(backdated to just before the Jaunt started)

[backwordscompatible]

[Not long after her and Armin's little experiment, Zatanna's voice rang out over the psychic network.  Somehow managing to sound sure yet hesitant at the same time.  Confident in the fact that what she had to say was proven true, but wary because...well...]

Okay, I can't really think of an easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it.

The Trump tatoos?  They're emitting off some kind of low-level psychic energy.  Like an imprint.  We tested two different tattoos, and they're both giving off the same energy.  Different signatures--which I guess kind of makes sense, since they came from two different Trumps--but...well...

I don't know exactly what this means yet, but I thought everyone should know.

[There is a lengthy pause, like she wanted to add more to it but couldn't quite find the words.  Until, eventually, a little softer:]

Robin?

If you can hear me, I wanted to ask you something too.

Comments

[wholeheaded]

...y'know, that makes a whole lot of sense but it's nice to have the confirmation. [ for some value of "nice." ] Who's we and how'd you figure it out?

[backwordscompatible]

[Thanks to Armin, she was a little more wary about giving away the specifics psychically:]

Magic.

[But she could still validate her findings with some explanation.]

I've always been able to sense things like this back home, but here, I needed a little help. It was kind of a shot in the dark, but we figured there had to be something to those tattoos if they were deliberately marking us.

[wholeheaded]

[ stiiiill pointedly not sure who the "we" is in this situation but okay, this is a start. ]

Really nifty spell there, in that case. Are you planning on further experimentation, maybe cataloging the different signatures somehow?

[backwordscompatible]

[Ask her again, later, in person, and she'll be happy to name names.]

It's on the table for possibilities.

I mean, we only know about two so far. And they were both different. If this is psychic energy emitting...I mean, who knows? Maybe the energy between tatoos from the same Trump are linked somehow?

[This was all pure speculation at this point, though; she had no evidence. Only theories.]

[wholeheaded]

[ ...siiiiiiigh. ]

Yeah, that would be something to test. And maybe see if there's any close similarities between certain marks, since... we sort of know from the Grid that the Trumps form alliances sometimes. Maybe we can use this to figure that out.

[ his noggin's still full of politics from last jaunt. ]

[amadine]

So they have their hooks in deep on anyone they've marked. No great surprise there.

[backwordscompatible]

Maybe not.

But now we know for certain. [Kind of] Just not what they intend to use the connection for. Or how strong it can get.

[amadine]

To make it easier to shove their hands up their chosen's asses and walk them around like puppets, I'd imagine. Or to draw greater power from their victories, however they score them. Control, in one form or another.

[backwordscompatible]

But they had that already.

[The Jaunts. The ability to pull them from world to world, often screwing with one's memories. Or leaving the memories and erasing what little free will they had left until dumping them all unceremoniously back into some new Liminal.]

Besides that, not everybody gets marked at the same time. I'll be not everybody's marked right now, even though we could be.

[whydoyoushine]

Really? What a pain. I wonder if they're trying to watch us through these things.

[Not that he sounds particularly bothered by the concept.]

[backwordscompatible]

[Something which she almost immediately picked up on, based on his tone.]

You can't possibly be okay with this in any way.

[whydoyoushine]

What's getting all upset going to do about it? Make the mark go away?

I'd be surprised if it wasn't just a tattoo if they're going through all this trouble.

[backwordscompatible]

[It might? Okay, no, she knew that wouldn't help any. But still. It was the principle of the thing!]

The way I was marked, I figured as much too.

But I needed to be sure. On top of that, knowing what type of energy is radiating from it might give us a heads up in the future if they ever activate. Maybe we can...I don't know...figure out a way to do something about it?

[neverfeltthatway]

I would have thought they already had that kind of ability.

[whydoyoushine]

Well, there's watching us, then there's watching us.

[There's the mental equivalent of a shrug.]

Like seeing out of our eyes, hearing out of our ears...

[He should really be more creeped out by that.]

[private]

[turbedon]

What's up?

[private]

[backwordscompatible]

[For once, it was all work and no play here. Getting right down to business--]

Can we inspect your tattoo too?

You and Armin were both marked by the same Trump, right? I want to see if the signatures match.

[turbedon]

Sure, sounds reasonable enough. I'll come find you.

[Some things never change - teammate wants help by poking at him? Fire away!]

[backwordscompatible]

[Circumstances aside, she actually laughed a little.]

Good luck with that.

I think I managed to get myself lost in here.

[detectivewonder]

So there are degrees of connection. The marks serve a purpose that isn't fulfilled by our connection to the network and Liminal Space.

[backwordscompatible]

Apparently.

Too bad we don't know what that purpose is yet.

[shantiprayer]

Are you able to tell what kind of Psychic energy it is? Or at least whether or they're capable of effecting our own minds somehow through the marks?

[backwordscompatible]

Trump psychic energy, if I were to wager on it.

And I can't say for certain, but...it's entirely possible.

[shantiprayer]

[There's the equivalent of a mental shudder. ]

So our actions might not even be completely our own anymore. That's really creepy.

[backwordscompatible]

I'd like to hope they are.

I mean...it's not like during the Jaunts. I've had my memories altered and I was mind controlled halfway through one of them before. Each time, they had me doing what they wanted me to do, not what I wanted.

And something tells me they don't really want me screwing around with the tattoos.

[Meaning she couldn't have been under their control too heavily if she and Armin had gotten away with their experiment.]