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Not Quite Lovecraft

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_brightwing said:
So what are our plans for this guy? If we don't manage to convince him we're friendly, how do you want to contain him?

Looks like he has a vendetta. My guess is some of the magical paintings we did like the Isis one that we sold might have awakened someone. And led them to gain second sight to see the underpannings of the mundane. And the abyss started back, something went after him in some capacity.

We could send him to the cops, but that he'd eventually get released and then crack in an asylum or return with a pitchfork and mob.
We have magical options like memory sealing.. but that's a bit unsavory. And we're obviously not killing him.
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Well, first we try to reason with him. If we can't reason, then we call the cops. Afterall, he DID break into our house.

If that dosen't work, we use memory sealing as our last option.

DocMatoi said:
"How dare you call my art cursed, I made sure to keep all the cursed stuff private"
It's much funnier if you ask me
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i love this, i change my vote.

[X]Tell him your dangerous paintings are not public
[X]Yell at him for insulting your art
 
[x]My paintings are no more cursed than a gun or morphine, and I doubt you perfectly understand how either of those thing work.

Let's cut through the nonsense part of his argument, which is that there's something he doesn't understand but doesn't like. Hopefully he'll get to his actual complaint after that.
 
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Oct 30, 2023 at 7:41 PM, finished with 12 posts and 9 votes.
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    • You pulled back as the full impact of his words hit you. How dare he make such an assumption? You put your life and soul into your paintings! Yes you have dangerous creations, but you have been extremely careful in taking those and keeping them sealed away in the house. The ones you have sold are not harmful at all!

    "You would break into my home and threaten me, to insult my art?" You seethed. "Anything I have created that is dangerous is well locked up and away from others. That which is out there is harmless! What would make you think otherwise?"

    The man stared at you in disbelief. "But the sensations! The way people are drawn closer to them, how it seeps into dreams!"

    "Do you know nothing of art? That is what is aimed for! To make something memorable, something that leaves an impression and makes people think! That just means my art is good!"

    "Normal art doesn't make you taste the ocean looking at it, or feel lost in the dark!" he argued.

    Right. It was clear this man had some level of sensitivity to the occult, which he had stumbled across through your paintings. He was a very lucky idiot to have encountered your paintings, rather than some of the far more threatening things in the world. You did need to figure out what to do about him.

    [ ]Call the police to deal with him
    [ ]Throw him out yourself
    [ ]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • [x]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
    -[x] If he doesn't listen, then throw him out. bodily, if possible.
    maybe think of him as a blank canvas, ollie. hes a lucky idiot, yes, but thats just fresh ground to build an ally on

    Blacksheep said:
    "Do you know nothing of art?
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    being fair to homeboy, this is also what someone who intentionally distributed cursed paintings would say
     
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    [X]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
    -[X] Demand proof of any concrete harm. If they are "cursed" then what harm have they caused beyond invoking feelings and sensations?

    Okay if our art was making people who see it so depressed they commit suicide or something I could see the argument. But nothing of ours should be like that. If we can make him see how they aren't actually hurting anyone he will understand. Unless he really can point out some sort of harm, in which case we have something we need to fix.

    Throwing him out would be a mistake. We either need to calm him down enough he won't try to attack us in another way, or throw him to the police so he can't attack us again.
     
    [X]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
    -[X] Demand proof of any concrete harm. If they are "cursed" then what harm have they caused beyond invoking feelings and sensations?

    Pretty much what I was thinking. I feel like the guy is panicking and lashing out from fear. I'm not okay with being his punching bag, but I'm not entirely unsympathetic either.
     
    The main issue here is now rather, Nemo. Encountering them has rattled the poor man to the core. I think our best bet is to disarm the situation as much as we can. Should the man still attack us or something, we do have a hidden weapon - the claws, and the telepathic bond to Nemo to resummon him.


    [X] Use as much Charisma and aristocratic social grace you have to disarm the situation
    -[X] Holster your gun and tell the man that you were worried he was a cultist or something for a moment.
    -[X[ Pat Nemo affectionally like you would to a family pet and visibly tell him in front of the man, there are no bad guys here, thank him for looking out for you and to go rest now.
    -[X] To humanise Nemo tell the man that you found them dying in an expedition and nursed them back to health. They are a fish eating intelligent creature found under the oceans - they might look fierce but Nemo has never harmed a soul unless in self defense.
    -[X] Invite him to the study to explain your art
    -[X]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
    -[X] Demand proof of any concrete harm. If they are "cursed" then what harm have they caused beyond invoking feelings and sensations?
     
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    [X] Use as much Charisma and aristocratic social grace you have to disarm the situation
    -[X] Holster your gun and tell the man that you were worried he was a cultist or something for a moment.
    -[X[ Pat Nemo affectionally like you would to a family pet and visibly tell him in front of the man, there are no bad guys here, thank him for looking out for you and to go rest now.
    -[X] To humanise Nemo tell the man that you found them dying in an expedition and nursed them back to health. They are a fish eating intelligent creature found under the oceans - they might look fierce but Nemo has never harmed a soul unless in self defense.
    -[X] Invite him to the study to explain your art
    -[X]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
    -[X] Demand proof of any concrete harm. If they are "cursed" then what harm have they caused beyond invoking feelings and sensations?

    Okay, let's try to defuse the situation and help this bloke understand the occult better.

    If it dosen't work we can always call the constables later.
     
    [X] Use as much Charisma and aristocratic social grace you have to disarm the situation
    -[X] Holster your gun and tell the man that you were worried he was a cultist or something for a moment.
    -[X[ Pat Nemo affectionally like you would to a family pet and visibly tell him in front of the man, there are no bad guys here, thank him for looking out for you and to go rest now.
    -[X] To humanise Nemo tell the man that you found them dying in an expedition and nursed them back to health. They are a fish eating intelligent creature found under the oceans - they might look fierce but Nemo has never harmed a soul unless in self defense.
    -[X] Invite him to the study to explain your art
     
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  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Nov 1, 2023 at 6:46 PM, finished with 8 posts and 8 votes.
    • [X] Use as much Charisma and aristocratic social grace you have to disarm the situation
      -[X] Holster your gun and tell the man that you were worried he was a cultist or something for a moment.
      -[X] To humanise Nemo tell the man that you found them dying in an expedition and nursed them back to health. They are a fish eating intelligent creature found under the oceans - they might look fierce but Nemo has never harmed a soul unless in self defense.
      -[X] Invite him to the study to explain your art
      -[X]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
      -[X] Demand proof of any concrete harm. If they are "cursed" then what harm have they caused beyond invoking feelings and sensations?
      [x]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
      -[X] Demand proof of any concrete harm. If they are "cursed" then what harm have they caused beyond invoking feelings and sensations?
      [x]Try to break down what's going on into small enough words for him
      -[x] If he doesn't listen, then throw him out. bodily, if possible.
      [X] Use as much Charisma and aristocratic social grace you have to disarm the situation
      [X] Use as much Charisma and aristocratic social grace you have to disarm the situation
      -[X] Holster your gun and tell the man that you were worried he was a cultist or something for a moment.
      -[X] To humanise Nemo tell the man that you found them dying in an expedition and nursed them back to health. They are a fish eating intelligent creature found under the oceans - they might look fierce but Nemo has never harmed a soul unless in self defense.
      -[X] Invite him to the study to explain your art
    Click to expand...
     
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    • You took a deep breath. You were not impressed by this fool, not in the slightest, but you did have excellent etiquette. This was perhaps not the sort of situation you had ever expected to apply social rules in, but the occult often seemed to tilt you into strange situations. You would just have to do your best to explain to this man that not everything strange was harmful. Your paintings certainly weren't, despite his convictions, unless you had missed something. You would need something more than "creates sensations" to worry. It wasn't harming people as far as you could tell.

    You put your gun away with great care. If something went wrong, you were sure that you could still defend yourself, if Nemo didn't finish killing him first. Nemo was wonderfully protective of your home and fierce in defending it from those they weren't introduced to. "At least I know you aren't a mad cultist," you sighed.

    "What? Is that not your role in this?" the man spluttered.

    You gave a wry grin to that. "I may know more about the occult than you, but I worship no harmful entities, and bring no harm to innocents. I do not force my ways on others, and I mainly focus on my art. Have the paintings I've captured truly done harm, or have they simply been evocative of emotion and memory?"

    "They feel real, is that not dangerous?"

    "Most art strives to communicate, and evoke emotion and thought. My paintings may be slightly more successful in doing so than most, but unless they are bringing harm to others it simply means my art is good."

    The man frowned. "You mince your words prettily, but your horror beast tried to kill me when I came here."

    "You broke into my private home. It is little different from a dog doing so to defend it. Nemo may not be a creature that you recognize, but they are loyal and caring." You petted Nemo to demonstrate that fact. Nemo leaned heavily into your grasp, still clearly suspicious of the intruder but following your lead loyally. They always did.

    "You cannot simply use your cursed powers on the public without people knowing about it!"

    "So you claim the harm is in exposure to the unknown? Would you say that science should never be pressed forward, that exploration should not be embarked upon? The unknown is just that, unknown. Neither harmful or helpful until we know more. I have enough experience to know it is not!"

    "Then why keep it hidden?" he accused.

    [ ]Explain you didn't know you were enchanting them at first
    [ ]Explain fear of being thought mad
    [ ]Explain the effects the occult can have on others
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • [X] Because not everyone understands. And what people do not understand they fear.
    -[X] Tell the tale of the girl who had Ocean blood and was terrified of her change. And people who would hurt her if she was discovered. And her mother who could not meet her and yearned.
    -[X] The need for the blessings of mother goddesses and the forces of good who protect their people from the dark. The importance to know so you may fight back. The beauty in the magic.
    -[X] Yet arcane knowledge must be guarded to keep safe those who do not know from meddling with what they don't understand. And bring ruin upon themselves and others from greed.
    -[X] Fire can be life giving yet it can also destroy. So one must keep it out of reach from children. And the others who Know needing to take burden of lighting the way. Bring up your friend the good Reverend who helped put an end to generations of haunting.
     
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    [X] Because not everyone understands. And what people do not understand they fear.
    -[X] Tell the tale of the girl who had Ocean blood and was terrified of her change. And people who would hurt her if she was discovered. And her mother who could not meet her and yearned.
    -[X] The need for the blessings of mother goddesses and the forces of good who protect their people from the dark. The importance to know so you may fight back. The beauty in the magic.
    -[X] Yet arcane knowledge must be guarded to keep safe those who do not know from meddling with what they don't understand. And bring ruin upon themselves and others from greed.
    -[X] Fire can be life giving yet it can also destroy. So one must keep it out of reach from children. And the others who Know needing to take burden of lighting the way. Bring up your friend the good Reverend who helped put an end to generations of haunting.
     
    [X] Because not everyone understands. And what people do not understand they fear.
    -[X] Tell the tale of the girl who had Ocean blood and was terrified of her change. And people who would hurt her if she was discovered. And her mother who could not meet her and yearned.
    -[X] The need for the blessings of mother goddesses and the forces of good who protect their people from the dark. The importance to know so you may fight back. The beauty in the magic.
    -[X] Yet arcane knowledge must be guarded to keep safe those who do not know from meddling with what they don't understand. And bring ruin upon themselves and others from greed.
    -[X] Fire can be life giving yet it can also destroy. So one must keep it out of reach from children. And the others who Know needing to take burden of lighting the way. Bring up your friend the good Reverend who helped put an end to generations of haunting.

    So... Will this be an unwilling mentorship scenario or should he direct him to another occultist... does he know any other occultist that isn't the priest or Emily?
     
    Are we really that invested in keeping the knowledge of occult away from people though? Like, we do it for their peace of mind, and because trying to break the masquerade wholesale would probably be a bad idea (or at least a massive undertaking we are in no way prepared for) but I don't really see it as "keeping it out of the reach of children". That is more of a villain motivation, hoarding the magic and acting as a gatekeeper.

    Heck wasn't one of the vague plans we had about our paintings that they would give people some low level exposure to the occult? We aren't trying to keep it hidden, we are trying to put it out there as much as is practical in our situation.
    Ironically this person gaining knowledge of the occult is exactly what we wanted. He was just rather a bit cruder about it then we would have liked.

    If anyone actually asks us about the occult we freely explain. We just aren't shouting it from the rooftops either. It's one part "fear of being thought mad" and one part "effects the occult can have on others". Except it's not a matter of fear, just logic.

    My response would be:

    [X] Ask how exactly were you supposed to explain?
    -[X] Vivid paintings would not be enough to convince most people. If you wished to convince people you would need more blatantly supernatural proof.
    -[X] People often react badly upon encountering something blatantly supernatural. Especially if they lack prior exposure.
    -[X] So we would either be dismissed, or we would have to shatter the ignorance of the public single handedly. Which would go very badly.

    I also have to ask (though perhaps after so not to clutter the conversation) what exactly he was planning breaking into our house? Was he trying to find some evidence of a dastardly plot or something? Which we confess and spell out in our conveniently placed journals?
    Was he looking for our private collection? It would melt his brain out his ears.
    Was he planning on confronting us personally? If so he really bungled it.
     
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    JayTar said:
    Are we really that invested in keeping the knowledge of occult away from people though? Like, we do it for their peace of mind, and because
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    I didn't mean gatekeeping magic exactly, it was more aimed at answering the man's questions about why people keep it hidden. The response was more about harnessing it for the good. And only using magic if you know what you're doing. I really hope Oliver doesn't come across as condescending. It was the first thoughts that popped into my mind and I do agree there's room for improvement - I just wanted to pick more nuanced answers rather than the default ones. Bringing up tales could be an interesting way to change his perspective. Maybe us talking about caution would also help set the man's fears at ease?

    [X] Ask how exactly were you supposed to explain?
    -[X] Vivid paintings would not be enough to convince most people. If you wished to convince people you would need more blatantly supernatural proof.
    -[X] People often react badly upon encountering something blatantly supernatural. Especially if they lack prior exposure.
    -[X] So we would either be dismissed, or we would have to shatter the ignorance of the public single handedly. Which would go very badly.

    [X] Because not everyone understands. And what people do not understand they fear.
    -[X] Tell the tale of the girl who had Ocean blood and was terrified of her change. And people who would hurt her if she was discovered. And her mother who could not meet her and yearned.
    -[X] The need for the blessings of mother goddesses and the forces of good who protect their people from the dark. The importance to know so you may fight back. The beauty in the magic.
    -[X] Yet arcane knowledge must be guarded to keep safe those who do not know from meddling with what they don't understand. And bring ruin upon themselves and others from greed.
    -[X] Fire can be life giving yet it can also destroy. So one must keep it out of reach from children. And the others who Know needing to take burden of lighting the way. Bring up your friend the good Reverend who helped put an end to generations of haunting.
     
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    Because people like him exist. People who break into other people's houses, threatening to hurt or maybe even kill them for being different. Even just evocative paintings made this guy react violently. Why would he expect anybody associated with the occult to try and help him or better the world he is associated with?

    I'm not sure how to vote, but this guy's hypocrisy or lack of self awareness is seriously irritating. He breaks into our house, yelling about how we're evil, and his next coherent thought is "why haven't you been helping me or the people I know about?"
     
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