Conversation Space: The Ultimate

[powersthatbe]

You feel as if you've stepped through a door.

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Comments

[callmemeibe]

"I value redemption, sound judgment, forgiveness. I note these in my Chosen before I choose them. I wish to strengthen these values in the World."

[razorblade_empress]

"...And to do that, you need to win. Right?"

[callmemeibe]

"Correct." They pause for a moment, then add, "I do not understand why you ask questions you know the answers to. It is inefficient."

[razorblade_empress]

...Yeah, they're going to get along great, aren't they. "If you're expecting all efficiency all the time, you've got the wrong species." She shakes her head. "Never mind. I'm not going to ask exactly what you expect of us, since I'm guessing that depends at least in part on the goals of whichever Jaunt you're competing in, so: What's a Judgment-based universe going to be like, if you win?"

[callmemeibe]

"Perhaps. But you are my Chosen. I hold you to a higher standard than I do the unworthy."

They think about it for a long moment. "For you it will be a simple matter. You and my other Chosen will determine the fate of the other Travelers, at your own discretion. I will be condemning the wicked among my kind while you do this. Then I will be able to reshape Synodiporia to befit my virtues."

[razorblade_empress]

Unworthy is a word that makes Yukino very uncomfortable. It's a word that would have been - had been - applied to Yukino with a fair amount of frequency during her delinquent days.

The rest of what she's being told doesn't make her feel any less uneasy. How did she of all people end up getting claimed by the apparent disciplinarian of the group? "Which of your kind would those be?"

[callmemeibe]

"The Antisticides and the Exploiters," they answer. "They flaunt the laws of our kind and the laws of Fortune, respectively."

[razorblade_empress]

"Antisticides?" That is not a vocabulary word she recognizes.

[callmemeibe]

"She of two faces, he who contemplates, and zie who binds in chains. They all must be punished for their crimes, as befitting their mores."

[razorblade_empress]

That does not actually tell her what the word means, but it would probably be 'inefficient' to ask.

She thinks back to what she knows about Tarot. She of two faces isn't ringing any bells at the moment, but the other two... "Would the last two be Hermit and Devil?"

[callmemeibe]

Judgment looks a bit frustrated that they were not understood properly, but nods in response. "You would know them as Lovers, Hermit, Devil."

[razorblade_empress]

Yukino chooses not to respond to that frustrated look, mostly because she doesn't want to get into an argument about which of them is more frustrated right now. Instead, she just nods. "And 'Antisticides'? I really hate to ask, but I don't think that's in a language I actually know."

[callmemeibe]

A small sigh and a shift of the horn in their hands. "Murderers of Hierophant, all, in their way."

[razorblade_empress]

Yukino stares. "How the hell did they manage that? And why?" She gets that there's a competition going on, but from what she understands, losing that isn't actually lethal to the Arcana, or at least it's not supposed to be.

[callmemeibe]

They raise an eyebrow. "Surely you do not think me so poor in Judgment as to tell you that. Other Travelers would not use that information... wisely."

They shift the horn in their hands again, thinking. "I can tell you it was an internal matter. A foolish, short-sighted internal matter."

[razorblade_empress]

Okay, she has to concede that point. "Yeah, they probably wouldn't."

And she should probably concentrate on asking questions that might actually get answers. "When did it happen? And what did the rest of you do after?"

[callmemeibe]

"It happened before the Jaunt which you Travelers refuse to speak of," they answer. "Moebius. I know not how many of your time units it was. You need speak to Death or the Antisticide Hermit to learn that."

They think about her second question for a long, long time before answering. "Is there a specific Arcanum's activities about which you ask, or is this a more general inquiry into our... moods?"

[razorblade_empress]

"Would they be willing to speak to one who's not theirs?" It would at least be more efficient than passing the question to one of their people and making them do it - especially since Yukino does not, as far as she know, know anyone who's one of theirs yet.

She's started to think the second question isn't even going to get answered before Judgement speaks again. "I was wondering what you did in response to Hierophant's death. How you dealt with the aftermath. Your moods... I'm not going to pretend to know how you all think, but I can't imagine the general mood being very good." She pauses for a moment, considering. "Were you and Hierophant close?"

[callmemeibe]

"Likely," they answer, almost a touch derisively.

"Hierophant and I were close in that we shared a philosophical outlook, but he was closer to those who share parts of his idiom - Emperor, Strength, and so on." They ponder a moment more, then add, "I must continue Synodiporia regardless of the many we have lost. But Hierophant's loss was... preventable, needless. Through the selfishness of the Antisticides we had lost another. And that is why I intend to punish them for their misdeeds."