for everyone else.

[He sighs.]

I'm going to have to have a talk with them and sort this all out, once the Jaunt is over, aren't I. I at least need to straighten out what the problem is that would make them actively dangerous to the rest of you-- and see if that's remotely fixable. Because that's troubling, I will admit.

Yes. You do.

[and he's going to leave it at that, really]