Would we? If we successfully "eject the occupying entity" would she still have an apotheotic ethos?
It's a Girl's World -- And Lilly wants Adventure
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Dunno, we'll have to find out!
Huh, fun experiment to try when things are less on fire, see if we can see what our own rapsheet looks like.
- Location
- Somewhere.
...How do you mean that? Because I'm not quite certain I understand how Lilly would have a rapsheet.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Like Myah's that we saw?
- Location
- San Ramon, CA
....Alectai, just because you can phrase things into a simple sentence, doesn't mean that it's simple to execute.
"Sure, if we recruit our stalker serial killer, restore sanity to a brainwashed mind-controller, cure our brother's god-given depression-cancer, stablize a dungeon which almost killed us in the first room and seems to actively HATE us, AND get away with committing high treason against a sociopath who can lay claim to the ground we stand on and the air we breathe and his band of murderous misfits...then yeah, we got all the time in the world."
ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
It depends where we break for a vote. If we break after the Valerie fight concludes, it's going to be a fairly short update (by this quest's standards anyway). If Lilly keeps going for a while afterwards, fixing her family, reacting to the new powers and Ethos, ect it may be a longer update and thus take longer to get out.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I can just imagine us finally solving all these issues only to find out in the next update that Lira's sending a squad of level 200 killer ninja assassins arriving in three minutes, our soul's been compromised by another all-powerful spirit thing or that there's some kind of huge gobin invasion inbound within the month
- Location
- San Ramon, CA
Unlocked Achievement
Trifecta of Evil: Encounter 3 entities that wish to harm Lilly or her Companions within 24 hours of Chapter 2.
Locked Achievement
Nothing to Write Home About: Make it 24 hours in Chapter 2 without something trying to harm Lilly or her Companions.
- Location
- Dragyxx
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Ah, but Lilly is armed with the powers of Love, Friendship, Joy, Bravery, Self-Worth, and Plants! How could a mere overlevelled hit squad or army of goblins hope to stand against her?
And our soul apparently has the potential to be pretty big. I'm sure we can fit at least six more demons, angels, and/or squid in there.
And our soul apparently has the potential to be pretty big. I'm sure we can fit at least six more demons, angels, and/or squid in there.
- Location
- Who Knows Where
The wait is nerve-wracking. I think Slyvena might fill in the Trial choice before that, if I remember correctly?
This was probably longer than it had to be, but maybe it can still be helpful.
Basically, I'm tentatively hopeful for Lilly not killing Valerie here.
On the topic of Valerie, personally, I'm hoping this statement after 2.2 on Marigold's profile still applies:
Narrowly escaping evil nobles, being directly threatened by a vindictive otherworldly entity, and being frozen down to your soul while your family risks imminent death are probably all hard-knocks. This is also a textbook self-defense situation, seeing as an aggressor broke into the Silas home, killed Legle, and is about to murder them all.
On the other side, Lilly was actively thinking this right before the Child interrupt:
^Granted, that was before Lilly got into this mess.
Lilly is also picking [Shine, my Gentle Heart], which just might tip the scales here. If it starts working in time.
Additionally, for all her powers and recent experiences, the idea of killing people doesn't come easily to Lilly. When she had to kill an injured Alpha in 1.10, she was uncomfortable with finishing it off without feeling angry or vindicated, and then grateful for not feeling Gravitas from it.
When {Contention Prognosticator} gave her the warning she was physically ill, reminded of the prior wolf killing, and shocked enough to need {Subversion} at the real possibility of killing Lord Waters (before all the horrendous stuff came up). She doesn't even seem to consider solving Myah's problem by killing her dad, when she thinks it would be so easy to hurt him.
Narrowly escaping evil nobles, being directly threatened by a vindictive otherworldly entity, and being frozen down to your soul while your family risks imminent death are probably all hard-knocks. This is also a textbook self-defense situation, seeing as an aggressor broke into the Silas home, killed Legle, and is about to murder them all.
On the other side, Lilly was actively thinking this right before the Child interrupt:
^Granted, that was before Lilly got into this mess.
Lilly is also picking [Shine, my Gentle Heart], which just might tip the scales here. If it starts working in time.
Additionally, for all her powers and recent experiences, the idea of killing people doesn't come easily to Lilly. When she had to kill an injured Alpha in 1.10, she was uncomfortable with finishing it off without feeling angry or vindicated, and then grateful for not feeling Gravitas from it.
When {Contention Prognosticator} gave her the warning she was physically ill, reminded of the prior wolf killing, and shocked enough to need {Subversion} at the real possibility of killing Lord Waters (before all the horrendous stuff came up). She doesn't even seem to consider solving Myah's problem by killing her dad, when she thinks it would be so easy to hurt him.
This was probably longer than it had to be, but maybe it can still be helpful.
Basically, I'm tentatively hopeful for Lilly not killing Valerie here.
Last edited:
Slyvena
I don't like pie.
- Location
- Pie Shop
Well I will tell you that prior to doing the roll sheet for 2.5 the only conditions I considered enabling lethal action on Lilly's part were;
* Loss of control because of interference from a new power.
* Loss of control from residual command interference.
* Momentary rage from death of a family member.
* Firm belief sparing Valerie would lead to death of a family member.
Lilly would balk from lethal action given any option to avoid it.
Last edited:
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
mmm.
That being said, Lilly isn't going to balk at roughing her up quite a bit. Is Valerie going to be a gaptooth for a while one way or another?
(Seriously though please don't make me wait two to four weeks for the resolution to this my nerves can't take it)
That being said, Lilly isn't going to balk at roughing her up quite a bit. Is Valerie going to be a gaptooth for a while one way or another?
(Seriously though please don't make me wait two to four weeks for the resolution to this my nerves can't take it)
- Location
- San Ramon, CA
So, as I was going back through one the earlier updates, there was a particular line that stuck out to me as Lilly was entering Harmuph with her father.
This sentence implies that there are other Diviners who work in the town of Harmuph. Which brings up the question: What make Madam Silva so much better than the others, and what will happen in the power vacuum when she follows a certain demi-god out of town?
Advice for an Aspiring Diviner
This sentence implies that there are other Diviners who work in the town of Harmuph. Which brings up the question: What make Madam Silva so much better than the others, and what will happen in the power vacuum when she follows a certain demi-god out of town?
Advice for an Aspiring Diviner
Hello, Marjorie, do come in. Apologies for asking come by on such short notice, but…well, you may have heard the rumors, and yes, they are true. My family and I are leaving Harmuph, possibly forever. I have enjoyed my position of respect in this town, but it seems the fates have a different path set for me.
Now, as to why I have asked you to come. I know that you've been practicing your divinations with some of your customers at the dress shop you've been working in. You've cultivated a reputation for accurate, if relatively shortsighted readings of a person's day to day life. Granted, your looks of envy weren't nearly as circumspect as you thought they were, but at least you put your efforts into improving your own craft rather than trying to bring me low. There were some Diviners twice your age who lacked your wisdom in that regard. You've gained a small, but loyal group of regular customers, which is no small feat. I suppose Miss Robin is the slightly better…well, slightly more well known Diviner. Unfortunately, she has taken the route of…underhanded enticement for her dealings, hoping that her customers are too distracted to detect how vague and open-ended some of her predictions are. While I could ignore her appeals to men's baser nature, what I can't abide is when she tells some empty-headed man merely what he wishes to hear, and presents that as a proper divination. It damages the perception of the profession as a whole, and that offends me.
So, in recognition of your drive, and because I don't hate the people of Harmuph enough to leave them reliant on that harlot, I have decided to grant you aid in getting through your Ethos bottleneck. Oh, you've been saving up money to pay the Lore Warden for any records or journals to aid you? Well, consider that money you can save for something more productive, then. Despite what you may have heard, there's no dread Oath with some malevolent spirit required, nor any esoteric ritual under the full moon, or any other such nonsense. I've simply been fortunate enough to discover and internalize one of the fundamental truths of the universe, which I will reveal to you closely. However, I must ask that you not tell a soul, at least not until I've become little more than a distant memory to the people of this town. Understand? Good, here it is.
A product is worth exactly as much as someone else is willing to pay for it, no more, no less.
What, did you think I was going to give you some lecture about the hidden workings of Concordance? No, you've demonstrated enough of your craft for someone at your level, and more technical knowledge isn't the problem. You see, the role of a Diviner is twofold: to peer into the past, present, and future, and to be actually listened to. If you had wasted your money on the Lore Warden, he would probably how found some treatise or something saying that the condition for progress is "To have the weight of your words impress themselves into the hearts of men," or some other flowery nonsense. In practical terms, the way to progress as a Diviner is to make your predictions seem more valuable, even before your capabilities have improved.
When I was younger, I had the fortune of befriending a travelling merchant, who told me the story of a rather unfortunate jeweler way up in some town in Lira. The jeweler had managed to acquire a rather large amount of diamonds, all about the size of a pea, making them perfect for fitting onto rings. Unfortunately, despite his rather sizeable investment, the rings weren't selling well. The diamonds' clear color wasn't as attractive as ruby or sapphires, they don't make good Mana foci, and the jeweler wasn't skilled enough to artfully incorporate the diamonds as part of a masterful piece of jewelry. The only real claim that diamonds have over other jewels is that they are harder than most other materials, and so are far less likely to accidentally chip. It was starting to look like the jeweler had simply made a bad bargain, and would have to sell his diamonds at a far lower price in order to cut his losses.
But the jeweler had an idea. He commissioned a bard to start telling stories about romantic couples from far off lands giving their loved ones diamond rings as an offer of marriage "so show that our love, like a diamond, shall last forever." Sheer nonsense, but apparently the public ate it up. When new customers, the jeweler would tell them how lucky they were to have a chance to grab "the last rings in stock" and be a part of an "exotic tradition" that he had made up whole-cloth. And so the jeweler was able to make a significant profit on otherwise valueless rocks.
Now, it should be self-evident that unlike diamonds, divination is actually useful, but now your task is to further increase its value in the eyes of your customers. A glimpse into the future is not iron, but steel. Not wool, but fine silk. And so, I have found a few little tricks that may help increase your marketability.
Firstly, and this is very important: No. More. Free. Samples. I know you like to give divinations for some of your friends, and that Collins boy that you're sweet on, but this ends up implying that your labor is not valuable. The blacksmith and the baker put in effort for their craft and expect compensation; so should you. Granted, you may find through calculation or generosity to accept someone buying you lunch or doing a chore for you as sufficient payment, but you need to start setting the precedent that the future must be paid for.
Second, don't be afraid to start exchanging in favors. Gold is more valuable, as you are able to spend it wherever you like, but it also allows a customer to easily forget you after the transaction is complete. Favors may be a bit more limited, but they allow you to stay in a person's mind as part of their personal economy. It's also helpful to get in the habit in case of lean times where the circulation of currency becomes scarcer.
Third, use that money you saved up to go to the tea shop and get some elocution lessons from Mrs. Renly. You are the purveyor of mystical and hidden knowledge; it will behoove you to sound the part.
Fourth, never spend all of your energies for a day, even when you still have a few customers waiting on you at the late afternoon. Turning in early helps promote a sort of artificial scarcity, and it's always good to have some energy left over for your own purposes…or when a pack of murderous wolves decides to attack your town in the middle of the night.
Fifth, if you aren't able to get a clear reading for whatever reason, be willing to admit and refund the customer. Do. Not. Lie. Your reputation is your livelihood, and the few extra coins you gain from a "creative interpretation" could very well be the last coins you earn in a town. Even I'm not immune from this. The incident with the "resurrected" Silas girl was based off of a perfectly reasonable misunderstanding, and yet it could very well have led to a major blow to my reputation if not for some careful negotiation and presentation.
You may have to put your own spin on things, but I believe my advice will help you better establish yourself. In one of life's little ironies, your projected increase in allure and reputation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Getting more customers fulfills your bottleneck condition, which allows your Ethos to expand, which in turn allows you to make more far-reaching divinations, which gains you more customers. If you use your status and station wisely, you will eventually end up a relied on pillar of the community, and you won't have to worry about where your next meal is coming from…well, for a time, at least.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news (particularly since customers tend to try and short me afterwards), but as you progress in your Ethos, you may eventually detect a sort of…echo in the void of time. Have you ever seen a far-off lightning bolt during a storm and then heard the thunder a few seconds later? The thunder is actually the sound the lightning makes, but the sound is delayed based on how far you are from it. The echo in the void is a thunderclap, and the storm is getting closer. I don't know what form it will take or exactly when it will get here. All I know is that it's too far away to measured in months, but it's awfully close when measured in years.
Which brings me to my last bit of advice, Majorie: even with all the foresight in the world, you have to gamble from time to time. Seeing the future doesn't seem to fix nearly as many problems as it ought to, and you will have to trust in your own judgement in how to proceed. I'm making the best with the resources I have to improve my odds, and I hope that when the time comes, you'll be able to do the same.
Oh, and here's a divination for free that you may have missed. You know how Tim, the baker's son, always seems to be tossing out the day's sweet rolls out just as you are walking by so he can offer you one? You may want to follow up on that.
Now, as to why I have asked you to come. I know that you've been practicing your divinations with some of your customers at the dress shop you've been working in. You've cultivated a reputation for accurate, if relatively shortsighted readings of a person's day to day life. Granted, your looks of envy weren't nearly as circumspect as you thought they were, but at least you put your efforts into improving your own craft rather than trying to bring me low. There were some Diviners twice your age who lacked your wisdom in that regard. You've gained a small, but loyal group of regular customers, which is no small feat. I suppose Miss Robin is the slightly better…well, slightly more well known Diviner. Unfortunately, she has taken the route of…underhanded enticement for her dealings, hoping that her customers are too distracted to detect how vague and open-ended some of her predictions are. While I could ignore her appeals to men's baser nature, what I can't abide is when she tells some empty-headed man merely what he wishes to hear, and presents that as a proper divination. It damages the perception of the profession as a whole, and that offends me.
So, in recognition of your drive, and because I don't hate the people of Harmuph enough to leave them reliant on that harlot, I have decided to grant you aid in getting through your Ethos bottleneck. Oh, you've been saving up money to pay the Lore Warden for any records or journals to aid you? Well, consider that money you can save for something more productive, then. Despite what you may have heard, there's no dread Oath with some malevolent spirit required, nor any esoteric ritual under the full moon, or any other such nonsense. I've simply been fortunate enough to discover and internalize one of the fundamental truths of the universe, which I will reveal to you closely. However, I must ask that you not tell a soul, at least not until I've become little more than a distant memory to the people of this town. Understand? Good, here it is.
A product is worth exactly as much as someone else is willing to pay for it, no more, no less.
What, did you think I was going to give you some lecture about the hidden workings of Concordance? No, you've demonstrated enough of your craft for someone at your level, and more technical knowledge isn't the problem. You see, the role of a Diviner is twofold: to peer into the past, present, and future, and to be actually listened to. If you had wasted your money on the Lore Warden, he would probably how found some treatise or something saying that the condition for progress is "To have the weight of your words impress themselves into the hearts of men," or some other flowery nonsense. In practical terms, the way to progress as a Diviner is to make your predictions seem more valuable, even before your capabilities have improved.
When I was younger, I had the fortune of befriending a travelling merchant, who told me the story of a rather unfortunate jeweler way up in some town in Lira. The jeweler had managed to acquire a rather large amount of diamonds, all about the size of a pea, making them perfect for fitting onto rings. Unfortunately, despite his rather sizeable investment, the rings weren't selling well. The diamonds' clear color wasn't as attractive as ruby or sapphires, they don't make good Mana foci, and the jeweler wasn't skilled enough to artfully incorporate the diamonds as part of a masterful piece of jewelry. The only real claim that diamonds have over other jewels is that they are harder than most other materials, and so are far less likely to accidentally chip. It was starting to look like the jeweler had simply made a bad bargain, and would have to sell his diamonds at a far lower price in order to cut his losses.
But the jeweler had an idea. He commissioned a bard to start telling stories about romantic couples from far off lands giving their loved ones diamond rings as an offer of marriage "so show that our love, like a diamond, shall last forever." Sheer nonsense, but apparently the public ate it up. When new customers, the jeweler would tell them how lucky they were to have a chance to grab "the last rings in stock" and be a part of an "exotic tradition" that he had made up whole-cloth. And so the jeweler was able to make a significant profit on otherwise valueless rocks.
Now, it should be self-evident that unlike diamonds, divination is actually useful, but now your task is to further increase its value in the eyes of your customers. A glimpse into the future is not iron, but steel. Not wool, but fine silk. And so, I have found a few little tricks that may help increase your marketability.
Firstly, and this is very important: No. More. Free. Samples. I know you like to give divinations for some of your friends, and that Collins boy that you're sweet on, but this ends up implying that your labor is not valuable. The blacksmith and the baker put in effort for their craft and expect compensation; so should you. Granted, you may find through calculation or generosity to accept someone buying you lunch or doing a chore for you as sufficient payment, but you need to start setting the precedent that the future must be paid for.
Second, don't be afraid to start exchanging in favors. Gold is more valuable, as you are able to spend it wherever you like, but it also allows a customer to easily forget you after the transaction is complete. Favors may be a bit more limited, but they allow you to stay in a person's mind as part of their personal economy. It's also helpful to get in the habit in case of lean times where the circulation of currency becomes scarcer.
Third, use that money you saved up to go to the tea shop and get some elocution lessons from Mrs. Renly. You are the purveyor of mystical and hidden knowledge; it will behoove you to sound the part.
Fourth, never spend all of your energies for a day, even when you still have a few customers waiting on you at the late afternoon. Turning in early helps promote a sort of artificial scarcity, and it's always good to have some energy left over for your own purposes…or when a pack of murderous wolves decides to attack your town in the middle of the night.
Fifth, if you aren't able to get a clear reading for whatever reason, be willing to admit and refund the customer. Do. Not. Lie. Your reputation is your livelihood, and the few extra coins you gain from a "creative interpretation" could very well be the last coins you earn in a town. Even I'm not immune from this. The incident with the "resurrected" Silas girl was based off of a perfectly reasonable misunderstanding, and yet it could very well have led to a major blow to my reputation if not for some careful negotiation and presentation.
You may have to put your own spin on things, but I believe my advice will help you better establish yourself. In one of life's little ironies, your projected increase in allure and reputation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Getting more customers fulfills your bottleneck condition, which allows your Ethos to expand, which in turn allows you to make more far-reaching divinations, which gains you more customers. If you use your status and station wisely, you will eventually end up a relied on pillar of the community, and you won't have to worry about where your next meal is coming from…well, for a time, at least.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news (particularly since customers tend to try and short me afterwards), but as you progress in your Ethos, you may eventually detect a sort of…echo in the void of time. Have you ever seen a far-off lightning bolt during a storm and then heard the thunder a few seconds later? The thunder is actually the sound the lightning makes, but the sound is delayed based on how far you are from it. The echo in the void is a thunderclap, and the storm is getting closer. I don't know what form it will take or exactly when it will get here. All I know is that it's too far away to measured in months, but it's awfully close when measured in years.
Which brings me to my last bit of advice, Majorie: even with all the foresight in the world, you have to gamble from time to time. Seeing the future doesn't seem to fix nearly as many problems as it ought to, and you will have to trust in your own judgement in how to proceed. I'm making the best with the resources I have to improve my odds, and I hope that when the time comes, you'll be able to do the same.
Oh, and here's a divination for free that you may have missed. You know how Tim, the baker's son, always seems to be tossing out the day's sweet rolls out just as you are walking by so he can offer you one? You may want to follow up on that.
Half Moon
In the end, there is no end.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Alright. I've been worrying about this for for a while, but keep forgetting to post about it.
A few people have suggested making a cool dungeon base. I want this to happen as well, if I am to be honest. But I'm worried that it could be dangerous, due to this problem.
The problem is this: [Towering Edifice to Heaven] is made to be conquered.
Now, I don't quite know what this will mean. Maybe I'm clawing at shadows here. Still, I'd be wary of making ourself a dungeon base, for this reason.
Thoughts?
A few people have suggested making a cool dungeon base. I want this to happen as well, if I am to be honest. But I'm worried that it could be dangerous, due to this problem.
The problem is this: [Towering Edifice to Heaven] is made to be conquered.
Now, I don't quite know what this will mean. Maybe I'm clawing at shadows here. Still, I'd be wary of making ourself a dungeon base, for this reason.
Thoughts?
ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
Well, Lilly's version of Edifice has a lot of the limiters removed (Evie does good work), so maybe it doesn't have that kind of narrative trend anymore, if it ever had such a thing in the first place. I'm not sure if it would, the purpose of Edifice seems to be challenging locals and rewarding them with artifacts, that doesn't require they conquer the tower, merely prove some measure of worthiness.
- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
My guess for the context is some kind of analysis on why extending {Sample Space} beyond a few seconds into the future would never work.
Basically, why it's impossible to game the combat encounters by grinding Cleaver of Fortune into Path to Victory.
The language used is somewhat technical and looks like end of some kind of a speech.
EDIT: I strongly suspect this is Petal talking to Lilly.
Last edited:
- Location
- Europe
{Sample Space} real strength here was the speed and the multitasking that it gave to us.
We needed to do 10 things nearly at once in less than a second before we could charge Valerie; hopefully there was no problem with those.
We needed to do 10 things nearly at once in less than a second before we could charge Valerie; hopefully there was no problem with those.
- Location
- United States of America, Michigan
Random thought but I wonder how a plan that used subversion to fudge our memory of 'Stop' command being 'Sto' would work?
'You use [Subversion] to alter your own memory of the command you forcefully made to follow. Normally this would be a bad idea but desperate times call for desperate measures and you have an idea. You just need to not be stopped and quickest way to do that is change your order a little say removing a p leaving it an order to 'Sto'. Now you're not actually sure if sto is a word but even if it it is you think it sounds like a great word for "Help I'm being possessed and would really like to not kill anyone. You can even knock a few of my teeth out I won't mind". So you're going to 'Sto' Valeria if its the last thing you do!'
'You use [Subversion] to alter your own memory of the command you forcefully made to follow. Normally this would be a bad idea but desperate times call for desperate measures and you have an idea. You just need to not be stopped and quickest way to do that is change your order a little say removing a p leaving it an order to 'Sto'. Now you're not actually sure if sto is a word but even if it it is you think it sounds like a great word for "Help I'm being possessed and would really like to not kill anyone. You can even knock a few of my teeth out I won't mind". So you're going to 'Sto' Valeria if its the last thing you do!'
- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
To further explain my conclusion on the spoilered line:
2) It is using altered font so it's probably not a realspace conversation
3) It uses specific name, {Sample Space}, indicating familiarity with Lilly's own powers and naming conventions.
4) Assuming that this is not some kind of omniscient Divinity sharply limits the list of possible speakers because I don't think Lilly shared all the names for her Ethae and powers with anyone.
5) Leaving Lilly, Evie and Petal as likely culprits.
6) Of them, Evie is not nearly as eloquent yet, and Petal is the one to have a better grasp on the powers Lilly has in general - as indicated by her more than once taking over some problematic issue before letting Lilly integrate it properly, like her awareness enhancements.
1) This is in quotes, so it is some kind of speech
2) It is using altered font so it's probably not a realspace conversation
3) It uses specific name, {Sample Space}, indicating familiarity with Lilly's own powers and naming conventions.
4) Assuming that this is not some kind of omniscient Divinity sharply limits the list of possible speakers because I don't think Lilly shared all the names for her Ethae and powers with anyone.
5) Leaving Lilly, Evie and Petal as likely culprits.
6) Of them, Evie is not nearly as eloquent yet, and Petal is the one to have a better grasp on the powers Lilly has in general - as indicated by her more than once taking over some problematic issue before letting Lilly integrate it properly, like her awareness enhancements.
Thebigpieman
I've got this, I think.
- Location
- United States
So the status quo?
Edifier
Trusted within thoughts.
- Location
- Court of Moon Wizards
So petal's giving a run down and explanation on what happened. Since the relation link was formed she has that freedom.
Wonder if the deviations were from a deific ability. One that altered Valeries luck.
I wonder if relations link with Evie would do something like that too. Allow her to talk to Lilly normally.
Wonder if the deviations were from a deific ability. One that altered Valeries luck.
I wonder if relations link with Evie would do something like that too. Allow her to talk to Lilly normally.