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Post by Henley on Nov 27, 2021 14:45:11 GMT -8
"Sure, makes sense. But time is tight. So I think we need to focus in on the symbology of how you wrap this deal up, and come up with a way to meet that part of the sigil's bargain that isn't the obvious 'suffer forever'." He pulled something up on his computer screen and smiled to himself. "I can afford to pay a bunch of students to spam memes. Or a troll farm in Russia. Or both. We just need to know what our meme should be, because it looks to me that what we ought to put out there is the loophole. And that's a matter of clever interpretation. You got any alternate definitions of the symbology about how to get out of this that would make sense? Once we come up with something, we can run it past Sir Icarus. See if it makes sense to him. Then we can get it out there."
The Spring Courtier wasn't the most comfortable with Autumn nobility, but the Season had said that Icarus was The Bomb.
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Post by Anthony Cartwright on Nov 29, 2021 18:53:57 GMT -8
"Does it really all come down to people clapping and saying 'I believe in fairies'?"
The question was genuine, rather than mocking. The mundie sounded equal parts surprised and intrigued, "I mean, like, if I decide I'm immune to this message, does it mean I'm fine as long as I don't worry about it? ...Or is that stupid?"
He glanced back at his own phone, "I mean, to me it looks like a target, or, reminds me of that Viking symbol for protection. I know it's not because it's supposed to be more detailed but it's easy to add. Oh, and the Wheel of Dharma."
His heart was pounding. He really didn't hope the occultist on the phone asked him to go deeper—he knew the Viking symbol from his friend's tattoo, and the Wheel from asking another some basic questions about Buddhism. It sounded like the pair didn't require his involvement, so he was trying to offer what little he could before he was inevitably asked to tell Ivory and Kai and keep safe at home.
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Post by Gavin Graves on Nov 30, 2021 13:13:00 GMT -8
"Symbol selection, yeah." The Beast laughed nervously, then paused in contemplation of Henley's remark long enough for the other two to briefly enjoy the silence.
"Well, we could fix the broken protection symbol within the curse to help alleviate the necessity of suffering to hold back the tide. It is the fear, pain, and bait before the switch that is driving the spread after all." There was also the baggage and perception of each of the symbols that could be of some help. It would not do to pick a symbol that would meet the occult requirements, but no decent person would use. Many useful symbols had been coopted by white supremacists, maligned by the Catholic Church, or worse. User uptake was important. He considered the relative weight of each, intuited their modern receptiveness, and came up with several options for the meme artists to work with. Henley's phone buzzed with the arrival of several images. He was careful to convey that the symbols needed to remain intact or be intact variants of each, but they could be dressed up for appeal. There were several varieties of the Seal of Solomon. Some less obviously Jewish in origin. The Seal of Phenex was included with options both intricate and simple. Norse Bindrunes meant to counter the influence of the curse.
"You are all connected to the collective unconsciousness," Gavin subtly othered himself to the young man. "Whomever has connected themselves to this curse has done so through that unconsciousness giving the magic permission to affect them. Withdrawing that permission has to be done in a meaningful way, both within the patterns that collective unconsciousness accepts and that withdrawal has to have at least as much weight as the magic that was let in to dislodge it. The more weight the magic has the more difficult it will be to drive it out." Even in the process of explaining the complex ideas in layman's terms, the Razorhand was still on the hunt. That hunt found prey in the form of a thought that immediately concerned him. "Would the number of people someone spreads the curse to mean they were more tied into the spell and then become all the more difficult to break them loose?" he muttered to himself to hear the thought out loud, trying the idea on for size. "Hmm. Thanks Mr. Cartwright, that helped." He recognized that explaining it in the simple had boiled down the complex into a more approachable form for himself as well."If that's the case, it might help for our version to reverse the phone chain to pass along the counteraction. Multiple callers helping to free the people further up the chain, maybe?" It wasn't a simple problem to begin with.The thought experiment had legs though. How far could it go? "The phrase we choose to propagate should be designed to counter the spirit of the invitation. Firstly it must reject the power to curse others, perhaps an offering of forgiveness to the one who cursed them, and then an offered blessing to completely turn around the energy." It would be ideal for the wording to be very simple to encapsulate it for easy passing and use, he decided. It would require some research and translation to get it just right. "Probably going to need someone good with languages to work with. That really isn't me.""Oh and to completely turn this game around on its creator, require that the user of the blessing must also call back whomever called them at a symbolic time of day that suits our purposes." It fit within the pattern of the game as presented which would make it more palatable to the people already participating. The symmetry might have been beautiful to him if it weren't so fraught with terrible consequences for getting it wrong.
A confidence seemed to be forming in Gavin's voice.
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Post by Henley on Nov 30, 2021 13:56:29 GMT -8
As Gavin and Anthony spoke, Henley's mind turned to the question of symbolism and myth. Peering at the images provided by Gavin, he thought about the different languages and cultures he knew, trying to come up with the best option that would fit the criteria that the Razorhand was conjuring. He nodded at the idea that people were subconsciously giving permission, his jaw quietly working as he raced to piece the symbolism together even as the Autumn Courtier was on to the next idea. His hand was working the mouse, whipping through Google as he went over the problem from a historical angle rather than an occult-pure one.
"I'm your man. I speak Mandarin, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. Let me think a minute on how to put it best..."
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Post by Anthony Cartwright on Dec 2, 2021 22:14:48 GMT -8
"...Should I start...looking into who's involved in my chain?" Anthony asked Gavin, leaning forward slightly as if that would make a difference in the communication.
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Post by Henley on Dec 6, 2021 17:25:49 GMT -8
"Yes, I think that's appropriate, but be careful. Let us know immediately if you find anything concerning, please -- and stay safe. Above all else." He blinked, staring at the telephone as he thought about things for a long moment. "We'll be blessed in this, for ours is a righteous cause; Fae curses can be opposed with Fae blessings, and those I can give. What do you think, Gavin? Anything further for this call, or shall I meet you for a design session while Mr. Cartwright asks around?"
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Post by Gavin Graves on Dec 6, 2021 19:34:22 GMT -8
"Whatever you think will work best for getting people to buy into what we're trying to do and be easy to remember and repeat. English might end up being the go to here anyway, but ten syllables are easier than forty. We want it to successfully spread, not get lost in translation." Gavin Clarified for Henley.
"Yeah, Anthony, it's a good idea and it's probably better you than us anyhow. We're not exactly the average university student aged people, right." The Lost were going to be busy anyhow, and Anthony would need something productive to focus on. It made good sense.
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