Difference between revisions of "Coyote Notes"

Revision as of 23:19, 17 May 2020

Takanata has being doing investigations on Coyote.

Consulting with Li Kao, he suggested that the thing I did not know the answer to which would provide the most enlightenment was "Why wasn't Coyote in disguise as Fox when you first ran in to him?"

Consulting with Sister Dohna of the Ways of the Three Worlds temple (see ThreeWorlds), after consideration she believes the answer to that question is that Coyote did not know what Fox looked like at that time.

Takanata concludes that this means Coyote has less of a deliberate plan here, and is more simply exploring to see what he can do.

I Ching Scrying on the Great Spirits and their relationships with Coyote:

I get tokens for the 12 cycle spirits, and then add tokens for the four wanna-bes (Dragon, Wolf, Horse, Whale). Then I try to divide them into Yin/Yang/Chi regarding Coyote.

I am even less clear on what I think those divisions mean here than I usually am. One possibility: Yang: Helping Coyote Yin: Opposing Coyote Chi: Messing with Coyote

You start out thinking this, but you decide to switch Yang and Yin. No one is as yangily pro-Coyote as they are yangily anti-Coyote. And Chi isn't really right, it's something else.

Crane is Yang for Yin reasons.
Bear is Yang for Yang reasons
Dog is Yang for Chi reasons
Butterfly is Yin for Chi reasons.
Serpent is Chi for Chi reasons
Phoenix is Yin for Yang reasons
Tortoise is Chi for Yin reasons
Magpie is Chi for Chi reasons
Fox is Chi for [redacted] reasons
Spider is Yang for Yin reasons
Tiger is Chi for Yang reasons
Monkey is Yin for Yang reasons
Dragon is Yang for Chi reasons
Wolf is Yang for Chi reasons
Horse is Chi for Chi reasons
Whale is Yin for Yang reasons

I get to ask 11 questions about the Yang answers, 13 about the Yin, and 11 about the Chi.

Yang:

1) Was Crane Yang for Yang reasons when she warned Li Merit about Coyote at the Temple of the Invisible Wind?

Hmm. No, we think still Yin reasons. (But the Yang and Yin of the reasons aren't the same as the Yang and Yin of being pro or anti Coyote. We don't think this mechanic has ever had those mean the same thing...)

Maybe we're confused about this question.

2) Are Dog and Dragon's "Yang for Chi reasons" approximately the same?

Mostly; Dragon is more principle and Dog is more personal.

3) Are Spider's Yin reasons something more than just "he doesn't belong in My Empire"?

It's in that ballpark, but much more so.

4) Are Wolf's Yang reasons related to "there are already enough canine-ish things here"?

Not primarily or even secondarily. It might be included towards the bottom of the list.

5) Are Dog's "more personal" Chi reasons actually related to prior history between Dog and Coyote, or just a matter of their clashing natures?

The latter, but there's also something more involved. (Not history).

6) Is Bear Yang-enough that he is taking active steps, or is he still in the "don't do anything until Really Provoked" stage of his nature?

mm, it's somewhat in between. He's not in seek-and-destroy mode, but he's closer to "on hold" than "will swat if provoked".

7) Does Crane understand what Coyote wants here?

No.

8) Is Wolf's Yang-ness related to whatever Coyote did to mess with Wolf's Talisman?

In part.

9) Is Bear "On Hold" just because there's a big foreign spirit in the Empire, or is there something more specific he is paying attention to?

It's more about an opposition of natures than an opposition of plot.

10) Are Dog's personal reasons about Coyote's interactions with another Great Spirit or Spirits?

The Coyote/Fox thing is part of it.

11) Is any of Spider's Yangness because Coyote's "always double down" nature resonates with Aku's "always reach higher" nature?

Mmm, not particularly. But that's an interesting thought. Spider is "build a wall" xenophobic, but Aku is not. Spider's Yangness is more driven by Spider than Aku here. Aku may be on spider-autopilot in this case because he hasn't turned sufficient attention to Coyote yet.

Yin:

1) Is Yin really "pro" Coyote, or more just not-strongly-anti Coyote (it sounds kinda like the second, given the switch?)?

Yin is more positive than negative, though that can be only by a small amount. (Chi is more like "It's complicated")

2) Are Butterfly's Chi reasons more a result of Xian being Coyote Aspected, or more a cause of that, or something else entirely?

Something else.

3) Does Whale hope Coyote's presence will help him get into the Cycle?

That's a minority part of it.

4) Are Phoenix's reasons related to her being from outside the Empire originally?

Yes.

5) Does Monkey have an actual plan for Coyote beyond "woo, more Chaos!"?

Yes, sort of, but it's within a stone's throw of "more Chaos!"

6) How deliberate was Whale's involvement in Coyote coming to the Empire?

Completely deliberate.

7) How much of Butterfly's Yin-ness is just opposition to Spider's Yang?

More opposition to Spider, than opposition to Spider being Yang. But that's Butterfly's Yang reason, and her chi reason is stronger.

8) Is Whale helping Coyote get back and forth from and/or remain in contact with his Homeland in the East?

Not yet.

9) Did the fact both Butterfly and Phoenix are Yin help Coyote enter the Empire?

No.

10) Has Whale received his payment for his assistance getting Coyote into the Empire?

Yes.

11) Are Phoenix's reasons for being Yin related to Coyote's interactions with the South?

No, related to *her* interactions with the South.

12) Did Coyote provide any background assistance during Enemy of the State to secure Butterfly or Phoenix's support?

No.

13) Do any of the Yin spirits want Coyote to remain in the Empire permanently?

Monkey does, sometimes.

Chi:

1&2) What the heck does Chi even mean?

Chi is more like "Using Coyote" except also "Being Used by Coyote". Those two are more intrinsically linked than they normally would be.

3) Are Fox's [redacted] reasons related to the question Li Kao asked me about why Coyote was not disguised as Fox when we met him in Fox's realm?

Only temporally, not causally.

4) Who redacted Fox's reasons?

[redacted]. But it's more "what" than "who".

5) Is Tiger's Chi-ness some sort of Coyote thwackback for a direct attack, or more deliberately chosen on Tiger's part?

It's more deliberate, and it's less about Coyote than it is about other things.

6 & 7) How is Coyote using Horse? [putting two points towards this, because it seems broader than the standard question I ask here]

Horse makes everything higher energy, and Coyote always doubles down. Horse is one of the few (semi) Great Spirits whose nature easily encompasses both being a patsy and being a confederate. Coyote is sniffing for a loophole in the Horse / Wolf arrangement.

8) Would Horse be willing to describe his deals with Coyote for a reasonable price? (Say, "less than a country tag level favor.")

That seems like it would be reasonable.

9) Would the Pearl of the Taiga have any insight into Fox's dealings with Coyote she could share?

Not very much because Xian never took her up on her invitation.

10) Are Tortoise's reasons for being Chi approximately the "what happens if I push this over" sorts of thing that led him to help Spider in the past?

Tortoise is Chi, and "what if I push this over" would be more explicitly Yang, but there is an element of the scientist in it, yes.

11) Is the fact that all three of the Spirits whose countries touch the Southern Wall are Chi significant, or simply coincidence?

Coincidence.