early week 4

[claudiometer]

[Shortly after Claudia's royal audience and discussion with Minako, Claudia takes to the network. Again. She still feels like she's spamming, but this is kinda important.]

So, about that royal family. Plot twist, they appear to be Perry and Mina.

Double plot twist. They're not.

I only talked to the queen, but I remember Mei's speech patterns from Misericordia - she spoke in threes then and she's doing the same thing now. I'd bet anything the king is likewise Emperor Emperor. No idea if another of our hosts might be poking around or not, but anyone who's talked to one of the two of 'em might want to check for mystery tattoos.

Minako's still hooked up to the Hotel Redwood Liminal. I might end up passing on more updates for her, or she might get things sorted out herself and be able to report back - don't know yet.

Comments

[summerorange]

"Emperor, emperor?" Who is that? Are they Travelers as well?

[claudiometer]

No, they're Trumps. Empress and Emperor, in this case. [She has to stop herself from adding the second 'Emperor,' since for full context that'll just confuse matters further.]

These two have turned up before, which is slightly out of pattern, but there's a possibility the last time didn't count as their actual shot at appearing. And his alias at the time translated as 'Emperor Emperor,' so it's kinda stuck.

[summerorange]

Trumps...the very beings pulling us into these worlds...?

[Or at least, that's what she's heard before.]

[claudiometer]

One and the same. They pop up every now and then.

[summerorange]

But why those two for this world? It wouldn't be related to the Solomon's Ring, would it? After all, it's meant to bridge two worlds together...

[claudiometer]

It could be related. Stability and abundance.

The real question is whether there's a third Trump around, what they want out of this if so, and how the Manticore factors in.

[summerorange]

A way to make peaceful contact between worlds, for trade and helping Spirits go home... Yes, that would make a lot of sense. And also why we're also here, most likely.

But how can you tell if there's more of them in this world? Are there any signs that we should be looking for?

[claudiometer]

Unfortunately, that's generally a matter of guesswork. They do tend to show up in some way that suits their imagery, though. Like, Magician has a table, Empress and Emperor Emperor as the royal family, Hanged Man was tangled in some rigging and upside down, Strength has a lion, that kind of thing.

[wildmagician]

... the king doesn't make random visits to interrogation rooms, does he?

[dreamingking]

Not surprising. I can report that the locals know and are spreading this information. Well, at least the part where the royals are spirits and not human.

Although, I'm not certain of the significance of them appearing to be this Perry and Mina.

[claudiometer]

Familiar faces - Perry and Mina are two of them - are not themselves Trumps.

I have two theories about the disguise. One, the Trumps aren't all that great at faking humanity in the first place, so they might be trying to give themselves an edge at blending in. Two, Mei was pretty obviously Asian-looking when I met her, and that probably wouldn't fly for pretending to be British royalty - if nothing else, people are reliably assholes about that sort of thing. It could also be both.

[claudiometer]

...That's an oddly specific question.

I don't see why he wouldn't, though. I don't see why either of them wouldn't, actually, if they can get the time. Good way to meet people without a lot of bodyguard presence around.

[dreamingking]

I would think both myself, especially if they're analogues to some of the more reclusive First Born.

[Tybalt could never imagine Acacia or Blind Michael successfully pretending to be human--not in the modern age, at least. Evening and the Luidaeg were far more successful.]

Familiar faces appear to be important enough to get their own moniker, and I would guess that they always look the same just from that. Is there anything else particular about them that makes them stand out?

[protect_and_serve]

I advise we stay away from them.

[claudiometer]

Nothing worse is going to happen to me. Part of why I did the thing.

[claudiometer]

Whenever they show up, they're always infiltrating.

[dreamingking]

Ah, I see.

[That's... disturbing, from what he's already seen of this 'infiltrating.']

Forgive my ignorance, I've only just arrived before we were sent here, and haven't had in depth education on these Trumps. I've heard that they represent the Major Arcana of a Tarot deck and of course that they're responsible for most everything we're put through once they bring us here, but human mysticism is very far from my forte.

What can you tell me about these two in particular?

[claudiometer]

Mei's deal is female power, creativity, family, motherhood, that kind of thing. And, uh. Don't hit on her unless you want a mystery tattoo. Emperor Emperor looks to be mainly masculine power, authority, stability, so on.

[dreamingking]

I will take your words under strict advisement.

[He'd laugh if it wasn't serious. He can't imagine being marked is much better than being under the thumb of a First Born.]

I suspect I would have more to worry about this twice-named Emperor, as I am a King of Cats. Unless there is another Trump that more specifically deals with all things cat?

[claudiometer]

[Even though it didn't happen to her, it's totally serious. Everyone can learn from Worick's misadventure.]

Hey, he's the one who called himself 'Hakan Caesar.' Of course the doubling was going to stick. I'm not exactly up on my tarot, this is all flying by the seat of my pants while I have Internet access, but I'm pretty sure none of them are specifically cat-oriented.

[dreamingking]

It certainly leaves no doubt as to his domain, although a little literal for my tastes.

I suppose I shall have to do some research into the matter, which sounds like it requires a computer. Shame the younger ones aren't here; I'm still not entirely convinced that computers are worth the trouble.

[Well, he knows that they're incredibly useful, but that doesn't mean he can't wish for simpler times and paper and leather in his hands.]

But for the moment, it looks like staying away from this King should be protection enough, which is easily managed. The Manticore has my attention as it stands.

[claudiometer]

There might be some useful books at the library, if you can swing it.

The good news there is I don't think the Manticore's a Trump at all, just the local kind of dangerous. That's... pretty bad by itself, to be fair, but better than it could be.

[dreamingking]

Libraries are quite a bit more familiar to me. I shall locate the one in town and have a look.

[Tybalt still isn't sure the Manticore doesn't count as Firstborn power-wise, but not a Trump is good.]

As I'm bound to at least look for a way to stop him, that's good news. Whether or not it makes a difference remains to be seen. I can only hope some allies on our side stand up to aid in removing him from power; doing it alone isn't something I look forward to.

[claudiometer]

The Knights haven't exactly gone out of their way to make him popular. I don't think you'll have trouble finding allies.

I think I have the timeline right here

[awitchdidit]

Of course. Who else would the royals be.

I'm going to be helping someone I believe is an Infiltrator observe them. I'll keep this in mind if we get too much attention.