Alicornutopia

Worst to best on the five options that have been seen, my personal preferences and also the average preferences of most purples:

Fianna/The Chariot - Autofail for mind control (family backstory), autofail for fucking up my brain
Cambiare/The Fool - Autofail for mind control (family backstory), autofail for mind control (the hand of fate wanting me to have loyal friends and love polyhedra)
Kukla/The Hermit - Autofail for mind control (family backstory), autofail for I don't see how you could do that without mind control (the extent to which it is apparently impossible for Kukla to express emotion)
Lilim/The Hanged Man - Autofail for mind control (family backstory), doesn't have a second autofail I can think of so it's still ahead of the pack
Majokko/The Empress - Does not autofail for anything, wins by process of elimination

If the backstory was accomplished without memory alteration, Lilim would be an acceptable option alongside Majokko but the other three would still be fucking with too many brains for my taste, unless what I overheard you saying to PDV about the Kukla aura of emotionlessness was a misrepresentation.

@Kappa From the pad I don’t see a family backstory mentioned for the Fool; if it’s there then my answer below changes somewhat.

The Fool sounds like either obviously the worst or obviously the one with the least downside, depending on whether the “Will change you. Will make you different person. Different body.” just means that it might involve a gender change, or whether it means that the person changes into somebody else on a fundamental mental level. It also depends on where the four friends and uncountable paramours come from and how their trust and loyalty is ensured; that could be either fine or very very bad depending on factors I could probably identify when I heard about the details but can’t name in advance.

In any case, I don’t think it’s likely to be the one I would choose, but depending on the answers to the above questions I would much rather just get less intelligent from the Chariot (which you said is commonly thought to be the worst) than a change in identity or the unethical creation of loyal friends. If it just puts the same me into a different body, even one that’s the wrong gender, and if it somehow ethically creates or finds the other people, then it seems least bad.

I have now made my initial attempt at this pad, which contains information on the choices and the choosing process, all pasted and rearranged into a semi-regular format and voice. The information available is strongly skewed towards what Blair and Yvette have found interesting.

For people who have trouble with this pad, I just pasted a fresh snapshot into this Google doc. If you prefer Google Docs long-term and you tell me so, I might move the canonical version there. For now, it's just a sporadically-updated mirror.

If general you want to update the pad with better formatting and editing, or with more content that gets posted, go for it. I've tried to use the same questions for all five cards even when a few have to have "Unknown", and to refer to the chooser as "you". Editorial asides get square brackets.

Eva, if you want to put clarifications and corrections, they're very welcome. If you ever want to put a big spoilery source of things that haven't been posted yet, I think that belongs separate.

I’m not sure I understand what “exactingly complete” means, for the amount that the Hermit prevents you from expressing your emotions.

Since it grants intelligence and insight, I’m sure I could turn this to moral issues, and get insights on utilitarianism. It can’t prevent you from understanding words like “happy”. But does it somehow prevent me from saying “I’m happy”, at least if I intend to actually convey that information?

Also, is it possible to get them to leave without anybody choosing a card? They say that if you don’t choose then they will choose for you, but could you ask questions for an hour and then say “Okay, we’ve been at this for an hour. I could keep you here for at least another day with further questions before I get too tired to continue, and probably more. Neither of us particularly wants that. Are you sure you can’t just leave me alone without me getting a new life, in order to get away from my annoyingness”? It seems like if there are any relevant loopholes in the Law, this would bring them out.

"NOPE, THAT'S STALLING" I imagine

DanielH wrote:I’m not sure I understand what “exactingly complete” means, for the amount that the Hermit prevents you from expressing your emotions.

Since it grants intelligence and insight, I’m sure I could turn this to moral issues, and get insights on utilitarianism. It can’t prevent you from understanding words like “happy”. But does it somehow prevent me from saying “I’m happy”, at least if I intend to actually convey that information?

No: it's more like you no longer have any instincts about how to express emotion. You have to go "Okay, now make a happy face. Am I doing this right...? I hope I'm doing this right. I'm doing it wrong, aren't I?"

Also, is it possible to get them to leave without anybody choosing a card? They say that if you don’t choose then they will choose for you, but could you ask questions for an hour and then say “Okay, we’ve been at this for an hour. I could keep you here for at least another day with further questions before I get too tired to continue, and probably more. Neither of us particularly wants that. Are you sure you can’t just leave me alone without me getting a new life, in order to get away from my annoyingness”? It seems like if there are any relevant loopholes in the Law, this would bring them out.

The Shadows don't sleep or eat or breathe or generally have to take breaks, and the Law obliges them to continue answering relevant questions until the Choice is made or the person asking the questions doesn't have any relevant questions anymore. And they don't need to eat, sleep, breathe, etc.

What if someone stalls long enough for someone Sufficiently Powerful to drive them off to show up?

Presumably they are driven off?

How does the Tome of Life taking and giving lifespan interact with the ones who have it already having eternal youth?

I also don’t remember the Hanged Man being fragile; why does Yvette say “So, made of paper and if I get hurt I'm screwed” about it?

Edit to add: What does “true immortality” (Majokko) mean if the shadows think they will succeed in killing you eventually?

rockeye_stonetoe wrote:What if someone stalls long enough for someone Sufficiently Powerful to drive them off to show up?

Then the shadow's already initiated the Choice and can pick for the candidate on the grounds of 'FOUL!', unless it dies too fast for it to react. If that happens, then... Well, it dies.

How does the Tome of Life taking and giving lifespan interact with the ones who have it already having eternal youth?

Apparent age =/= elapsed lifespan. Lilim usually live for ten thousand years exactly.

What does “true immortality” (Majokko) mean if the shadows think they will succeed in killing you eventually?

Actually infinite lifespan, not just cosmetic youth.

I also don’t remember the Hanged Man being fragile; why does Yvette say “So, made of paper and if I get hurt I'm screwed” about it?

It is relatively fragile when compared to the powers that Majokko have for defense, mobility, etc.