synopsychic | [open to all] Trump speculation + calling

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[open to all] Trump speculation + calling

... Perdonatemi, I have an announcement.

I am not sure anyone else is aware of this, but the payphone by the door can connect to the Trumps. Or at least, when I attempted to call a Trump, it went through. I am not sure if all the Trumps are available for a call or not. I have heard some of them are dead, so they are likely not, at least. In truth, I am not really sure why they are allowing us to speak to them, now. We should all proceed with caution.

Further... if anyone has information on any of the Trumps that appeared this past Jaunt - The Magician, going by ROSE; The Hermit, going by SAGE; and The Devil - please, share it. I am not well versed in the mystical meanings behind the Tarot, only the cards and their numbers. The Magician is one, The Hermit nine, and the Devil fifteen. While I cannot say I know much about The Hermit, I am aware of many aspects of SAGE, as I was a Crypto this past Jaunt. I... I can tell you what little I know about him, if it would help.

... lastly, if anyone was Marked and feels comfortable coming forward with that information, I would be much obliged to hear it. Private or public, it does not concern me; I shall not come forward with that information unless you are comfortable providing it publicly. With so many Trumps amongst us, I cannot believe any of them would leave empty-handed, as it were.

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Quite a few Jaunts ago I was marked by the Fool, who was going by the name Don Orlea at the time.

[ clever people can work on that anagram and give Mister Tell-Me-About-Your-Tats-While-I-Neglect-To-Inform-You-Of-Mine the hairy eyeball. ]

While infiltrating I was converted into an automata and... sought guidance from one of the Users, who I understand was the Devil. The automata had a second user, some sort of dual construct that was supposed to be much kinder, but I'm not sure who that was. I am definitely sitting in on those tarot lessons when they happen.

[ something else happened at the end of the Jaunt, but Ambrose suspects he should place a phone call before discussing it openly. ]

The second user was the Lovers - we actually figured that out before we knew about the Devil. They visited Hijikata and Chizuru in liminal space, and it fit with what ROSE said when she... marked me.

[He hesitates on that last bit, changing what he'd been about to say. Even for a soldier, even after all this time, it's hard to refer to a time you were murdered casually - and Armin doesn't want to make the conversation about that.]

I was marked by the Hermit. I had the opportunity to speak with SAGE. I must presume it happened then.

[ well. ]

Sorry, I was out of the loop what with all the infiltrating. [ quick little considering pause here. ] And sorry about getting marked. Welcome to the club?

I understand. I was infiltrating for most of the jaunt too - transitioning and catching up is always disorienting.

[A responding pause.] ...Thanks. It's looking like it was inevitable, anyway - and I got a question out of it.

My guess is that the Hermit's mystical meanings are... isolation, introspection. A sort of guidance from within. SAGE very much fit these. Many years ago, he repurposed several programs he considered... unique, individual, special. I was chosen as one of those. We were programmed to each do a different task, and we all mostly stuck to ourselves... with few exceptions, this Jaunt was the first time in many years that the Cryptos had banded together to collaborate.

It's... strange how easily I can talk about it now. We were not programmed to provide information easily.

It is a pleasure, Messer Tatsumi. I am, as you may know by now, Leonardo.

[Leonardo listens to all of these, quietly.]

The Hermit did fit that description very well, from my limited understanding of him... I do not know much about the Magician, I am afraid. And the Devil...

[It gives him almost a shiver. Bound and chained, his worst nightmare in many ways.]

... he must have been behind Harrogate, then. We saw quite a few shackles in the Liminal Space past it, mostly submerged in water.

Which is strange, for the Moon. The Moon is all about deception and illusion, is it not?

The Tarot is diverse enough that it may not be possible. Every card has their opposite represented, do they not?

And neither am I. I am a pacifist. And yet...

[Don't worry, he's with you there, Randolph. As much as he finds them fascinating...]

But it should be noted that infiltrators seem to be up for claiming, even if their personality is not best represented. I know several people have infiltrated and come back with a mark.

And yet they spoke with R1DK-B - er, my apologies, Riddick. I do not think they would turn you away.

... perhaps. But they might not wish to speak to you much. They may in fact be hostile.

... has that ever happened before? A Trump appearing in Liminal Space? I do not recall that being the case.

... but it is possible that if we avoid the Trumps when they appear, that we will delay the process, yes? They can only mark us if they speak to us, it seems like.

[Delaying the process is the key thing, for him. If they are headed to war... best to use all of his skills to barter for more time, more moments of peace.]

...Heh. 'Kanji''s fine. [He really can't stand on formality after everything that's happened, after all.] And - Leonardo-san. [...Not sure about the honorific there either, but he's going to go with it just for the moment and hope for the best.] Cool. It's good t' talk to you, uh... again.

But - damn, there were? As if seein' the things lying around here wasn't bad enough... I wasn't around here back then, so I couldn't really say, but that does sound a lot like it'd fit.

[And from the fleeting bits he'd heard of Harrogate? Yeah. It wouldn't be entirely inappropriate.]

But you are not marked, are you? You should not try to intentionally get yourself marked. We do not know what will happen when we are all marked, and it could only lead us faster into ruin.

... thank you for that summary. It was much needed.

As for why they would trap the Hermit on the Grid - the Lovers and the Devil were in competition with him. They unleashed the Automata curse to contain him here, because the Lovers did not wish to kill him. But he could not stay in their competition, whatever that competition may be.

Essentially, we added a returning player to this 'game' of theirs.

Oh... I see... I'm sorry, Mai. Who was it who marked you?

[Yes, those themes are very accurate to Hermit. In the end, Near may have been lucky to have been what he had during the Jaunt. Else he could have so easily found himself claimed by that one.]

What was it about you and the others that was considered special? [It may only be relevant to that world, or it could provide insight into how and why the Trumps make their choices. SAGE is, after all, the Hermit. And researching the psychic backlog has told him that the Trumps had been to the Grid before.]

We are all being marked by the Trumps, Phèdre. However these marks might appear - tattoos seem to be the most prevalent - they seem to hold the iconography of one Trump in particular, the one who gave the tattoo to the Traveler. With what I know now... I am convinced we are being chosen, separated into groups, perhaps to fight in a war that is not ours.

I have one, if you would like to see it in person.

They did, but that was when he was subsumed beneath R1DK-B. And furthermore, when he gave them little choice by appearing before them. This is a different mechanism and far more within their control.

It is true, they may be. [It's a calm, thoughtful sentence, but does not seem to indicate a change in his position.]

... the Hermit, I see. Thank you for telling me, Shuu.

I do not like the idea of this "game" of theirs. It worries me.

... yes, that would seem to confirm our 'cure' worked.

[Which is both a relief to the lingering Crypto still in him and a disappointment to the rational side of him.]

Oh... I see... who did?

Yes, Ambrose, and I with you. Though none of us knew about the Trumps and their physical forms at the time... though the Fool would not say he was such, and it was only gleaned later.

[Y'know, helping narrate for the people listening in.]

I suppose there is at least one good thing about it occurring, if only that you stayed out of harm's way with the Devil... my apologies, Ambrose. I too would like to be a part of these lessons. They will provide most valuable in the future.

Yes, it would make sense that is when it occurred. That is at least three claimed by the Hermit. Much like the Fool claiming three of us, back then.

[There was a lengthy delay in Zatanna's own reply. First of all, because she'd have wanted to talk to her nonno about it in private. Allow him to see the Mark up close. So he would already know.]

[This message wasn't for him.]

I was Marked too. Near the end, when I went into that Tower after putting it all back together.

[She'd weighed the pros and cons before deciding, particularly with everyone sharing their own experiences...it was probably more important to be Open about this than keeping it a Secret for personal reasons.]

I spoke to...I don't even know how many Trumps there. It was a voice-only thing, and I could barely keep track of who was saying what. But then one of them Marked me in exchange for information.

[And then, the biggest reason of all to let this be known publicly:]

It was the High Priestess.

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[open to all] Trump speculation + calling

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