Jaskier ♫ The Sandpiper (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rollstoseduce) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
victory_road2021-08-03 04:38 pm
rollstoseduce) wrote in victory_road2021-08-03 04:38 pm
Text | Evening of August 2nd
[It's finally time for the fantasy trio to leave for Kanto and start a new badge journey, and like last time, they're taking a night train to sleep through it. Or that's the idea anyway - because also like last time, Jaskier wants to take the chance to chat a bit with the network. And after a little misunderstanding from the steward regarding Kiri, there's a topic that won't leave his mind.]
Many a similarity I've found among the realms us otherworlders hail from, yet there's one thing from mine (besides witchers!) I haven't found anywhere else: the Law of Surprise.
It's a custom as old as humanity itself, the granting of a seemingly impossible wish, the price a man who saves another can demand:
"Give me that which you already have but do not know yet".
It is a request for something which neither the savior nor the saved knows the nature of, until the saved man returns home. It could be a cute little pup or a mere crop, mayhap a new pair of shoes... or even a baby. So many heroic stories from my world were starred by a Child Surprise, often known as the Children of Destiny.
So imagine yourselves, if you will, in front of a powerful king or queen that asks you what reward you'd like for your service. What is your answer?
Do you ask for gold? A lady's hand in marriage?
Or do you dare to ask for the Law of Surprise to see what Destiny has in store in for you?
((As always, Jaskier needs to be super extra with his font. Lmk if you need me to drop it!))
Many a similarity I've found among the realms us otherworlders hail from, yet there's one thing from mine (besides witchers!) I haven't found anywhere else: the Law of Surprise.
It's a custom as old as humanity itself, the granting of a seemingly impossible wish, the price a man who saves another can demand:
"Give me that which you already have but do not know yet".
It is a request for something which neither the savior nor the saved knows the nature of, until the saved man returns home. It could be a cute little pup or a mere crop, mayhap a new pair of shoes... or even a baby. So many heroic stories from my world were starred by a Child Surprise, often known as the Children of Destiny.
So imagine yourselves, if you will, in front of a powerful king or queen that asks you what reward you'd like for your service. What is your answer?
Do you ask for gold? A lady's hand in marriage?
Or do you dare to ask for the Law of Surprise to see what Destiny has in store in for you?
((As always, Jaskier needs to be super extra with his font. Lmk if you need me to drop it!))
no subject
A very astute, well-thought answer! We have similar issues with nobility in my world as well, but allow me to ask for clarification: by "information" you mean "general knowledge"? Or something more akin to "intel", mayhap of the political kind? Intel is valuable - powerful even. But I also think not many a person would know what to do with it.
no subject
[Is joke. Please laugh.]
There would be no use in asking for general knowledge. I definitely won't say I know everything there is to know, but I'd have other ways of finding that sort of information. I have access to our military library, after all. Though, where I come from, all general information is controlled by our government and designed to keep us under control and ignorant of the actual truth of our world. So it has a pretty limited use.
It would absolutely be intel that I'd be after. As for using it -- I wouldn't exactly be keeping it to myself. I'd be reporting it to our commander. He's got an incredible ability to gain an advantage even from the smallest piece of information. And to be honest, our military branch is not particularly popular with the nobility, especially not of late. Any political information could help keep us from being shut down.
no subject
[He did laugh! Who would've thought you had it in you, Armin.]
True, general knowledge can indeed be found somewhere else. But there are cases, as you just described, when that general knowledge has been altered or erased. So gaining it could mean rewriting history.
I don't blame you for choosing intel, however, especially considering the circumstances you're telling me about. And your commander and the military branch are trustworthy of such information? In my experience, they aren't better than the nobles that fund them.
no subject
But I do trust Commander Erwin and the Survey Corps in general. It's -- you have to understand that the Survey Corps is the only branch trying to break the status quo we are in. While the Military Police guards the king, and the Garrison guards the walls, the Survey Corps is the only branch that actually goes out beyond the walls and tries to gain intelligence on the Titans. It's by far the most dangerous branch. About 50% of new members don't survive their first mission. As you can imagine, we aren't a popular choice with trainees.
Really. We're just the freaks and misfits branch. You have to be a little crazy to join the Corps. Or a lot, I guess.
But, to me, this makes us a bad breeding ground for the sort of corruption that infests the Military Police. I'm not saying we are all good people, but just that there is nothing in us that attracts the sort of person that values themselves above everything else.
Besides, I've followed Commander Erwin's career since I joined the military. A lot of people call him a devil because he is willing to sacrifice the lives of the people under him if it means gaining an advantage for humanity. But I admire that sort of ability because that is the only way we can ever change the situation we are in.
Plus, if it wasn't for the Commander, Eren would be dead. He was the only one willing to argue on his behalf in front of the court. If it had been up to any of the other military branches, Eren would've been killing and dissected. All of them would've thrown out the best chance of a change we've had in a century all because they were scared, but Commander Erwin is different.
Like I said, he's willing to give everything to gain an advantage for humanity. I like to think I am too. So I would not hesitate bringing information to him because I know we are on the same side.
no subject
I cannot say I agree with your idea that a "misfits branch" is not a good breeding ground for corruption - if anything, I believe the opposite. It's the perfect ground to breed traitors and sellswords. In the case of the particular man we're discussing, however, you obviously know him pretty well and live in the same context as him, which I lack. So all I can say is: I'm glad to know you have a leader you can trust. In politics, those are rare.
I must admit, I am rather curious about this world of yours. Jean has told me a bit about it, but you have a completely different approach to it. [Aka: a nerdy and philosophical one, which he appreciates.] Would you tell me more about it someday?
no subject
I don't mind telling you about my world at all. Though I must warn that it won't be a pretty story. And some of the things I know I only know second hand through Jean. He's from several years into my future and he's told me about the things we've discovered, but I haven't experienced those things myself.
no subject
[He's travelled alone before back in his world, but that's way different from being alone in a new world, surrounded my magical beasties.
A pause before the next message arrives - this is something he's thought about a couple of times.]
My world isn't that much better, so your tales won't scare me. I must ask, however... Jean mentioned there had been another him here before, I didn't know he was also from his friends' future. What is that like? Is there some kind of disconnect? Does it still feel natural to spend time with him? Have you heard tales of your future self?
no subject
I guess it took some time. And re-acquainting ourselves and learning to set new expectations. But to me, even if he didn't remember what we experienced here together, he was still a dear friend, so it was worth establishing that friendship again.
And yes, I made him tell me everything that happened between the last moment I can remember and the last moment he remembers.
[Armin does not know, however, that there is one thing Jean has purposely kept from him.]
I wanted to know. Partially because I arrived here with many questions and finally there were answers but also partially because I felt I would be able to understand him better if I knew what he had gone through.
I also felt-- I know people say that when we return to our worlds, we do not remember this place. And that is the experience many people have had, but if you think about it -- when we leave this world and later return, sometimes we retain our memories. To me, that implies that our memories are retained somewhere in our brain, but perhaps there is simply nothing in our own world that can trigger them, in the same way, you sometimes can't remember something until someone mentions it to you.
So, based on that line of thinking I felt it was important for me to learn as much about our futures as I could. That way, if my hunch is correct, if I ever do go back to our world, I will have that knowledge inside my brain. Even if it is a long shot, if something could ever trigger those memories to return to me while I am in my own world, that information could be so valuable to us that I feel that, even if the odds are exceedingly small, it is something I need to do.
no subject
The idea of returning to their world and seeing their relationship get back to where they left it on the mountain is terrifying. It gets under his skin and if he wasn't on a train right now, he'd be pacing. He's brought it to himself, though, he knows. He asked on purpose. Because he wants -needs- to know. Since he's arrived he's been curious about it, but hearing about Felix losing Sylvain sure didn't help matters.
So before replying to Armin, he seeks Geralt to a kiss of comfort and snuggles with the witcher for the rest of the train trip. He can still text while cuddling, alright.]
Thank you for sharing this with me. I try not to think about it most of the time, but as you probably already know, it's impossible to escape the subject. News always reaches the network of someone leaving - if I could ask for a wish here then it would be for that to never happen to me and my companions.
It's encouraging to hear you were able to work through the initial awkwardness and learn the core stays the same. Mayhap Destiny keeps the bonds of those two souls unbreakable and thinks She's cunning when putting the relationship to test.
I must say, your theory is fascinating. I wonder if a Pokémon is needed to do such triggering, because I haven't learned of any other realms with such creatures. Then again, not even the Legendaries themselves seem to understand what's going on and how, so even if we did have Pokémon, they wouldn't even know where to start. It's incredibly frustrating to be unable to identify some sort of pattern to analyze this situation properly. Who leaves and who stays, who returns and who keeps their memories... it's all so random!
no subject
I'm not sure if any of them are here anymore right now but I've heard of people who have come to this world actually already knowing about pokemon.
Apparently, it is some sort of videogame in their world.
To me, that seems to imply that some level of knowledge about this world has leaked into other worlds.
So what if that knowledge got out there through people coming to this world and leaving again, and somehow being able to remember this place?
Maybe this is just a crazy theory, but I can't explain knowledge about pokemon existing in other worlds except in that way.
And if that is true, that must mean there are other ways to remember than to encounter a pokemon.
no subject
no subject
I know a lot of people assume we are brought here by Arceus, but we don't have any proof of that, do we?
For all we know, our arrival here is more like a natural phenomenon.
In which case, there is no reason why something like that couldn't also affect our own worlds to some degree.
no subject
Random.
Tales usually speak of a power or ability used with purpose.