Skyscraper Graveyard II: Jealousy and Ambition

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes

Quick Question;
When I originally wrote the entry for magical tools, I tried to leave the staff entry a little vague.

Which is to say, Cyprus uses anything with Gold and White on them as one of her tools. Would it be fair to say that Jack is able to do a similar thing, in as much as his Staff is his suit. Whichever one he's wearing, as long as it's tailored and made with vaguely modern materials as described? (As that was the original idea, just never got round to actually checking).

Sounds absolutely fine to me.

X-Com;
When it's hard, is it because the numbers are big and the ambushes sudden or hard to avoid, or is it because it ramps up the AI's smartness and the mix of enemies, etc?

Hmm, I'm unfortunately inclined to say it's harder because of the numbers. Tactical positioning and caution can minimise them but it's pretty regular to see a dude take a shot at your soldier in full cover and one-shot him.


I'm doing XP nowish, can someone remind me of any events that might qualify for Arcane XP since the last XP get?

[Deadly]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

I feel left out. I has no monies for Xcom and by the time I do I'll have or gotten about it.

Me too. Well, not the money, the not playing the game. I don't play a lot of games, or watch a lot of movies, or a lot of shows, or read a lot of books (well, not a lot of books that others are discussing, at least). So we can feel left out together

The Ca-tau-clysm Con-tau-nues!

Spoiler

Originally Posted by SiuiS

When I'm still on a basic point, if someone is expounding on a chain of things, I'm not going to let that basic point go. I do this because agreeing to the rest of that chain requires me to make a big "Assuming you are correct" tag, which most people mistake for me agreein with them and arbitrarily changing my mind.

I think the problem is that I learn, I change my mind, and quite often my position evolves and matures even while I'm arguing. I may start out with my gut feeling on the topic, maybe informed by some knowledge, and when I start arguing I work my way towards a clearer image of what I actually think of the matter.

For example, at one point in this discussion I probably was kinda arguing for dropping pi entirely, when we were discussing computers and code, and that was wrong, and I realized that pretty quickly.

In my recent post I said that tau is not better than pi at lower levels, when a little later I realized that in some small ways I think it might be, but that's not really the core issue, as I then went on to clarify in my last post.

You seem to want to hold on to things I might have said a while back, a page or maybe a few posts ago, when at that point I've probably stopped looking at it like that. I try to avoid that by making my current position as clear as I can.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Two, counterintuitively, correcting spelling errors makes them worse. My screen is indented in places based on touch use. Any oils on my fingers or on my screen transfer around. My phone goes in and out of my pocket usually around twenty times an hour if I can't leave it out, which spreads this stuff further. It changes the conductivity or whatever the screen uses to detect touch. The keypad has a 'smart' feature which is not changeable, which detects which key you meant to hit based off of finger positioning - it is entirely possible for me to press the E key and get an R instead, for seemingly no reason. After several attempts to correct a word, the Saturn begins to fail to recognize words as constructs, such that it will take the last two letters of a five letter word, guess what word you're typing from those two letters, and assume hitting the space bar is tacit acceptance of this change. It also cannot keep up with me, the processors sometimes failing to register that a word is "wrong" for almost a full minute. This results in words being "corrected" up to a minute later, when they are no longer on my screen. Some words are also "corrected" from a real word into a more common real word, and there is no visual cue.

As much as using this device is an art, I know the ropes involved. You'll have to trust that it was much worse before I did fix the most glaring problems.

Fair enough. You really do need a computer, though

Originally Posted by SiuiS

I read your posts. I make sure to check them for tone, because I read several posters in unfortunate voices. Breaking it down to bullet points is what I'm asking. Not because I'm breaking you down or torturing you; I'm too dumb to get it without bullet points. simplicity and clarity are never bad things.

I try my best to be as clear as possible. Perhaps that's why it's so frustrating when, for some reason, it doesn't seem to work.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

"standard" American education has algebra finish up just before high school, with 'algebra 2' being an elective advance class. High school is usually Algebra 2 in freshman year (I don't know what this is exactly, either. Advanced algebra?), geometry in sophomore year, more algebra junior year, and your choice of calculus or free time senior year. Given the number of Seniors who show up the bare minimum to not be kicked out of school, I am not surprised. The average California reading level is 5th grade, too. Anyone who reads better than an eleven-year-old is ahead of the game.

This is an unfortunate truth, and why I feel it matters so much, even small things like this. It's a huge, terrifying problem that students are so poorly educated, or even actively miseducated. It makes me sad.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

My standard answer is a flippant 'why not?' but I think you would take offense to that.

Given that tau is better, then teach it. But how is tau better? Still haven't gotten that one. I'm not arguing. I honestly don't see it.

If I haven't explained this, it's because I feel the link I provided does a better job than I could, without spending a lot of time and work on it. You can skip over a lot of the math in that manifesto, but what makes tau so much better does only really become apparent in higher math, which is the other reason.

But I will try.

At lower levels, it is not so much the formulas which become easier or better. As Anarion pointed out early in the discussion, the formula for the area of a circle is slightly neater with pi (A=pi*r^2 versus A=tau/2 * r^2). That's just one formula, of course, and the difference is not - in my mind - all that significant. Certainly not enough to dismiss tau yet.

Then of course the formula for the circumference becomes C=tau*r instead of C=2pi*r. You could write it C=pi*d (where d is the diameter) instead, but that would lead to awkwardness later with radians, as I get to below. But all considered, this certainly isn't mind blowing stuff.

The sphere doesn't get any better or worse with tau either.

So the benefits I see from tau at low levels are not practical or mechanical ones but pedagogical ones. What tau can teach better than pi is the spirit and history of math, of starting with simple, elegant and pervasive definitions like the circle being a distance from a point (just like you draw it with a compass), and working up from that. Show them how math is all about playing around with ideas, not simply calculating stuff.

Give the kids a compass or length of rope and a straight edge and tell them how the ancient Greeks, Arabs, Indians, Chinese and what have we used nothing but these tools to investigate the properties of triangles and circles. Show them that a circle is more than "something round" and more than a set of cold numbers to be calculated into another cold number.

Pi is not bad, it's just ... not especially good either. While young children may not be able to appreciate exactly why tau is so much better than pi (because that only becomes really clear later on) they should know that math changes, and especially that these changes don't always happen in very big, advanced stuff that they'll have to study for ages to understand. I know that I've often felt like I need my PhD before I can hope to contribute, and that's a damaging mindset if ever there was one. One reason tau is so beautiful to me is because it tells me that I was wrong to think so.

The change from pi to tau is almost as basic as it gets, it really seems like something any inquiring child could have thought of, and I kinda wish it had been a child who did that. Use that opportunity. Show them that sometimes new ideas arise even in basic areas of math that they can understand. It may not be often, but it gives hope that you don't need to be Einstein (so to speak) to contribute something significant.

It also shows that even the greatest minds make silly mistakes. As the manifesto points out, Archimedes should have realized that the radius is a more natural number to use in defining pi, and Euler had the chance to fix this mistake. These are perhaps the two greatest mathematicians of all time, or at least in the top 3, and neither of them seemed to realize the mistake. Too many children think it's not OK to make mistakes, and that's terribly sad.

These are the kinds of lessons I feel tau can help give students. It won't help them better calculate the area of a circle, but it may give them a better appreciation for the circle and for why one would even bother about it.

At higher levels, I don't think I can do much to top the manifesto I linked. Maybe read a tau-simonial too. It's short and low on math.

Perhaps where tau really gets easier is with radians, sine and cosine. Instead of dividing the circle into 360 degrees, which is awkward and leads to awful, AWFUL numbers, you use the fact that the circumference of a unit circle (with radius 1) is 2pi. So you start at the right, at 0 degrees. A full turn around the circle (360 degrees) is 2pi, which ends you up back where you started. A half turn (180 degrees) is pi. A quarter turn (90 degrees) is pi/2, and 3 quarters of a turn is 3/2pi.

Now, replace it with tau. One full turn is tau. Half a turn is half tau. A quarter turn is a quarter tau ... 3 quarters of a turn is 3 quarters of tau. How much is three 8ths of a turn? With pi it's 3/4pi, with tau it's 3/8tau. Which is easier to remember and understand?

When you have to figure out the values of sine and cosine, knowing the unit circle is invaluable because the alternative is pulling your hair out trying to guess the number when even your super expensive calculator turns out to be useless), and using tau there's nothing really to memorize.

And of course, pretty much everything at higher levels becomes neater and more natural with tau, much of it because of the above. But I really can't top the manifesto there, sorry. This stuff is not my forté, it's been a long time since I did much trigonometry or anything else really involving this stuff.

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes

X-Com;
When it's hard, is it because the numbers are big and the ambushes sudden or hard to avoid, or is it because it ramps up the AI's smartness and the mix of enemies, etc?

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Hmm, I'm unfortunately inclined to say it's harder because of the numbers. Tactical positioning and caution can minimise them but it's pretty regular to see a dude take a shot at your soldier in full cover and one-shot him.

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with Thanqol, a lot of it really is just the numbers crushing your soul. There are several things you can do to minimize the numbers. Explosives auto-hit, for example, and you can simply not be in firing range of the aliens and get them to blunder into your kill zone without ever shooting. However, if the game decides that 3 squad members with an 80% hit chance are all going to miss and then have the alien 1-shot your guy in heavy cover, followed by that causing one of your rookies to panic and shoot your other guy in the back...well that's what ended my first attempt at classic ironman and I don't think you can do anything about it.

Also, I've noticed that it's really hard to tell whether an alien will have a line of fire to you or not. I've seen them seemingly shoot directly through walls before.

I'm doing XP nowish, can someone remind me of any events that might qualify for Arcane XP since the last XP get?

Let's see. Here's anything that might qualify.
1. Whatever we just did to mess with the year
2. brain parasites
3. A joy spirit (and exorcism, maybe separate?)
4. The fact that the guy had no name, if that's a separate thing
5. Encountering a goetic demon for the first time
6. Successfully removing a manifestation for the first time
7. Amun's interaction with Mirror man and spooky mind mages

Oh wait, we went straight from the Jerusalem Man, didn't we. It's been a long sidetrack with that plate.

8. The Jerusalem Man's tattoo and anything from his conversation and the sword of Damocles


Also, this isn't arcane, but Jack actually taking the high wisdom solution and convincing us all to go meet with the Jerusalem Man in the first place totally deserves a regular xp.

Oh and 9. Mirror Man's breakfast cereal problem. Totally magically related and he solved it.

Edit: wait, crap. The banishers and the discussion with the ghost about the queen of Detroit were today too. That's like 2-3 more arcane xp there. This has been a long day.

Edit 2: Also Tessen mucking around Belle Isle, which was still today in game time. I don't know if her time magic there really discovered anything, but it's a maybe.

[SiuiS]

Yes, that would have made sine and cosine easier. Unfortunately, though I ha an inkling that a unit circle was a thing, my teachers did not.
Alas.

Originally Posted by Anarion

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with Thanqol, a lot of it really is just the numbers crushing your soul. There are several things you can do to minimize the numbers. Explosives auto-hit, for example, and you can simply not be in firing range of the aliens and get them to blunder into your kill zone without ever shooting. However, if the game decides that 3 squad members with an 80% hit chance are all going to miss and then have the alien 1-shot your guy in heavy cover, followed by that causing one of your rookies to panic and shoot your other guy in the back...well that's what ended my first attempt at classic ironman and I don't think you can do anything about it.

Also, I've noticed that it's really hard to tell whether an alien will have a line of fire to you or not. I've seen them seemingly shoot directly through walls before.



Let's see. Here's anything that might qualify.
1. Whatever we just did to mess with the year
2. brain parasites
3. A joy spirit (and exorcism, maybe separate?)
4. The fact that the guy had no name, if that's a separate thing
5. Encountering a goetic demon for the first time
6. Successfully removing a manifestation for the first time
7. Amun's interaction with Mirror man and spooky mind mages

Oh wait, we went straight from the Jerusalem Man, didn't we. It's been a long sidetrack with that plate.

8. The Jerusalem Man's tattoo and anything from his conversation and the sword of Damocles


Also, this isn't arcane, but Jack actually taking the high wisdom solution and convincing us all to go meet with the Jerusalem Man in the first place totally deserves a regular xp.

Oh and 9. Mirror Man's breakfast cereal problem. Totally magically related and he solved it.

Edit: wait, crap. The banishers and the discussion with the ghost about the queen of Detroit were today too. That's like 2-3 more arcane xp there. This has been a long day.

Edit 2: Also Tessen mucking around Belle Isle, which was still today in game time. I don't know if her time magic there really discovered anything, but it's a maybe.

Geez guys, if you weren't up for 28 hours doing all this I'd call shenanigans.
You folks have a vested interest in getting Turing to life 2, then. A full nightMs sleep is just a rote and 15 seconds away!

-

Thanqol, on Forces;
Research shows that altering you own kinetics is forces 2, and the prevailing logic is doing it to someone else is Forces 3 (a reverse of the knife hands rote, as a floating aura I suppose). For shielding however, using prime and spirit as context, could a Mage with forces 2 create a shield which downgrades lethal damage to bashing with expenditure of mana? Prime can do such with incoming spells, and spirit can do so with minima. I think death cando so with ghosts as well.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Let's see. Here's anything that might qualify.
1. Whatever we just did to mess with the year
2. brain parasites
3. A joy spirit (and exorcism, maybe separate?)
4. The fact that the guy had no name, if that's a separate thing
5. Encountering a goetic demon for the first time
6. Successfully removing a manifestation for the first time
7. Amun's interaction with Mirror man and spooky mind mages

Oh wait, we went straight from the Jerusalem Man, didn't we. It's been a long sidetrack with that plate.

8. The Jerusalem Man's tattoo and anything from his conversation and the sword of Damocles


Also, this isn't arcane, but Jack actually taking the high wisdom solution and convincing us all to go meet with the Jerusalem Man in the first place totally deserves a regular xp.

Oh and 9. Mirror Man's breakfast cereal problem. Totally magically related and he solved it.

Edit: wait, crap. The banishers and the discussion with the ghost about the queen of Detroit were today too. That's like 2-3 more arcane xp there. This has been a long day.

Edit 2: Also Tessen mucking around Belle Isle, which was still today in game time. I don't know if her time magic there really discovered anything, but it's a maybe.

And this is why Turing just wants some sleep...

Magic is great, but tiring.

Also, I realized I would abuse the hell out of Mind magic in real life.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Geez guys, if you weren't up for 28 hours doing all this I'd call shenanigans.
You folks have a vested interest in getting Turing to life 2, then. A full nightMs sleep is just a rote and 15 seconds away!

More Life dots are on the menu, but first I want Death 4. Tasty, delicious Death 4...

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

More Life dots are on the menu, but first I want Death 4. Tasty, delicious Death 4...

Hmm, that's pretty much how I felt with forces 4, although remember that you need gnosis 2 first, which I forgot when I made my character and will be remedying as soon as this xp comes in.

Edit: Oh, I'm dumb. Turing already has gnosis 2 because he's magic like that.

[Tiki Snakes]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Let's see. Here's anything that might qualify.
1. Whatever we just did to mess with the year
2. brain parasites
3. A joy spirit (and exorcism, maybe separate?)
4. The fact that the guy had no name, if that's a separate thing
5. Encountering a goetic demon for the first time
6. Successfully removing a manifestation for the first time
7. Amun's interaction with Mirror man and spooky mind mages

Oh wait, we went straight from the Jerusalem Man, didn't we. It's been a long sidetrack with that plate.

8. The Jerusalem Man's tattoo and anything from his conversation and the sword of Damocles


Also, this isn't arcane, but Jack actually taking the high wisdom solution and convincing us all to go meet with the Jerusalem Man in the first place totally deserves a regular xp.

Oh and 9. Mirror Man's breakfast cereal problem. Totally magically related and he solved it.

Edit: wait, crap. The banishers and the discussion with the ghost about the queen of Detroit were today too. That's like 2-3 more arcane xp there. This has been a long day.

Edit 2: Also Tessen mucking around Belle Isle, which was still today in game time. I don't know if her time magic there really discovered anything, but it's a maybe.

What about contacting the Seers? That involved the magics. Or has that been Xp'ed for already? I lose track of everything so easily. My brain has a note filed under this topic saying "Last time we got xp was when Jack was first joining", but my mental filing is a shoddy system and my mental secretary takes frequent breaks.

I'll see if I can't check somehow. Won't be as easy as it was with forum search though.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Hmm, that's pretty much how I felt with forces 4, although remember that you need gnosis 2 first, which I forgot when I made my character and will be remedying as soon as this xp comes in.

Edit: Oh, I'm dumb. Turing already has gnosis 2 because he's magic like that.

Considering how fast new magical events come rolling in when you're new to the gig, I'm considering changing Thanqol's status quo, and having experienced mages start at gnosis 2. I cannot see how you've gathered 25-35 XP since awakening in a purely mundane manner. Even interacting with your cabal mates is worth arcane XP, After all. Maybe instead of 35, give em 30 and gnosis 2, since the only reason you don't arbitrarily increase your player's gnosis when it hits the right amount is to give them the chance to buy it early with regular XP as well.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Edit: Oh, I'm dumb. Turing already has gnosis 2 because he's magic like that.

Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes

What about contacting the Seers? That involved the magics. Or has that been Xp'ed for already? I lose track of everything so easily. My brain has a note filed under this topic saying "Last time we got xp was when Jack was first joining", but my mental filing is a shoddy system and my mental secretary takes frequent breaks.

I'm pretty sure that counted as part of our XP pool when you showed up. It's just everything after the Seers that we need to count now, which as it turns out is something like the bulk of the gameplay, methinks...

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

I'm pretty sure that counted as part of our XP pool when you showed up. It's just everything after the Seers that we need to count now, which as it turns out is something like the bulk of the gameplay, methinks...

No, the scrying was later and it was the first time we used a scrying window, so it might count.

[Tiki Snakes]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

I'm pretty sure that counted as part of our XP pool when you showed up. It's just everything after the Seers that we need to count now, which as it turns out is something like the bulk of the gameplay, methinks...

I mean, when I used space magic to magiphone them both.
(Psh, scrying portal. I'mma chargin ma magiphone.)

That happened after I joined. I can't remember getting XP since then, though we may have. It couldn't have been part of the existing XP pool when I showed up though.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Let's see. Here's anything that might qualify.
1. Whatever we just did to mess with the year
2. brain parasites
3. A joy spirit (and exorcism, maybe separate?)
4. The fact that the guy had no name, if that's a separate thing
5. Encountering a goetic demon for the first time
6. Successfully removing a manifestation for the first time
7. Amun's interaction with Mirror man and spooky mind mages

Oh wait, we went straight from the Jerusalem Man, didn't we. It's been a long sidetrack with that plate.

8. The Jerusalem Man's tattoo and anything from his conversation and the sword of Damocles


Also, this isn't arcane, but Jack actually taking the high wisdom solution and convincing us all to go meet with the Jerusalem Man in the first place totally deserves a regular xp.

Oh and 9. Mirror Man's breakfast cereal problem. Totally magically related and he solved it.

Edit: wait, crap. The banishers and the discussion with the ghost about the queen of Detroit were today too. That's like 2-3 more arcane xp there. This has been a long day.

Edit 2: Also Tessen mucking around Belle Isle, which was still today in game time. I don't know if her time magic there really discovered anything, but it's a maybe.

A few principles I'm going off:
1: Arcane XP is for mysteries solved/getting a real good look at a new phenomena
2: You don't get Arcane XP for using your own powers.
3: The Abyss never gives Arcane XP. Nothing good ever comes of the Abyss. You don't even learn from your encounters with it. The best you can hope for is that it stops hurting you.

So therefore:
1: Yes
2: No
3: You didn't actually see the spirit so I'm not giving the one for spirits and possession.
4: You do get the point for looking at that dude's name/soul
5: Yes
6: No
7: There's a point to be had there but you haven't earned it yet.
8: Yes
9: No
10: Banishers - you didn't see them do anything magic, did you? Beyond a simple Mage sight, doesn't count.
11: You didn't see the ghost do any magic and you didn't meet the Queen.
12: Tessen didn't get any useful data out of her visit. There's a point there you haven't earned yet.

Total: 4 Arcane

Regular XP:

Showing Up: 1
Roleplaying: 1
Danger: 1
Finishing a Story: 2
If you can articulate something you've learned: 1

Total: 6

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Thanqol, on Forces;
Research shows that altering you own kinetics is forces 2, and the prevailing logic is doing it to someone else is Forces 3 (a reverse of the knife hands rote, as a floating aura I suppose). For shielding however, using prime and spirit as context, could a Mage with forces 2 create a shield which downgrades lethal damage to bashing with expenditure of mana? Prime can do such with incoming spells, and spirit can do so with minima. I think death cando so with ghosts as well.

I am inclined to say no because I can't fully predict the mechanical ramifications of this spell and it interacts powerfully with the mechanics. However, I advise you to take a look at Insulate in Seers of the Throne for an example of a specialised Forces shielding spell, and adapt those mechanics to other scenarios.

[Tiki Snakes]

This is a video of Bjork performing Army of Me, live, with Skunk Anansi.
It is a gift. A gift that the internet has given me. I am compelled to share it.
(Seriously, Little Goth Bjork and Skin, looming there all tall and awkward and faintly british, oh god. So good. And both clearly having so much fun.)

Something I've learned?
Hmm. Jack has learnt that pretty little Tessen considers the violent option rather quicker than he expected and totally has no problem with guns. Or Tazers.
I have learnt that Detroit isn't just run down, but is possibly significantly more fragile even than it looks. That or there is something seriously other going on around here.

Also, I've learnt that trusting your instincts and going for the less obvious choice often works out really well, or at least reasonably and the Acanthus thing of jump and see where you may land might just work out fine after all.

[Lix Lorn]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Regular XP:

Showing Up: 1
Roleplaying: 1
Danger: 1
Finishing a Story: 2
If you can articulate something you've learned: 1

In 'Dear Princess Celestia' form: +1 hug

[Anarion]

Edited for Lixie hug:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I learned that Tessen is more practical than I had first anticipated. Collecting leftover turkey and being excited about cleaning were partially for amusement, but were also true reflections of her character. These were emergent properties of the idea I have in my head, rather than things that I knew would happen beforehand. I suspect now that, had Tessen not discovered magic or been exposed to the abyss, she would have been well on track to become a formidable middle-class housewife.

I think it's a good lesson to remember that we all have aspects of ourselves that even we don't realize, and that our families and our values are embedded in there pretty deeply, just waiting for the right moment to make themselves apparent.

Your faithful student,
Anarion

Now then, xp. Tessen has 9 arcane and 14 regular xp. That's a point of gnosis and then 7 left over. Just enough for a new arcanum. I buy a point of spirit. I'm never going to get those random few merit dots, but oh well.

[Thanqol]

Now then, xp. Tessen has 9 arcane and 14 regular xp. That's a point of gnosis and then 7 left over. Just enough for a new arcanum. I buy a point of spirit. I'm never going to get those random few merit dots, but oh well.

To take an Arcana from 0 to 1 should involve at least a little bit of instruction from someone who has the Arcana already. You're learning to see the world in a completely new way, that's not a thing you should do by yourself. Organise a meeting with someone who knows a thing or two about Spirit.

Gnosis 1 to 2 is basically "I'm getting the hang of this magic thing now", no special enlightenment required. 2-3 should have some personal revelation, and 4 and 5 should be very dramatically important.

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

To take an Arcana from 0 to 1 should involve at least a little bit of instruction from someone who has the Arcana already. You're learning to see the world in a completely new way, that's not a thing you should do by yourself. Organise a meeting with someone who knows a thing or two about Spirit.

Who are my options?

Edit: Obviously anyone you listed as a Thyrsus. Are there any silver ladders that know at least one dot? If it's a Thyrsus, Tessen will probably go have a powwow with Kurosawa and learn about spirit while asking about the nameless guy.

[Tiki Snakes]

Originally Posted by Lix Lorn

In 'Dear Princess Celestia' form: +1 hug

Originally Posted by Anarion

Edited for Lixie hug:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I learned that Tessen is more practical than I had first anticipated. Collecting leftover turkey and being excited about cleaning were partially for amusement, but were also true reflections of her character. These were emergent properties of the idea I have in my head, rather than things that I knew would happen beforehand. I suspect now that, had Tessen not discovered magic or been exposed to the abyss, she would have been well on track to become a formidable middle-class housewife.

I think it's a good lesson to remember that we all have aspects of ourselves that even we don't realize, and that our families and our values are embedded in there pretty deeply, just waiting for the right moment to make themselves apparent.

Your faithful student,
Anarion

Now then, xp. Tessen has 9 arcane and 14 regular xp. That's a point of gnosis and then 7 left over. Just enough for a new arcanum. I buy a point of spirit. I'm never going to get those random few merit dots, but oh well.

Hmm. Letters to the Princess style?


Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learnt that friendship really can save the world. Or at least, a handful of friends working together can fix it. I'm pretty sure we fixed it, or at least made it a little bit better. I can state with some certainty that although we did infact cause a significant change in the shape of the planet's orbit, that it has a good chance of being much more stable this way and a lot easier to keep track of.

More importantly, we made Detroit a little better today and that's what really counts. But I worry about Tessen and sometimes Turing seems so... sad.
Is it wrong that my first thought is to fix them up?

Yours for the asking,
Jack of Hearts.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Who are my options?

Edit: Obviously anyone you listed as a Thyrsus. Are there any silver ladders that know at least one dot? If it's a Thyrsus, Tessen will probably go have a powwow with Kurosawa and learn about spirit while asking about the nameless guy.

Tyler and Rushaw each know a bit, but Kurosawa's a lot better at it than either of them.

[Lix Lorn]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Edited for Lixie hug:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Like the lesson. Moral worthy and all. (hugs!)

Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes

Dear Princess Celestia,

Fixing people is always my first plan too. (hug)

Originally Posted by Anarion

Edited for Lixie hug:

You have no idea how much this phrase made me smile.

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes

But I worry about Tessen and sometimes Turing seems so... sad.
Is it wrong that my first thought is to fix them up?

Yours for the asking,
Jack of Hearts.

Tessen, what do you think about this?

Tessen: "Oh, I'm not worth your time. I'm sure whatever the abyss did to me is permanent. You don't need to waste your time on me. It's not really that bad. I mean, sure, at higher gnosis I'm going to be rolling a lot of paradox dice, but that's okay...really."

[the_druid_droid]

A lesson, eh?

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today Turing and I learned that sometimes it's ok not to know exactly what you're doing. You just have to get in there and start sorting things out, and sometimes making things up as you go works better than any other plan.

Your mechanical student,
Druid Droid

[Lix Lorn]

(hug for you too)

[Tiki Snakes]

It's a good job this is the out of character thread so I don't have to worry about having jack explain the other definition of that phrase and how he was applying it to Tessen and Turing. Tesing? Tursen?

That might be awkward.

[Lix Lorn]

I didn't even realise what you meant. >_<

[Tiki Snakes]

Of all people Lixie, you really should have.

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes

It's a good job this is the out of character thread so I don't have to worry about having jack explain the other definition of that phrase and how he was applying it to Tessen and Turing. Tesing? Tursen?

That might be awkward.

Blind ignorance on certain topics is an aspect of Tessen's character I was already well aware of. Oh, based on the white text, you meant with each other. Oooooooh. Awkward.

[Lix Lorn]

Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes

Of all people Lixie, you really should have.

Not in my best mood X_x

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes

It's a good job this is the out of character thread so I don't have to worry about having jack explain the other definition of that phrase and how he was applying it to Tessen and Turing. Tesing? Tursen?

That might be awkward.

Yeah, uh, Turing's major mental parallel for Tessen is his 10-year-old niece. This would be all kinds of alien to his thought patterns.

[Tiki Snakes]

As this isn't an in-character thread, Jack totally couldn't have just made a mental note to introduce Turing to Hilltop instead.
(But then who would he ship, er, introduce Tessen to? Chanic? Captain Rushaw? The Jerusalem Man? Hmm. Actually...)

X-Com
Numbers based difficulty and other fake difficulty increasers just wind me up. They can still be entertaining games, but I know my own responses well enough to know that I'm happier not giving that kind of thing a go.