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Question Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice

7 years 9 months ago #2 by Domoviye

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Ninja'd by like 30 seconds!

7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #3 by mhalpern

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Well I actually called it in foody bookies.. I can't wait to read it.

Edit Ninja'd it posted as the first version of this comment did

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Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by mhalpern.

7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #4 by konzill

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I'm so excited, and I haven't even started reading yet. I

hmm. if this still has that little scene with Sphere at the end does it mean that Her mother will be making an appearance on parents day?

Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by konzill.

7 years 9 months ago #5 by Sir Lee

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This is not the entirety of "The Absinth of Malice" yet, it apparently has been split into about... five parts? That seems about right, the fanfic was 675 kb long, and this one is 137 kb long. So we don't know yet about anything at the end.

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7 years 9 months ago #6 by mhalpern

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Fixx is now a warper instead of a Wiz, makes sense, I wonder if part of this is going to be Parents Day, and if Noms and Puppet will say anything about having met her father.

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7 years 9 months ago #7 by Malady

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This is still awesome!

Wait... So, anyone with Aura Sight can tell what's actually going on with Jade's powers? And her selves have a link back to the main self... Hmm... Has Jade actually ever gotten a magical scan?

Magical Tree Thing is still a thing... Wonder how that'd interact with the Grove...

Hmm... I wonder how long the conversion took, and what that'd mean... 'Cause while there aren't many changes from the original in this part... This is 1/5...

With all the FiveFold Sidhe stuff... Elle might make an appearance here? Also Whisper?

IIRC, Collin doesn't learn about the truth behind Adam as of this... But, what changes have been made... Questions, questions...

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7 years 9 months ago #8 by Angeldude

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That ending. Congratulations Absinthe, you've doomed everything.

Porcelain has appeared!

It looks like Jade has some competition in the recon department. Those remote fairies have some advantages and disadvantages over Jamie.

I really hope Nikki and Gwen find a way to get along eventually.

While I first noticed it in her first story, this story adds even more overlap with Whisper. I wonder if she will show up again at some point and how the 2 of them will react if they ever meet.

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7 years 9 months ago #9 by Dreamer

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SPOILER ALERT
Below is a stream of conscious commentary I type up as I read the story. There will details from the story included in it. If you have not read the story yet and don't wish to have details of it spoiled, read no further.

Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice Part 1 comments

Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ]

Thank You for story comments appreciated and help me know me they are being read and liked.

Note: My story comments can't nor are trying to replace reading the stories, simply my way of enjoying them and letting the authors know I enjoy them.

7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #10 by Arcanist Lupus

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Just as good as I remember it! Can't wait for the rest.

I'll admit that while I've been looking forward to this, I'm even more looking forward to passing beyond the parts that I've read before when it was still a fan-fic. Ah, well.

"Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy." - Spider Robinson

Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Arcanist Lupus.

7 years 9 months ago #11 by Dpragan

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Yeah I think by the end Gwen might have to confront Nikki and ask a few questions.

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7 years 9 months ago #12 by annachie

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One minor thing.

I thought Poe went away from keys with the upgrade.

7 years 9 months ago #13 by null0trooper

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Malady wrote: This is still awesome!

Wait... So, anyone with Aura Sight can tell what's actually going on with Jade's powers? And her selves have a link back to the main self... Hmm... Has Jade actually ever gotten a magical scan?

As far as magic is concerned, those selves were always part of her before she split them off, so they always are part of her and always will be part of her: that is, unless the links are severed. "As Above; so Below"

On the other hand, devising is suspected of having a magical component, and it's well-known that Generator's devises are very much hers, so there's less reason for a magician to investigate past the cover story. "Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc." Not knowing the cover story before encountering Jade, Gwen may have ended up in a good position to figure out part of the iceberg menacing shipping lanes that we know and love as Generator.

Re: magical scans. I'm sure that Nikki's taken a good hard look at Jade to see if there's any hope of a safe magical means to correct her physical gender. I'd doubt that that would have revealed everything about her powers and she really doesn't have a good incentive to ask an outsider to magically examine her.

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Discussion Thread

7 years 9 months ago #14 by annachie

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Also remember, that Jade has a wiz 1 on her MID.

Any actual mage type viewing her that way will probably think she's using magic to augment her devices.

7 years 9 months ago #15 by OtherEric

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annachie wrote: One minor thing.

I thought Poe went away from keys with the upgrade.

There are still keys as backup, so it still works- although mentioning the key but not getting the door programmed is at least slightly odd.

More generally, that's a great example of the small detail that's almost invisible even when we check the story over for things that need changing between fanfic and canon. I know I went over this chapter twice in revised form and didn't notice it.

7 years 9 months ago #16 by Anne

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annachie wrote: Also remember, that Jade has a wiz 1 on her MID.

Any actual mage type viewing her that way will probably think she's using magic to augment her devices.

Still she could be in a lot of danger. Even though she now uses a hallow for her spirit projections she should be being worked with by the magic department or the people who train those who can do astral projection. After all that seems to be what Jinn (and the rest of the J team) is, that is an astral projection of a sort. Yes she can affect the physical world as that projection so she is something else. But the cord that ties her back to Jade says that Jade is putting herself in a lot of danger every time she uses Jinn. Sure she's good at misdirection, but consider Tansy capturing one instance. What if instead of capturing the instance, Tansy had set out to injure Jade?

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7 years 9 months ago #17 by Anne

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OtherEric wrote:
annachie wrote: One minor thing.

I thought Poe went away from keys with the upgrade.

There are still keys as backup, so it still works- although mentioning the key but not getting the door programmed is at least slightly odd.

More generally, that's a great example of the small detail that's almost invisible even when we check the story over for things that need changing between fanfic and canon. I know I went over this chapter twice in revised form and didn't notice it.

The larger and more complicated this world gets the harder the details are to keep straight!

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #18 by Katssun

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It's the necessary changes from the fanfiic that fascinated me the most. Nikki's glamour is still just as potent to Sidhe as when Aunghadhail was alive??! Whisper felt mildly compelled to the queen in her stories, but that was Aung, combined with Nikki as a friendly voice. She was willing to serve, so to speak.

Still, Abbie felt the need to ~~prostrate herself~~ bow! Is some of that because of her dreams are making a subconscious impression? Maybe, but her past self was an exile. Is it just the aura Nikki gives off? Does it only directly affect Sidhe? Will Elle, through her bond with her spirit, who is of higher rank than Abbie's ancestor, feel the same? So many questions from such a change!

As for Darqueheart, I thought she was working on this with Imp (and Melissa)...Gwen's friendliness towards Orc should show her that she's one of the good ones.

Caitlin is going to just love Abbie, hmm? Right until she finds out she's MCO...

Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Katssun. Reason: Got a bit carried away and exaggerated a bit

7 years 9 months ago #19 by Valentine

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Remember that while Whisper is a Sidhe, she is entirely her own person, Absinthe is a direct descendent/inheritor of a Sidhe that was a subordinate of Aung. I imagine that Fey's glamour is a bit more effective on her.

I wonder how Danny is handling being a kitty plushie for Downpour? (He's probably torn between it being humiliated and the fact that he is helping Downpour cope)

I wonder if Fixx can lessen the effects of stuff, like he can strengthen it.

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7 years 9 months ago #20 by mhalpern

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May I talk about Needle or does that have to wait until we get to that point?

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7 years 9 months ago #21 by mhalpern

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I am guessing part 3 or 4 will part of the Parents' Day bunch, some things that I imagine will cause changes that we haven't seen yet for future parts, her father is actually reasonably well known as one of the good MCO agents, and has transported at least 2 students to the school whom are presently attending, Noms and Puppet, at the time of the original fanfic R & R weren't already at the school, neither was Kayda.
Gwen isn't the only student with job connections to the MCO in this version, Chou has an MCO badge.

A note about Caitlin, she dislikes (to put it lightly) the MCO as a whole, she also is experienced enough to know that just because an organization as a whole acts one way doesn't mean all the individuals that it comprises of agree. A good example is that the military screwed Erik and the other Dragonslayers over, Caitlin only blames Pearson for going with the paperwork that threw them all under the bus. Also she may enjoy the fact that the MCO is paying Gwen's tuition.

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7 years 9 months ago #22 by annachie

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Probably best to wait on Needle.

Not only is it a spoiler for those who never read the original fanfic, but it might also change.

7 years 9 months ago #23 by Yolandria

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Still, Abbie felt the need to prostrate herself bow! Is some of that because of her dreams are making a subconscious impression?

Actually Nikki's aura is that powerful.She normally keeps it down lower/controlled. Remember what her glamour did to Eric before he changed into Cait. Any other person would have been grovelling and sucking on toes at that point. I feel there is a Sidhe connection to the aura/glamour. No matter the level of your power there will always be a feeling/need to serve the queen.

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7 years 9 months ago #24 by Schol-R-LEA

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Malady wrote: So, anyone with Aura Sight can tell what's actually going on with Jade's powers? And her selves have a link back to the main self... Hmm... Has Jade actually ever gotten a magical scan?

It has been noted by a few others before that she has a connection to her 'devises' that is not typical of such, including by Aquerna if memory serves. I seem to recall that it was one of the things mentioned by Mongoose when Jade had him testing the weaknesses of her other selves vis a vis Avatars after the events of "Bottle a Jinn".

Also, IIRC, at least Pejuta has noted that there is something else going on with Generator, something involving a powerful spirit of some kind, and she was warned off about her by Wakan Tanka in a way similar to how she was warned about Tennyo - though that may have had to do with the Demon Mark. There's definitely something going on with Jade that we've only seen hints of, though.

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #25 by Rose Bunny

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Yolandria wrote:
I feel there is a Sidhe connection to the aura/glamour. No matter the level of your power there will always be a feeling/need to serve the queen.

Zephyr can shrug it off, it seems. She denies that Nikki is above her in sidhe station and is rather resentful.

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Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Rose Bunny.

7 years 9 months ago #26 by Sir Lee

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Re Nikki's glamour:
There's a story where Nikki asks Aung about the glamour, and Aung says that it was crafted by the best glamour-masters of the Five-Fold Courts; that is, it's not actually part of Aunghandail, it was something that was given to her. So, when Aung died, Nikki inherited it.

Re Jade:
The thread linking Jade to her copies is not the same thing as Jinn exposing her spirit-self when animating separate objects.
For one thing, the spirit-self has a definite limited range, while the J-team can go arbitrarily far from Jade without problems, as far as we know -- in December, the cabbit was in Colorado while Jade was still in New Hampshire, and when the charge ended, it "jumped" back to Jade (who was in Kansas City by that time) with no issues other than merge-shock due to the extended separation.
Anyway, I don't think the thread is a significant vulnerability to magical attacks. But it could in theory give away one of the J-team's position to an opponent with good aura-sight. However, following a thread might not be easy if one also sees lots of ley lines at the same time...

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7 years 9 months ago #27 by OtherEric

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annachie wrote: Probably best to wait on Needle.

Not only is it a spoiler for those who never read the original fanfic, but it might also change.

I can verify that Morpheus and JG have been in communication about Needle and how Caitlin is used in the story; but I am not privy to that communication or how it has affected the story for the most part.

7 years 9 months ago #28 by konzill

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mhalpern wrote: Gwen isn't the only student with job connections to the MCO in this version, Chou has an MCO badge.

Isn't Anomaly in the same program that Gwen is too? IIRC she is interning at one of the MCO offices in Texas. So yea if Catalin had issues with Gwen over this while hanging out with Anomaly, that would be rather strange. This actually raises the question of whether Anomaly also has to show up at the MCO field office in Berlin once a month.

7 years 9 months ago #29 by Domoviye

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konzill wrote:
mhalpern wrote: Gwen isn't the only student with job connections to the MCO in this version, Chou has an MCO badge.

Isn't Anomaly in the same program that Gwen is too? IIRC she is interning at one of the MCO offices in Texas. So yea if Catalin had issues with Gwen over this while hanging out with Anomaly, that would be rather strange. This actually raises the question of whether Anomaly also has to show up at the MCO field office in Berlin once a month.

Nope.
You're thinking of Chou.
Anomaly got a lot of help from the Texas MCO, and they're dealing with her case involving her kidnapping herself.

7 years 9 months ago #30 by Valentine

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Domoviye wrote: Nope.
You're thinking of Chou.
Anomaly got a lot of help from the Texas MCO, and they're dealing with her case involving her kidnapping herself.

Unfortunately NSFW

Kidnapping yourself [ Click to expand ]

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #31 by konzill

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Domoviye wrote:
Nope.
You're thinking of Chou.
Anomaly got a lot of help from the Texas MCO, and they're dealing with her case involving her kidnapping herself.

I went back to Small Mercies and reread a bit. Yes, the fact that Agent Waylan was helping her fill out a scholarship application form was what led me to that erroneous conclusion. It didn't actually say that it was an MCO Scholarship for Whateley.

Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by konzill.

7 years 9 months ago #32 by Kristin Darken

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Sir Lee wrote: Re Nikki's glamour:
There's a story where Nikki asks Aung about the glamour, and Aung says that it was crafted by the best glamour-masters of the Five-Fold Courts; that is, it's not actually part of Aunghandail, it was something that was given to her. So, when Aung died, Nikki inherited it.

I'm fairly sure we've talked about this before so I feel 'safe' in clarifying the basics of the glamour on Sidhe...

When we talk about world magick, spells that were cast pre-Sundering by the Sidhe that were designed to make some part of their culture function smoothly... like their protection from personal/blood magick by having all hair/nails/skin that separates from the body decay and become useless as a magickal marker for Contagion based effects. Many of these world magicks survived the lack of Essence from the Sundering because once the Sidhe were 'gone' (read: dead), there was no draw on the spell anymore... no Sidhe to protect, so the spell went dormant and didn't need Essence to sustain it. By the time there were actually Sidhe in the world again for these spells to engage once more, there was also enough Essence for them to draw on and function without collapse.

The glamour is also one of these world magicks, crafted to protect the young Sidhe of the Court until such time as they grew strong enough to protect themselves. The core effect of the glamoury is to attract others to the young Sidhe, aiding them in having followers available to help them, to make them liked and for people to want to help and protect them. The strength of the effect on them and the specific form it took would, of course, be dependent on that young Sidhe's place in the Courts and their own strengths and weaknesses (as part of the magick's efficiency and power is in amplifying and making use of the Sidhe's own gifts).

So any Sidhe with a 'place in the Courts' will benefit from a glamour.

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7 years 9 months ago #33 by Angeldude

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Kristin Darken wrote: So any Sidhe with a 'place in the Courts' will benefit from a glamour.

If I'm not mistaken, Whisper was never a member of the Courts, given that she is not bound to any existing Sidhe, rather that she was the birth of a completely new one. Since she has her own glamour, are you implying that all Sidhe are implicitly given a 'place in the Courts,' or is she just an outlier in this regard?

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7 years 9 months ago #34 by Kettlekorn

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Yay Porcelain! And I'd totally forgotten the fairy strike prank. Good stuff.

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #35 by Arcanist Lupus

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Kristin Darken wrote: The glamour is also one of these world magicks, crafted to protect the young Sidhe of the Court until such time as they grew strong enough to protect themselves.

Does this mean that glamours fade over time as a Sidhe comes into their full power?

The core effect of the glamoury is to attract others to the young Sidhe, aiding them in having followers available to help them, to make them liked and for people to want to help and protect them. The strength of the effect on them and the specific form it took would, of course, be dependent on that young Sidhe's place in the Courts and their own strengths and weaknesses (as part of the magick's efficiency and power is in amplifying and making use of the Sidhe's own gifts).

If Absinthe's glamour is supposed to attract followers to her, I can only assume that ancient Sidhe society had its own share of druggies.

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Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Arcanist Lupus.

7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #36 by Kristin Darken

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Angeldude wrote:
Kristin Darken wrote: So any Sidhe with a 'place in the Courts' will benefit from a glamour.

If I'm not mistaken, Whisper was never a member of the Courts, given that she is not bound to any existing Sidhe, rather that she was the birth of a completely new one. Since she has her own glamour, are you implying that all Sidhe are implicitly given a 'place in the Courts,' or is she just an outlier in this regard?

Whisper was acknowledged as part of Aung's Court practically from the start... before Brian even became Bri outside the game... when Seramis/Aung/Nikki healed her, saying

“Be still child. I refuse to let my newest champion die.” She says as the glow surrounding her body increases. A ghostly crown appears on her head while royal looking robes shimmer around body. Her light is almost blinding me when she touches my forehead and all the lights go out as I feel a sudden rush of power fill me to bursting.

(emphasis mine) - that might not have been an 'official declaration of title' for most people... but spoken by a Sidhe Queen? inherently a bit bigger deal than just a thank you for saving me.

Otherwise, you would be right... newly manifested Sidhe aren't automatically going to have glamour. Only if they have a tie through spirit/ancestry to someone ranked high enough for them to be recognized by the spell. But inclusion in the contemporary court? That'll do it too.

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Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Kristin Darken.

7 years 9 months ago #37 by annachie

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You could also argue that Whisper is an incomplete copy of Fey.

That the nanobotsattempted to imprint Bree with Fey, similat to how Dana imprinted on Pinball.

And thus Bree inherited her aura due to sympathy magic.

Absinthes aura however

Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ]

7 years 9 months ago #38 by Katssun

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Is it a spoiler when that dream was in the first Absinthe story?

7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #39 by Jabbrwock

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Dreamer wrote: SPOILER ALERT
Oh no, Dr. Quintain! Just record his Powers Theory class lectures and sell them as sleep aids already, at least for those at Whateley and in the know about Whateley. Collin's power is more impressive than he thinks, bet there are few who can stop others from teleporting. Fixx and Porcelain hang out with the Underdogs, oh well, Fixx's power combination seems potent with enough training and experience to me.

But that's not the real point of his class. He's a low level Siren with the power to induce feelings of boredom when he talks in his "lecture voice." The class is teaching kids to resist Siren powers. The fact that his lecture style is actually really boring is just camouflage for the real point. Since he lectures right out of his book, falling asleep in class doesn't actually matter as far as learning goes, but being able to resist gets a student effectively a free class period to chat with friends or do homework for another class. And the kids don't even realize what they're learning.

Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Jabbrwock.

7 years 9 months ago #40 by annachie

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Katssun wrote: Is it a spoiler when that dream was in the first Absinthe story?

There might be more comming.
Actually I forgot where that part of the dream was shown.

7 years 9 months ago #41 by Malady

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It must have been in the first part, else no one would have talked about Sidhe + Human Interbreeding mechanics.

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7 years 9 months ago #42 by Rose Bunny

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Malady wrote: no one would have talked about Sidhe + Human Interbreeding mechanics.

Actually most of that came up due to a certain Sidhe girl that isn't in canon, but who loves her gopher plushie.

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7 years 9 months ago #43 by Malady

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Rose Bunny wrote:
Malady wrote: no one would have talked about Sidhe + Human Interbreeding mechanics.

Actually most of that came up due to a certain Sidhe girl that isn't in canon, but who loves her gopher plushie.

Oh. Well, we at least got the canon explanation of how it all worked, from Absinthe, I'm quite sure of that, at least?

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #44 by NJM1564

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Next episode Absinthe and Shine. Match made in heaven or hell comeith to Whatly. Will er find out of hobgoblin faeries can get drunk. Or that hob faeries essence makes the booze burn hotter. Tune in next time. For "Mutants in Space." Or a disillusion thereof.

Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by NJM1564.

7 years 9 months ago #45 by Katssun

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NJM1564 wrote: Next episode Absinthe and Shine. Match made in heaven or hell comeith to Whatly. Will er find out of hobgoblin faeries can get drunk. Or that hob faeries essence makes the booze burn hotter. Tune in next time. For "Mutants in Space." Or a disillusion thereof.

I think you meant this as mostly a joke, but that could be a serious problem on campus, maybe particularly for the Dylans.

'Shine's stuff is what it is (potent potables), but someone tripping hard on a full green faerie, nearly ready to burst on its own? They might misjudge how much they can safely consume of 'Shine's wares. Or think it is water.

I foresee a stomach pumping in Doyle.

7 years 9 months ago #46 by Kettlekorn

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The fairy glamour bomb is hallucinatory, not judgment impairing, and it only lasts for a minute or two. I don't think it would cause much issue in this regard.

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7 years 9 months ago #47 by Katssun

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From the evidence in the first story, I have to disagree. Gwen pushes her glamour out when she's captured by the terrorists, and it only take a few minutes for them to succumb to extended hallucinations. Her normal glamour produces significant hallucinations within a hour, that can last a considerable amount of time.

Her charged fairies are anywhere from 8 to 10 hours of her normal output. It is an instant, long-lasting trip and quite powerful.

7 years 9 months ago #48 by Valentine

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Katssun wrote: I think you meant this as mostly a joke, but that could be a serious problem on campus, maybe particularly for the Dylans.

'Shine's stuff is what it is (potent potables), but someone tripping hard on a full green faerie, nearly ready to burst on its own? They might misjudge how much they can safely consume of 'Shine's wares. Or think it is water.

I foresee a stomach pumping in Doyle.

It seems to me that this would require a lot of planning. Getting the booze from 'Shine, getting the hobgoblin from Absinthe, having everything ready to shotgun the booze right after getting hit with the hobgoblin, remembering to drink the booze while under the influence of Absinthe (which kind of negates the purpose of being under the influence).

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7 years 9 months ago #49 by E!

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Valentine wrote:
Katssun wrote: I think you meant this as mostly a joke, but that could be a serious problem on campus, maybe particularly for the Dylans.

'Shine's stuff is what it is (potent potables), but someone tripping hard on a full green faerie, nearly ready to burst on its own? They might misjudge how much they can safely consume of 'Shine's wares. Or think it is water.

I foresee a stomach pumping in Doyle.

It seems to me that this would require a lot of planning. Getting the booze from 'Shine, getting the hobgoblin from Absinthe, having everything ready to shotgun the booze right after getting hit with the hobgoblin, remembering to drink the booze while under the influence of Absinthe (which kind of negates the purpose of being under the influence).

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7 years 9 months ago #50 by mhalpern

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Valentine wrote:
Katssun wrote: I think you meant this as mostly a joke, but that could be a serious problem on campus, maybe particularly for the Dylans.

'Shine's stuff is what it is (potent potables), but someone tripping hard on a full green faerie, nearly ready to burst on its own? They might misjudge how much they can safely consume of 'Shine's wares. Or think it is water.

I foresee a stomach pumping in Doyle.

It seems to me that this would require a lot of planning. Getting the booze from 'Shine, getting the hobgoblin from Absinthe, having everything ready to shotgun the booze right after getting hit with the hobgoblin, remembering to drink the booze while under the influence of Absinthe (which kind of negates the purpose of being under the influence).

The trick is making sure the booze doesn't miss the mouth...

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7 years 9 months ago #51 by Kristin Darken

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Are you serious? Given the amount of trippiness in Absinthe's faerie dose, the REAL problem is worrying about the alcohol drinking YOU.

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7 years 9 months ago #52 by Rose Bunny

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Kristin Darken wrote: Are you serious? Given the amount of trippiness in Absinthe's faerie dose, the REAL problem is worrying about the alcohol drinking YOU.

that only happens in soviet Russia.

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #53 by Kettlekorn

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Katssun wrote: From the evidence in the first story, I have to disagree. Gwen pushes her glamour out when she's captured by the terrorists, and it only take a few minutes for them to succumb to extended hallucinations. Her normal glamour produces significant hallucinations within a hour, that can last a considerable amount of time.

I don't remember any instances of hallucinations lasting for a considerable amount of time except for when she is present and continuing to apply her glamour. People simply left the vicinity and then were fine within minutes.

Katssun wrote: Her charged fairies are anywhere from 8 to 10 hours of her normal output. It is an instant, long-lasting trip and quite powerful.

Instant and intense, yes, but it isn't long-lasting:

Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice (Part 1) wrote: “No,” I called out in warning as I realized what she was about to do. However, it was too late as the blonde girl touched my faerie with her magic wand and destroyed it, only to get a face full of my glamour energy in the process. Her eyes went wide and she started to look around with an expression of confusion. I let out a sigh and said, “The hallucinations will fade in just a minute or two.”

Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice (Part 1) wrote: We started off by demonstrating our powers, with Lina becoming absolutely fascinating so that I couldn’t look away from her, then I hit her with one of my faeries. I would have let her get a slower dose of my glamour the normal way, but that would have taken too long.

“Wow,” Lina exclaimed as she staggered around my room, looking as though she was having a hard time standing. “I’m assuming that the floor isn’t really rolling…”

“Nope,” I responded cheerfully. “The effects should wear off pretty soon though. As long as I’m not actively hitting someone with my glamour, the effects fade in just a minute or two.”

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Kettlekorn.

7 years 9 months ago #54 by Anne

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Kettlekorn wrote:
“Nope,” I responded cheerfully. “The effects should wear off pretty soon though. As long as I’m not actively hitting someone with my glamour, the effects fade in just a minute or two.”

The short duration is why it's so intense. Imagine setting fire to a kilojoule stored in a log and another kilojoule stored in gasoline. The gasoline will burn for a much shorter duration, but also with far more intensity.[/quote]

Intense short burns are also known as explosions. So don't discount them, nor the possible destruction that Absinthe's glamour can cause. Remember you can have flashbacks for the rest of your life from a single acid trip.

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7 years 9 months ago #55 by Yolandria

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Besides...You don't have to drink the 'shine to get drunk...'Shine enema + a fairy to the face right after = Wtf just happened...

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7 years 9 months ago #56 by Anne

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Yolandria wrote: Besides...You don't have to drink the 'shine to get drunk...'Shine enema + a fairy to the face right after = Wtf just happened...

We now know why FUBAR had to leave the campus! He couldn't stand the second and third hand hallucinations!

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #57 by Kettlekorn

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Anne wrote: Intense short burns are also known as explosions. So don't discount them, nor the possible destruction that Absinthe's glamour can cause.

I'm not discounting the destruction it can cause. I was just saying that being under the influence of her glamour isn't going to make people misjudge how much alcohol they can take. It causes short periods of hallucinations, not impaired judgment or lowered inhibitions.

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

Last Edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Kettlekorn.

7 years 9 months ago #58 by Ametros

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So how long until Shine is made aware our our green-haired Sidhe and endeavours to present Absinthe with some absinthe?

Seriously, thank you for your time and effort. It is appreciated.

7 years 9 months ago #59 by elrodw

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Ametros wrote: So how long until Shine is made aware our our green-haired Sidhe and endeavours to present Absinthe with some absinthe?

"We shall see, Xur! We shall SEE!!"

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7 years 8 months ago #60 by mittfh

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Given we know others with glamour have been able to modify its output, it's possible that in time, Gwen will be able to learn how to boost her glamour production, so when she eventually starts Team Tactics, as soon as she's dropped into a sim, she starts charging a fairie or two upas they could prove useful later.

Meanwhile, with the prank war, choosing Jericho-style fashions for Jade is particularly interesting - Gwen, of course, only chose them for their hideousness - she's (presumably) unaware of how WonderCute got started. It might escalate to the point of Bella having to get involved or even detentions for all three participants.

Also, with her gut reaction to seeing Nikki (and remembering the episodes from her past life), it'll be interesting to see if she has any reaction to the Drow (bearing in mind Aung detested the concept). However, on the Nikki front, given her fairies can relay back, it's conceivable that eventually she'll take on board that Nikki is Nikki, and Aung's AWOL (possibly eventually finding out that Aung's more than AWOL...)

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7 years 8 months ago #61 by Malady

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Wendigo's a TA? Isn't he a frosh? 'Cause he was joining The Nations in Kayda 10.5... But, hey, Fey was a TA and she was a frosh... But that was for Spring Magic Intro... Not the Fall one...

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7 years 8 months ago #62 by Valentine

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Malady wrote: Wendigo's a TA? Isn't he a frosh? 'Cause he was joining The Nations in Kayda 10.5... But, hey, Fey was a TA and she was a frosh... But that was for Spring Magic Intro... Not the Fall one...

He may or may not be a Frosh, prior to the push that Kayda gave The Nations, it was a bit of joke and not many people had joined. So it's possible that he waited to see what they were doing before joining.

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7 years 8 months ago #63 by Rose Bunny

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Malady wrote: Wendigo's a TA? Isn't he a frosh? 'Cause he was joining The Nations in Kayda 10.5... But, hey, Fey was a TA and she was a frosh... But that was for Spring Magic Intro... Not the Fall one...

in Nikki's case, she's a mage 7, and can cast spells almost as easily as breathing... as we have seen to her detriment, in the cases of the 3-fold curse and the curse on Hank. Plus, she had help in her head for most of that.

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7 years 8 months ago #64 by Morpheus

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Wendigo's situation is that he has a bit more knowledge and experience than the other students, in that he has been studying magic for some time before coming to Whateley.

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7 years 8 months ago #65 by jmhyp

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Jabbrwock wrote:
Dreamer wrote: SPOILER ALERT
Oh no, Dr. Quintain! Just record his Powers Theory class lectures and sell them as sleep aids already, at least for those at Whateley and in the know about Whateley. Collin's power is more impressive than he thinks, bet there are few who can stop others from teleporting. Fixx and Porcelain hang out with the Underdogs, oh well, Fixx's power combination seems potent with enough training and experience to me.

But that's not the real point of his class. He's a low level Siren with the power to induce feelings of boredom when he talks in his "lecture voice." The class is teaching kids to resist Siren powers. The fact that his lecture style is actually really boring is just camouflage for the real point. Since he lectures right out of his book, falling asleep in class doesn't actually matter as far as learning goes, but being able to resist gets a student effectively a free class period to chat with friends or do homework for another class. And the kids don't even realize what they're learning.

Whether or not this is actually canon, it is now my head canon. A boredom Siren is awesome.

7 years 8 months ago - 7 years 8 months ago #66 by Dreamer

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Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ]

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Note: My story comments can't nor are trying to replace reading the stories, simply my way of enjoying them and letting the authors know I enjoy them.

Last Edit: 7 years 8 months ago by Dreamer.

7 years 8 months ago #67 by Amy_Amethyst

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"“We all have our issues,” Jinx told me with a gentle smile. Then she looked at Dana and added, “And some of us have a whole magazine stand.”

This is true. I think that I have a good part of a publishing company in issues myself.

This is a great story, I really like Absinthe. (The story that is, I've never tried the drink ... honest!)

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7 years 8 months ago #68 by mhalpern

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the changes Parents' day will bring will be interesting, and now we get to see why Gwen is one of the more effective magic users in the school, she can store hundreds of spells and remotely control their carriers.

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7 years 8 months ago #69 by Katssun

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I'm a bit worried how Nikki will actually take Abbie's admission. Nikki was just finally getting herself back together since Aung's death, and the new Sidhe girl goes and says she's having recurring dreams about Aung from the past.

Will Nikki ask Abbie to tell her about the happier, less-than-regal moments and keep them as happy stories that remind of the good in Aung, will she obsessively dwell on hearing more and more and more from Abbie to get some of her connection and duty inherited from Aung back, or will the reminders drop her backward into another bout of depression? Abbie has been reliving her ancestor's memories, happy and sad. Nikki doesn't even have that left of Aung. Mrs. Carson has already intervened once.

I hope we don't see Nikki dragging Kayda around all the time to tap into Abbie's dreamspace! I also kind of do, at least once.

The scene with Lina being rejected stings. Doubly so since Lina already went through what Gwen did by switching sides. She threw her heart out there, and both got wounded by it. Even stranger, Downpour admitted she found Gwen attractive! Lump on the guilt, will you, lesbian Poesies?

I'm surprised we didn't see Chou working at the MCO branch. Do they work alternative shifts? Chou Week Two and Gwen Week Four?

7 years 8 months ago #70 by Angeldude

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“It will be Condor Girl two…the sequel.”

First the TLW get their wells lit and now this? Are you trying to take down the entire Whateley Universe, Morpheus?

About the dreams, I think Tennyo 4 mentioned that both Nikki and Billie had similar dreams. Lucky for Gwen that hers seem a bit more tame than theirs.

Oh, and MASS POE ACID TRIP! Better or worse than Thunder Season?

Fingers crossed Gwen's next job will have the people respect her a bit more. I'm not sure whether it would be better for her to use some of her magic to help with her jobs, or if she should try doing it like a baseline so it doesn't look like she has an unfair advantage.

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7 years 8 months ago #71 by null0trooper

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Angeldude wrote: Oh, and MASS POE ACID TRIP! Better or worse than Thunder Season?

Everything's better with butterflies.

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7 years 8 months ago #72 by Arcanist Lupus

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“It will be Condor Girl two…the sequel.”

Condor Girl 2: the Electric Boogaloo?

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7 years 8 months ago #73 by konzill

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I was kind of expecting a Choe to make a cameo during the MCO interning sequence. Looks like things are still playing out in much the same way as the fanfic version, and still immensely fun.

7 years 8 months ago - 7 years 8 months ago #74 by Malady

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That Tree... Expecting the TLW to raid it for Essence... But they're lit, so maybe not.

... If the Woodwife gets targeted, that tree is a weak point in the Academy's defenses?

When will Colin discover her secret? And how will he react?

Woah. Someone who doesn't believe Ayla is one of those Goodkinds!

Reconciliation with Fey!

... OMG. ... Those with Five Fold connections really need to get the info... It would solve a lot of problems? ... Nah. I just want to learn more about the Five Fold?

MCO info from Absinthe's perspective... Other than Whells... Not much plot threads loose there? ... But nice showing the MCO has good guys and people on the fence and stuff!

Porce's plot... Is that gonna intersect with Absinthe's?

And then Downpour and others... How isolated is the Absinthe stuff gonna be??

... Is Absinthe the blushiest protag we have?

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Last Edit: 7 years 8 months ago by Malady.

7 years 8 months ago #75 by annachie

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Malady wrote: That Tree... Expecting the TLW to raid it for Essence... But they're lit, so maybe not.

... If the Woodwife gets targeted, that tree is a weak point in the Academy's defenses?

I think that she would have asked Whateley's permission first, though that was never addressed in the fanfic.

7 years 8 months ago #76 by Arcanist Lupus

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... If the Woodwife gets targeted, that tree is a weak point in the Academy's defenses?

Possibly. But it's likely very closely attuned to her magic, making it difficult for anybody to suborn. And even so she isn't moving through the tree, just using it as a fancy communication device. So I imagine that the tree's utility for someone trying to harm Whateley would be very limited.

Woah. Someone who doesn't believe Ayla is one of those Goodkinds!

Actually, most characters we've seen tend to initially assume that Ayla isn't "one of those Goodkinds", because of how improbable it seems for a Goodkind to be at a mutant school. True, she's heard differently, but at a far enough remove that it's reasonable for her to dismiss it as rumor.

"Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy." - Spider Robinson

7 years 8 months ago #77 by Nuuan

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Great continuation to Gwen's story.

The whole freak out on having her first period, while it has been done before was humorous due to her illusion type of glamour.

The one part that did bother me was the end where Gwen was told they could do nothing about the one MCO agent that was part of the men that attacked her. Given that she was "suddenly' called back into the office right before the attack, the attackers knew when and where to ambush Gwen, and the fact that the one MCO agent that was involved in the attack would be suddenly out of the office during the attack would be enough to have him suspend pending an investigation. And given that Gwen's appointment there came from much higher up, if the officer in charge of that office did not suspend the man and begin an investigation, he would find himself suspended if not outright fired when news of the attack got to those higher ups that appointed Gwen there.

7 years 8 months ago #78 by konzill

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The idea that the USA ledal system is leary of mutant powers being used as evidence is not at all surprising and I'm pretty sure it has come up before. Also as far as internal MCO procedures go there are probably enouge muthnt haters about that they would make sure any investigation based on this went nowhere.

The Fanfic never did resolve Agent Wells's story, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him get taken down in canon, eventually..

7 years 8 months ago #79 by Katssun

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Malady wrote: ... Is Absinthe the blushiest protag we have?

I thought the biggest blusher was Laura.

7 years 8 months ago #80 by Kettlekorn

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Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice wrote: “You don’t play fair, do you?”

A 6v1 armed ambush, and she wants to talk about fairness?

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

7 years 8 months ago - 7 years 8 months ago #81 by konzill

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Absinth's past life must be having even more of an effect on her than she realised. What ever the circumstances she just saw men get shot and killed and she isn't reacting. That's not what you would expect from a modern day teenager but it is the reaction you would expect from a military scout. After all, they were enemy combatants.

Last Edit: 7 years 8 months ago by konzill.

7 years 8 months ago #82 by Arcanist Lupus

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I imagine that it helps that she didn't directly harm them. It's easier to avoid feeling guilty when they were literally shot by their buddies who were trying to shoot you. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if you are right.

Also, it wouldn't surprise me if the Sidhe have different psychological reactions to such things. The Sidhe we've seen act very human, but internally they are very different and I would imagine that this includes some differences in brain chemistry.

"Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy." - Spider Robinson

7 years 8 months ago #83 by null0trooper

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Arcanist Lupus wrote: I imagine that it helps that she didn't directly harm them. It's easier to avoid feeling guilty when they were literally shot by their buddies who were trying to shoot you. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if you are right.

She's had quite the coaster ride over the past 4 weeks, and she's got Grace to distract her for the moment.

Arcanist Lupus wrote: Also, it wouldn't surprise me if the Sidhe have different psychological reactions to such things. The Sidhe we've seen act very human, but internally they are very different and I would imagine that this includes some differences in brain chemistry.

A bit more separation between the Flight! or Fight! adrenaline&noradrenaline physical reaction phase and the later "What just happened?" mental processing phase isn't unreasonable, and could give the Sidhe more of an edge over some situations.

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7 years 8 months ago #84 by Angeldude

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konzill wrote: Absinth's past life must be having even more of an effect on her than she realised. What ever the circumstances she just saw men get shot and killed and she isn't reacting. That's not what you would expect from a modern day teenager but it is the reaction you would expect from a military scout. After all, they were enemy combatants.

Aunghadhail wrote: With your lineage, I am surprised that you choose to serve as a scout…

Funny how you chose that specific word.

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7 years 8 months ago #85 by Anne

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If you happen to have read the fan fiction of this, then you know where Morpheous is going with that particular comment. If not I shan't spoil it for you. Just suffice to say that she could have served in another capacity, but chose scout.

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7 years 8 months ago #86 by konzill

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The dream sequences where Absinth remembers being a scout and leading enemy soldiers into traps have already occurred in canon, there several such dreams in Absinth 2 (part 1). So this is deducible even without referring to the fanfic version.

7 years 8 months ago #87 by Kettlekorn

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I don't see her lack of guilt as being strange enough to need a paranormal explanation. Many people do bend themselves out of shape in situations like this, but not everyone has that flaw.

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

7 years 8 months ago #88 by joreymay

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Kettlekorn wrote: I don't see her lack of guilt as being strange enough to need a paranormal explanation. Many people do bend themselves out of shape in situations like this, but not everyone has that flaw.

Actually, it is the lack of such a reaction that is considered a flaw in RL humans, and potentially pathological. Especially in someone that young. Significant training before the first deadly event can reduce it, and therapy after the event can reduce the intensity and duration.

7 years 8 months ago #89 by Kettlekorn

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I do agree that it's the normal reaction, but being a normal reaction doesn't make it a correct reaction. Feeling guilty about defending yourself is a flaw. Guilt is the correct reaction when you have done something wrong, not when you have done something right.

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

7 years 8 months ago #90 by joreymay

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Kettlekorn wrote: I do agree that it's the normal reaction, but being a normal reaction doesn't make it a correct reaction. Feeling guilty about defending yourself is a flaw. Guilt is the correct reaction when you have done something wrong, not when you have done something right.

So your philosophy is that in "real life" it is "correct" to be a psychopath or sociopath and a "flaw" to be a normal, mentally healthy individual? As a (retired) psychotherapist, I take a rather different view.

7 years 8 months ago - 7 years 8 months ago #91 by Kettlekorn

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joreymay wrote:
Kettlekorn wrote: I do agree that it's the normal reaction, but being a normal reaction doesn't make it a correct reaction. Feeling guilty about defending yourself is a flaw. Guilt is the correct reaction when you have done something wrong, not when you have done something right.
So your philosophy is that in "real life" it is "correct" to be a psychopath or sociopath and a "flaw" to be a normal, mentally healthy individual? As a (retired) psychotherapist, I take a rather different view.

Nope, that's not my philosophy. I never said that it's correct to have no empathy. What I said is that it's not wrong to defend yourself, and that guilt is only appropriate when you've done wrong. If you feel guilty when you have done the right thing, then that guilt is providing negative feedback for a positive behavior. That's suboptimal.

And yes, I believe that a "normal, mentally healthy individual" is flawed. Everybody has flaws.

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

Last Edit: 7 years 8 months ago by Kettlekorn.

7 years 7 months ago #92 by MM2ss

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I would ask the question, "who has been involved in a shooting or witnessed one in person?".

The reactions a person may experience in such a situation are many and varied. Yes, some people may feel guilt or remorse. Some people feel "numb" almost like a state of emotional shock instead of physical shock. I know people who have had complete mental break downs after being involved in a shooting. My own reaction was one of react and then process. A person I was speaking with was shot, I took cover, called in the incident, then had time to think about the actual event. I didn't feel guilt or remorse, I wasn't the one pulling the trigger, sort of a rationalization reaction I would say.

I would not say a lack of reaction or a lack of guilt in such a situation is a flaw. I would save that for cases where a person committed some act that harmed another when they did not actually wish to harm the other person.

In cases of self defense or when observing such an incident, I would see some sort of numb reaction or rationalization as the more "normal" response. Perhaps also some expression of empathy or sympathy, as a "normal" person should not want to injure or kill other people. But not necessarily guilt, or at least not in the sense of how guilt is defined, as I do not see such a scenario as warranting self reproach or self shame.

7 years 7 months ago #93 by Angeldude

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I haven't quite finished the story yet, but I want to bring a certain line to atention:

Cindy wrote: Alyss just made this dress for me.

I have been waiting for Alyss to make Cindy a dress that will vanish at midnight. Now to see if she put in the effort to time it.

Insanity: for when normal just isn't interesting enough.
All ideas free to use. You can probably make better use of them than me.

7 years 7 months ago #94 by MM2ss

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Just finished the newest installment.

I like it. The expanding of the story to encompass Halloween and the way more of the various connections and interactions between students are exposed and explored make this a great piece! Morpheus, has done a great job yet again.

Well, the author Morpheus, the Greek god charged with delivering dreams has been slacking lately...

7 years 7 months ago #95 by peter

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Ouch. And here I was just thinking as she kissed him that she really needed to level with him before letting this go any further.

I hope he can get over his sense of betrayal and feeling she set out to make a fool of him.

7 years 7 months ago #96 by Malady

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Yeah, wow. That ending! Hope Collin and Gwen make up! And some more out!

Why are pixies afraid of Fey? They don't like Aung, I guess.

Fixx + Trixie... What would come out of them working together?

Porcelain X Fixx! She was trying to impress him with her sculptures, and it worked!

... How many coincidences are a result of Jinx? Could the "only child" spill be blamed on her??

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7 years 7 months ago #97 by Dpragan

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Ouch, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later she had been slipping up a lot. I think Nikki might be able to help her confront Collin for some oddball reason and then they can both learn about fish and that it is still edible to them Ala a certain black haired Sidhe.

7 years 7 months ago #98 by Dreamer

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Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ]

Thank You for story comments appreciated and help me know me they are being read and liked.

Note: My story comments can't nor are trying to replace reading the stories, simply my way of enjoying them and letting the authors know I enjoy them.

7 years 7 months ago #99 by null0trooper

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Dreamer wrote: Darn, if Cindy could make her manifestations permanent she could make a nice income from selling them.

Depending on the detail involved and how long she can keep them stable, she could make an original in glass and then cast a mold from that. Because the glass is manifested it may go completely away, without worrying as much about compatible release agents. Or, if they are stable for longer while she is in contact with the piece: handmade block prints in limited runs.

Cindy doesn't even need to start off knowing how to do that; she would just need to meet someone in/from the Workshop with the skills to work with her.

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7 years 7 months ago #100 by Anne

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Morpheous as usual provides a rollicking good tale. Looking forward to the next part. I am not sure on the flinch by Niki. Maybe it is because in this tale she doesn't have Aung so every time she is reminded that someone has even partial memories of a Fey of Aung's time she feels the loss? IDK because it is glossed over. Too bad we can't see that one from her perspective.

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7 years 7 months ago #101 by annachie

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I was kind of surprised that the scene with the White Buffalo was left in.

7 years 7 months ago #102 by konzill

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annachie wrote: I was kind of surprised that the scene with the White Buffalo was left in.

I was too. In the original fanfic version, I believe that scene coincided with Kayda getting her period. I wonder if we'll get a new canon explanation for why Tanaka was running down the corridors again.

Other than that I keep forgetting how long this story was, and How much more of it there is left to tell.

7 years 7 months ago #103 by mhalpern

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konzill wrote:
annachie wrote: I was kind of surprised that the scene with the White Buffalo was left in.

I was too. In the original fanfic version, I believe that scene coincided with Kayda getting her period. I wonder if we'll get a new canon explanation for why Tanaka was running down the corridors again.

Other than that I keep forgetting how long this story was, and How much more of it there is left to tell.

Perhaps Tanaka was out as a result of Kayda's acting and being monitored.

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7 years 7 months ago #104 by DanZilla

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null0trooper wrote:
Dreamer wrote: Darn, if Cindy could make her manifestations permanent she could make a nice income from selling them.

Depending on the detail involved and how long she can keep them stable, she could make an original in glass and then cast a mold from that. Because the glass is manifested it may go completely away, without worrying as much about compatible release agents. Or, if they are stable for longer while she is in contact with the piece: handmade block prints in limited runs.

Cindy doesn't even need to start off knowing how to do that; she would just need to meet someone in/from the Workshop with the skills to work with her.

Now THAT is a good idea... She needs to study fabrication and production

7 years 7 months ago #105 by Sir Lee

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Angeldude wrote: I haven't quite finished the story yet, but I want to bring a certain line to atention:
Cindy wrote: Alyss just made this dress for me.

I have been waiting for Alyss to make Cindy a dress that will vanish at midnight. Now to see if she put in the effort to time it.

For maximum effect:
-First (around midnight on the 30th, or whenever it would best sync with midnight on the 31st) make a "Disney Princess" ballgown which will disintegrate at midnight. Store it for later.
-Then, wear some peasant-style clothes underneath it. Alyss can generate it on the evening of the 31st, so it will last the night.
- At midnight, the princess ballgown will dissolve, "turning back" into the peasant dress underneath. If they are creative, they might use some dissolving ribbons to hold Cindy's hair up, so it will also go down on time. And as many dissolving accessories they both can manage (glass earrings, tiara, etc...)

Don't call me "Shirley." You will surely make me surly.

7 years 7 months ago #106 by MM2ss

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That's good...that's real good...

Perhaps we will get a Halloween mini-scene that puts everything together and goes into greater detail than the stories released thus far have done.

I can see it now. Descriptions of costumes, clever pranks (some by the Imp/Mischief, others just blamed on them), Shine spiking the punch, who knows, maybe even get lucky and get a return of Sara or at least a visit from Gothmog...

It could be truly epic while remaining short story length.

7 years 7 months ago #107 by null0trooper

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MM2ss wrote: Shine spiking the punch, who knows

Diluting the booze?

Dude. That's just alcohol abuse.

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7 years 7 months ago #108 by MM2ss

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I have to dilute my booze these days on doctor's orders unfortunately. Back in the good (bad?) old days it was another story, Faslane had great prices on drinks and the Gibraltar Mile was an experience (that I don't remember much of). A heart attack and pickled liver later I learned about moderation. One learns to adapt, Shine should start now before he ends up as broken down as I am.

7 years 7 months ago #109 by Valentine

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null0trooper wrote:
MM2ss wrote: Shine spiking the punch, who knows

Diluting the booze?

Dude. That's just alcohol abuse.

Two important things to remember about 'Shine's booze.

First it gets Exemplars and Regens drunk.
Second it gives Regens and Exemplars hangovers.

Now imagine what that will do to some teenagers that haven't ever drank before. (Yes I know some are experienced drinkers.)

Don't Drick and Drive.

7 years 7 months ago #110 by null0trooper

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MM2ss wrote: One learns to adapt, Shine should start now before he ends up as broken down as I am.

Notice that we've yet to see Bobby Earl get himself drunk - even without the exemplar tolerances. Moonshining's always been about family traditions and putting money on the table, we can expect his mileage to differ.

I'll admit, natural selection's probably given him an advantage on handling himself around alcohol and dealing the occasional over-indulgence. It's mostly opiates and poverty that's tearing up mountain communities these days.

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7 years 7 months ago #111 by MM2ss

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True enough. I have family up in some of the back woods of KY and WV. But still, even a high tolerance for alcohol doesn't usually last forever. There is a reason you don't see many moonshiners as old as Marvin Sutton, and he was only around 60 or 65 when he committed suicide. He was something of an exception to the rule, moonshining, drinking and long life are not frequent companions.

Of course, if Shine knows not to be drinking his profits, that is another matter.

7 years 7 months ago #112 by annachie

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MM2ss wrote: There is a reason you don't see many moonshiners as old as Marvin Sutton,

I'm kinda amazed I actually know who Popcorn Sutton is, but never knew his name was Marvin.

7 years 7 months ago #113 by Apple3141

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I have to wonder how much longer the "Secret of Poe Hall" will remain at all secret. Collin is only the latest student to be impacted by a clue bat. Is the Dream Team running a memory erasure (or geas installation) service on the side?

Needle is a bit over to top. While Caitlin's time is her own, Silver's mithril must be well monitored at Whateley. If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram. Besides the physical combat abilities (auto-targeting, return to hand and transform to spear) the possibility that Needle can also be used as an athame by the blood bonded owner pushes the value past seven digits. And this was a gift to a teen-aged high school freshman. Past lives karmic debt must involve compound interest.

7 years 7 months ago #114 by E!

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Apple3141 wrote: If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram.

The Whateley wiki has mithrils value at about $3,000 per ounce, its never stated Troy ounce or Avoirdupois ounce. But seeing as all precious metals are mesured in Troy ounces which is 31.1g vs Avoirdupois ounce is 28.35g

7 years 7 months ago #115 by JG

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Apple3141 wrote: I have to wonder how much longer the "Secret of Poe Hall" will remain at all secret. Collin is only the latest student to be impacted by a clue bat. Is the Dream Team running a memory erasure (or geas installation) service on the side?

Needle is a bit over to top. While Caitlin's time is her own, Silver's mithril must be well monitored at Whateley. If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram. Besides the physical combat abilities (auto-targeting, return to hand and transform to spear) the possibility that Needle can also be used as an athame by the blood bonded owner pushes the value past seven digits. And this was a gift to a teen-aged high school freshman. Past lives karmic debt must involve compound interest.

But at it's heart, Needle is just a stabby weapon. it has no more capacity to cut than a well-forged and well-sharpened blade.

And Athame is unlikely. Athames are not supposed to be used as weapons by most traditions, which is why Caitlin has a Harvester. An Athame specifically built so that it can be used as a weapon without buggering the attunements.

7 years 7 months ago #116 by MM2ss

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I wouldn't call it "auto targeting", you do have to aim at something and throw in the general direction. It's more like a ballistic missile in terms of guidance than a cruise missile. Sort of like having to program in coordinates, but the vehicle is incapable of fine maneuver. A cruise missile can follow the ground, make turns and so forth. Needle appears to be limited to straight line flights, more accurate than say a completely unguided rocket (say a nebelwerfer projectile), but not as versatile as a true guided weapon (like say a TLAM). You have to tell it where to go and point it in the right direction.

The supposition is that the mithril came from Silver. That is something that is normally closely monitored as I recall previous stories. However, Silver is not the only source of mithril. I believe that the Artificer is capable of smelting it, also a number of magic users and alchemists appear to be able to make the stuff as well, just in more limited quantities.

As for the value of various objects and gifts in the series. I think Eldritch also made a set of magical focus object out of Adamant or Adamantium, something about they would not add power to spells and were magically neutral, but the gist of the segment was that for "normal" magic users each item was a decade of work, but for the artificer they were a matter of days/weeks for the whole lot instead. Thus, the perceived "value" of the object to Eldritch may be far lower than to another magic user.

On past lives, karma and associated debts... How would one quantify such a scenario? In the west, it is common to extol the value and virtue of a gift to show the receiver how much they mean to the giver. In parts of the east, the practice is to express how little value or worth the gift has in comparison to the value of the relationship the giver has with the receiver. Perhaps, this might better be viewed in that sense. Not that the gift is valuable in and of itself, but that the actions of Absinthe's ancestor are far more valuable to Eldritch than any gift that could be given. Some debts are not easily expressed in numbers and values, but in meaning and self realization.

Lastly, the "Poe Secret"... It does appear to be poorly preserved in many ways. Gen 2 addressed the matter in a more direct way(to me), while in Gen 1 it appears to be handled more in the background rather than whatever precautionary measures are in place being front and center. But just what measures are being used behind the scenes? Perhaps the solution used in Gen 2 is already in effect (to some degree) and is applied on an "as needed" basis, that would seem to be the most logical approach (to me). Perhaps as a reactionary measure instead of as a precautionary measure so to speak.

7 years 7 months ago - 7 years 7 months ago #117 by MM2ss

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Ebola wrote:
Apple3141 wrote: If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram.

The Whateley wiki has mithrils value at about $3,000 per ounce, its never stated Troy ounce or Avoirdupois ounce. But seeing as all precious metals are mesured in Troy ounces which is 31.1g vs Avoirdupois ounce is 28.35g

Oh, numbers. If we assume mithril to be similar in weight to steel, that eliminates all but the variable of size.

Just how big is "needle"?

Using historical examples, I find daggers of weights between 6 and 20.5 Troy ounces. (I hate conversions). In monetary value, we would have 18.000 to 61.500 dollars. Going with the claim that the value "of the mithril alone is in the millions", and setting a low bar of 1-million...you would be talking 333.3... ounces, or 20.83...pounds. I don't think any blade I own reaches that and my only spear is more like 8 pounds.

EDIT} New thought. Perhaps the $3000 per ounce is the current price. Ayla said he had not done any recent market research. Considering that "maiden's silver" is evidently a known phenomenon in India it could be that recent production of mithril is up and that the prices have tanked. Perhaps a few years ago before artificers and mithril secreting mutants got involved the price per ounce as far far higher. After all, if someone were to start dumping diamonds on the market, the prices there would tank in a hurry (they are fairly common gems in all actuality), only careful control of distribution by a few companies keeps the price up. So if there are now more mithril producers, capable of producing far more mithril than was possible by standard alchemical means, the price could have tanked almost over night.

Last Edit: 7 years 7 months ago by MM2ss. Reason: Added a thought.

7 years 7 months ago - 7 years 7 months ago #118 by E!

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MM2ss wrote:
Just how big is "needle"?

Using historical examples, I find daggers of weights between 6 and 20.5 Troy ounces. (I hate conversions). In monetary value, we would have 18.000 to 61.500 dollars. Going with the claim that the value "of the mithril alone is in the millions", and setting a low bar of 1-million...you would be talking 333.3... ounces, or 20.83...pounds. I don't think any blade I own reaches that and my only spear is more like 8 pounds.

Maybe its not just the physical value of the Mithril, but how it has been shaped into a weapon seeing as we only see Caitlin forging Mithril. Then you add on the enchantments. Now were talking about a million dollar weapon of stabbing.

edit: who knows about the economics that Caitlin and Silver are having on the mithril business. Maybe everything that they make is just a drop in the ocean of precious metals. Or maybe they never sell unrefined Mithril only the finished products.

Last Edit: 7 years 7 months ago by E!. Reason: thoughts

7 years 7 months ago #119 by null0trooper

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Apple3141 wrote: I have to wonder how much longer the "Secret of Poe Hall" will remain at all secret. Collin is only the latest student to be impacted by a clue bat. Is the Dream Team running a memory erasure (or geas installation) service on the side?

It's Bella Horton that runs around laying geasa on any student she can get her hands on - even going so far as locking kids in a room away from the urinals after filling them up with punch at a mandatory "social" in Gen 2. I doubt she'd think twice about playing amateur brain surgeon on someone's memories.

Apple3141 wrote: Needle is a bit over to top. While Caitlin's time is her own, Silver's mithril must be well monitored at Whateley. If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram.

When Silver was introduced in Year 1, mithril was running $30k per (troy) ounce. So, roughly 2 pounds of the metal.

Apple3141 wrote: Besides the physical combat abilities (auto-targeting, return to hand and transform to spear) the possibility that Needle can also be used as an athame by the blood bonded owner pushes the value past seven digits. And this was a gift to a teen-aged high school freshman. Past lives karmic debt must involve compound interest.

We're not playing an RPG, so there is no minimum price on an athame. Anything can be enchanted: how well it serves depends on the wielder's tradition, the uses it's put to, and the power(s) it's channelled. Those factors in turn can make one user's athame priceless to some and worthless to others.

Now, consider that this freshman isn't just anybody, but one of the frickin' Sidhe: meteoric iron, cold iron, and some steels won't serve her well if at all. Mithril and orichalcum are the go-to materials for them and their magics.

On the other hand, Eldritch does need to practice to make sure that she has full use of her abilities, and she's got an inexpensive source for mithril, so it's really no big deal.

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7 years 7 months ago #120 by Sir Lee

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First, mithril might be denser than steel. Most precious metals are, you know. Iron is about 7.8 g/cm³, silver is 10.49, gold is 19.3, platinum is 21.45 and osmium is 22.59. I think it would be reasonable to assume mithril to be somewhat denser than silver, at around 12 g/cm³. That's 50% heavier than iron (and therefore steel, which comprises the larger fraction of steel). It might be even denser, but it seems to me that if it is much denser it would become impractical to wield in combat, and the higher density would be compensated by a more slender (or even hollow) design. So kick up that weight estimate about 50%.

Then, the price of mithril. Even coming from Phase, there's such a thing as rhetoric exaggeration. He might have said "millions", but didn't actually stop to compute the price -- just threw out a large guesstimate. It's not like he's constantly dealing in mithril artifacts (or even precious metals) to estimate the market value of it at a glance.

Don't call me "Shirley." You will surely make me surly.

7 years 7 months ago #121 by MM2ss

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I was going off of Ayla's statement, where the value was pegged to the material content. In terms of function and material, I would say needle has worth that cannot be calculated in cash terms, at least for Absinthe.

It would appear to me that needle functions as it does for Absinthe (and perhaps any future heirs). But would it do so for anyone else? If the answer is "no" then the value would become that of a well made knife built from very expensive material. If the answer is "yes", then Absinthe needs to up her game as she would be a prime target for all sorts of unscrupulous folks.

7 years 7 months ago #122 by MM2ss

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Sir Lee wrote: First, mithril might be denser than steel. Most precious metals are, you know. Iron is about 7.8 g/cm³, silver is 10.49, gold is 19.3, platinum is 21.45 and osmium is 22.59. I think it would be reasonable to assume mithril to be somewhat denser than silver, at around 12 g/cm³. That's 50% heavier than iron (and therefore steel, which comprises the larger fraction of steel). It might be even denser, but it seems to me that if it is much denser it would become impractical to wield in combat, and the higher density would be compensated by a more slender (or even hollow) design. So kick up that weight estimate about 50%.

Then, the price of mithril. Even coming from Phase, there's such a thing as rhetoric exaggeration. He might have said "millions", but didn't actually stop to compute the price -- just threw out a large guesstimate. It's not like he's constantly dealing in mithril artifacts (or even precious metals) to estimate the market value of it at a glance.

True, but when one is discussing hand held weapons that you have to carry weight matters. We could assume that mithril is three times the weight of iron, but a pound is still a pound. We could further assume that mithril is say, three times stronger than iron. Thus, you could make the blade thinner and longer, but just as strong and suitable for combat. But in the end, the weapon still would weight the same in such a scenario. I might take volume X of iron and forge it into a blade, fit it with a hilt and have a knife. It weights some given amount. If I were to make the blade to the same dimensions with a more dense metal, the size would be the same but the weight would be greater. If I wanted to keep the weight down and get the same effective size, I would make the blade from the stronger material proportionately thinner to achieve the desired length and weight.

Also, while most precious metals are more dense than iron, I do not see that such would have to be an absolute. One will recall that there was a time when aluminum was very valuable, so valuable that Napoleon III had a set of cutlery made from the stuff for his VIP guest, the rest of the guest had to use silver and gold. Even the Washington monument is topped with aluminum. Thus, mithril could be very strong and light, with its' value coming from those properties (sort of like titanium vs iron) and the affinity of the stuff for magical uses.

My apologies for any rambling, switching between statistics and metalurgy is killing my brain.

7 years 7 months ago #123 by konzill

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One possibility is that due to the magical binding, Needle would end up returning to its rightful owner even if someone managed to take it from her. Anyone who stole it might very well find themselves under a curse.

7 years 7 months ago #124 by Sir Lee

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A bit heavier than steel is not really a big problem for a knife/dagger (although it would be for a sword, like Malachim's Feather, which is probably thinner than a steel scimitar of comparable dimensions in order to make up for the extra weight) -- sometimes people actually add weight (as in, lead-filled handles) so it can be also effective as a blunt instrument as well as a stabbing/cutting weapon. I went with a density estimate close to silver because it's canon that mithril is sometimes mistaken for silver by the non-initiates, and it wouldn't be TOO heavy.

Don't call me "Shirley." You will surely make me surly.

7 years 7 months ago #125 by JG

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it's also not specified if the blade is pure mithril, alloyed or has a steel core.

There's a lot of unknowns (that I have no intention of spelling out) involved with Needle.

But the most important is that very likely only Absinthe can use all of her true potential besides Needle's maker.

That does tend to drive prices down on nifty-wifty magical implements.

7 years 7 months ago #126 by MM2ss

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Very true Sir Lee. I collect all sorts of odd things. My claymore has a massive brass finial, not for looks, but to help balance the weapon. The swept hilt rapier I acquired is poorly balanced, very blade heavy, as the basket and finial just are not heavy enough to deal with the ridiculously long blade. I chose to use values based on steel because those are the sorts of weapons I am most familiar with. I could go to bronze, my Corinthian Helm weighs what feels like a ton...but it is more like 6 or 7 pounds. A good bit heavier than a m1917 which is closer to 1.5 pounds (yes, I realize they are vastly different types of helmet, but those are what I have to work with, no tilting helms on hand).

My other thought process on the matter is because I am a nerd/geek. I played D&D back in the day, mithril was THE metal of choice. Strong as steel, lighter and didn't screw your magic up too much... Gamer geeks never die, we just re-roll into old people.

7 years 7 months ago #127 by Angeldude

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All this talk about Needle reminded me of something I thought of earlier. Since the ring at the pommel stretches in spear-form, Abbie noted that it essentially formed a giant sewing needle. With that in mind, is anyone interested in her getting together with Ribbon to do some giant sewing?

First an anime tries using a giant scissor as a sword, now we have a giant needle used as a spear. What's next in the way of sewing themed weaponry?

Insanity: for when normal just isn't interesting enough.
All ideas free to use. You can probably make better use of them than me.

7 years 7 months ago #128 by MM2ss

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Give Fix an iron and some hem tape... Maybe hand Mischief some tailor's chalk... Give Chaka a bunch of straight pins... Don't even ask what you could do to someone with a zipper......

7 years 7 months ago #129 by Arcanist Lupus

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Ribbon can handle the tape measures. Tink could use a kiss as a helmet. Stoppable makes an excellent pincushion.

"Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy." - Spider Robinson

7 years 7 months ago #130 by Kettlekorn

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Apple3141 wrote: I have to wonder how much longer the "Secret of Poe Hall" will remain at all secret. Collin is only the latest student to be impacted by a clue bat. Is the Dream Team running a memory erasure (or geas installation) service on the side?

What clue bat? He found out that one girl used to be a dude. If he found out about Dana as well, then at least he'd have a coincidence to make fevered extrapolations from, but right now he has nothing at all. He might as well assume that all people with green hair have gone through a gender change, or all people whose codename starts with A, or who do parkour...

Apple3141 wrote: Needle is a bit over to top.

Needle consists of a week of Caitlin's labor and probably no more than a day's worth of Silver's output, for a total of perhaps eight days' labor. That's non-trivial, but I wouldn't call it over the top given that Gwen's ancestor (whom I will henceforth refer to as Gwendma) seems to have essentially destroyed her life in trying to help Ashtea.

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

7 years 7 months ago #131 by Arcanist Lupus

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Also, considering that Gwen is a Sidhe, debts to her can have magical ramifications. I'm not sure if this is the sort of case that would qualify, but it's possible that the gift is necessary for more than just Caitlin's peace of mind.

"Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy." - Spider Robinson

7 years 7 months ago #132 by konzill

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Kettlekorn wrote: What clue bat? He found out that one girl used to be a dude. If he found out about Dana as well, then at least he'd have a coincidence to make fevered extrapolations from, but right now he has nothing at all. He might as well assume that all people with green hair have gone through a gender change, or all people whose codename starts with A, or who do parkour...

Yet again, all of us who have read the fanfic version are left, sputtering. The need to comment on things that haven't happened yet in canon is so strong ...

7 years 7 months ago #133 by Katssun

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konzill wrote:
Kettlekorn wrote: What clue bat? He found out that one girl used to be a dude. If he found out about Dana as well, then at least he'd have a coincidence to make fevered extrapolations from, but right now he has nothing at all. He might as well assume that all people with green hair have gone through a gender change, or all people whose codename starts with A, or who do parkour...

Yet again, all of us who have read the fanfic version are left, sputtering. The need to comment on things that haven't happened yet in canon is so strong ...

Are you sure? The whole thing is set up back in Abbie's first story.

As far as I'm concerned, he's Stronghold 2.0...the less of an idiot kind. He figured out Gwen's secret, but he loves her. They're good for each other, because Colin has the same issues that Aegis does, going from mostly top of the food chain at school to a nobody. Worse, Colin is an actual Underdog, not just a brick with bad combat sense. And Gwen needs someone to appreciate her for who she is/was, not have her whole identity just be the new Sidhe girl who is MCO.

Gwen, in his eyes, is the super-pretty sister of someone from home, and gave him a place to feel comfortable. So that he's not just uprooted from home and starting over across the country. Which was Miles Wylann and Crucibelle's plan for the pair all along. Give each of them a friendly face.

That Colin assumed she was the sister, and Gwen never bothered to correct him, that's the problem. Gwen has good reasons. Who would want the embarrassment of joining the club that includes Jobe and Reach, especially when as a mid-semester transfer, she doesn't know that she wouldn't be the only public changeling.

Colin is more upset and hurt with her "betrayal" about toying with his feelings than be worried about if there are more changelings.

7 years 7 months ago #134 by annachie

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From memory, part of the deal with Eldritch, Kerry, and Silver, was that they could do work as gifts to people that was outside the Whateley controls.

Ala She-Beasts Ley Line Tap.

Ah there it is.

“The theory is that, as minors, we’re not working for the school,” Sakti explained. “As such, what we do with the products of our ‘extra-curricular activities’ is completely up to us. But if we choose to SELL our products, we have to go through the school, presumably for our own protection. But if we don’t sell our work, well, the school can’t tell us what to do with it. I found out about that when I gave that maidensilver kukri, the one that I made by accident by stabbing the Arch-Fiend, to Chaka. It wasn’t a sale; it was a token of gratitude. The same applies to Kerry’s brooch.”

7 years 7 months ago #135 by peter

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Ebola wrote:
Apple3141 wrote: If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram.

The Whateley wiki has mithrils value at about $3,000 per ounce, its never stated Troy ounce or Avoirdupois ounce. But seeing as all precious metals are mesured in Troy ounces which is 31.1g vs Avoirdupois ounce is 28.35g

The mithril only account's for a fraction of the value. In the Vlad Taltos, stories by Steven Brust it would be the precursor to a Great Weapon. capitalization on purpose. And there are only a very few of those in the entire world.

It is a major work by the artificer. Even if you assume there is a fair bit of her stuff floating around this is on a whole different level.

That alone likely pushes it into the hight eight digit price range. There are collectors who would likely spend even more for it.

7 years 7 months ago #136 by Valentine

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peter wrote:
Ebola wrote:
Apple3141 wrote: If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram.

The Whateley wiki has mithrils value at about $3,000 per ounce, its never stated Troy ounce or Avoirdupois ounce. But seeing as all precious metals are mesured in Troy ounces which is 31.1g vs Avoirdupois ounce is 28.35g

The mithril only account's for a fraction of the value. In the Vlad Taltos, stories by Steven Brust it would be the precursor to a Great Weapon. capitalization on purpose. And there are only a very few of those in the entire world.

It is a major work by the artificer. Even if you assume there is a fair bit of her stuff floating around this is on a whole different level.

That alone likely pushes it into the hight eight digit price range. There are collectors who would likely spend even more for it.

It's probably a minor work by an artificer, it did only take her a week to produce it. She spent over a month on the magical doohickey's at the beginning of the year. The implication that it was months of work on Aung's armor.

Don't Drick and Drive.

7 years 7 months ago #137 by Mister D

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annachie wrote:
Malady wrote: That Tree... Expecting the TLW to raid it for Essence... But they're lit, so maybe not.

... If the Woodwife gets targeted, that tree is a weak point in the Academy's defenses?

I think that she would have asked Whateley's permission first, though that was never addressed in the fanfic.

Remember that Absinthe's guidance counsellor knew both the Woodwife, and her husband, so it is likely that they would have been in touch, just to catch up on gossip, and to have a professional chat about how Absinthe is progressing with her studies.

Woodwife would have to know about the wards around Whateley, so would talk about this.

It would come across as something that the teenager thought was a secret, but that the parents knew what was going on all along.

Similar patterns to the blind eye that Mrs. Horton uses when discussing the carnal relations issue with Loophole and Tansy, along with all of the other relationship issues, that we don't hear about, except as background noise.

Measure Twice

7 years 7 months ago #138 by Mister D

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null0trooper wrote:
MM2ss wrote: One learns to adapt, Shine should start now before he ends up as broken down as I am.

Notice that we've yet to see Bobby Earl get himself drunk - even without the exemplar tolerances. Moonshining's always been about family traditions and putting money on the table, we can expect his mileage to differ.

I'll admit, natural selection's probably given him an advantage on handling himself around alcohol and dealing the occasional over-indulgence. It's mostly opiates and poverty that's tearing up mountain communities these days.

When are we going to see the Gearhead's talking with Shine about making devisor fuel for the car club? :twisted:

Measure Twice

7 years 7 months ago #139 by Mister D

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Apple3141 wrote: I have to wonder how much longer the "Secret of Poe Hall" will remain at all secret. Collin is only the latest student to be impacted by a clue bat. Is the Dream Team running a memory erasure (or geas installation) service on the side?

Needle is a bit over to top. While Caitlin's time is her own, Silver's mithril must be well monitored at Whateley. If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram. Besides the physical combat abilities (auto-targeting, return to hand and transform to spear) the possibility that Needle can also be used as an athame by the blood bonded owner pushes the value past seven digits. And this was a gift to a teen-aged high school freshman. Past lives karmic debt must involve compound interest.

From the second trip to Boston, it was laid down that it's only when the items are sold, that the Whateley's admin starts to kick in.

As it's a gift, then they would not be involved, and it wouldn't be a direct problem.

The teenage jealousy/professional jealousy, will be another set of issues altogether...

Measure Twice

7 years 7 months ago #140 by marie7342231

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I listen on my commute via the iOS app Voice Dream (not cheap but great features). Hard for me to recall specifics but I just wanted to say thank you.

I've shared before that Absinthe was the story that brought me to Whateley from Fictionmania. Seeing it worked into the new reality 3 years later has been amazing. The little changes and updates are lovely and as they say, it's beautiful to see a plan come together.

7 years 7 months ago - 7 years 7 months ago #141 by NJM1564

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Considering that the needle is a weapon forged by an artificer who won't sell weapon and is now soul bound to it's user it could only really be described as priceless.
As it is there are only 3 weapons made by Eldridge the other two are her own knife and tonfa.

Last Edit: 7 years 7 months ago by NJM1564.

7 years 7 months ago #142 by NJM1564

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Angeldude wrote: All this talk about Needle reminded me of something I thought of earlier. Since the ring at the pommel stretches in spear-form, Abbie noted that it essentially formed a giant sewing needle. With that in mind, is anyone interested in her getting together with Ribbon to do some giant sewing?

First an anime tries using a giant scissor as a sword, now we have a giant needle used as a spear. What's next in the way of sewing themed weaponry?

Naruto had a giant needle as a weapon a long time ago.

7 years 7 months ago #143 by mhalpern

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Valentine wrote:
peter wrote:
Ebola wrote:
Apple3141 wrote: If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram.

The Whateley wiki has mithrils value at about $3,000 per ounce, its never stated Troy ounce or Avoirdupois ounce. But seeing as all precious metals are mesured in Troy ounces which is 31.1g vs Avoirdupois ounce is 28.35g

The mithril only account's for a fraction of the value. In the Vlad Taltos, stories by Steven Brust it would be the precursor to a Great Weapon. capitalization on purpose. And there are only a very few of those in the entire world.

It is a major work by the artificer. Even if you assume there is a fair bit of her stuff floating around this is on a whole different level.

That alone likely pushes it into the hight eight digit price range. There are collectors who would likely spend even more for it.

It's probably a minor work by an artificer, it did only take her a week to produce it. She spent over a month on the magical doohickey's at the beginning of the year. The implication that it was months of work on Aung's armor.

Artificer work no matter how minor would be major to anyone else, and remember, magic isn't what it was before the Sundering, the Artificer took months on and had far greater ambient magic to work with for the Queen's armor, and an Artificer forge, so you cant really compare that to Needle, however because of the differences and the fact that few things have survived from that time, and the fact that the ability to create powerful and complex magical items is practically non-existent, the value goes up significantly.

Any Bad Ideas I have and microscene OC character stories are freely adoptable.

7 years 7 months ago #144 by MM2ss

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I never was a fan of assigning monetary values to one of a kind items. To the person that the item is made by/for, it could be worth an infinitely great amount. To someone else, who can't use it or doesn't want it, the value may only be that of the material itself. Look at art auctions... People will pay obscene amounts for fraimed paintings, but not because they want the painting (who needs a portrait of Joe Schmo in their house?), they are instead after the frames. On the other end of things, you have people paying insane amounts for a work by one of the old masters, regardless of the frame. You just can't fairly compare them.

To the average person, needle would have the value of its' material components and as a knife.

To a magic user, the mithril has considerably more value than just monetary.

To Absinthe, needle has infinitely more value as she can use all of its' properties.

Just how would one classify such an item? You really can't. To me, it would be a nice piece for a collection (I'd pay good money for a silver knife, as for me personally there is no practical difference between silver and mithril), to a Sidhe able to use it to full potential it would be worth perhaps millions.

7 years 7 months ago #145 by Valentine

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mhalpern wrote:
Valentine wrote:
peter wrote:
Ebola wrote:
Apple3141 wrote: If the bullion value of a dagger is over a million dollars then we're looking at, at least, a couple of thousand dollars per gram.

The Whateley wiki has mithrils value at about $3,000 per ounce, its never stated Troy ounce or Avoirdupois ounce. But seeing as all precious metals are mesured in Troy ounces which is 31.1g vs Avoirdupois ounce is 28.35g

The mithril only account's for a fraction of the value. In the Vlad Taltos, stories by Steven Brust it would be the precursor to a Great Weapon. capitalization on purpose. And there are only a very few of those in the entire world.

It is a major work by the artificer. Even if you assume there is a fair bit of her stuff floating around this is on a whole different level.

That alone likely pushes it into the hight eight digit price range. There are collectors who would likely spend even more for it.

It's probably a minor work by an artificer, it did only take her a week to produce it. She spent over a month on the magical doohickey's at the beginning of the year. The implication that it was months of work on Aung's armor.
Artificer work no matter how minor would be major to anyone else, and remember, magic isn't what it was before the Sundering, the Artificer took months on and had far greater ambient magic to work with for the Queen's armor, and an Artificer forge, so you cant really compare that to Needle, however because of the differences and the fact that few things have survived from that time, and the fact that the ability to create powerful and complex magical items is practically non-existent, the value goes up significantly.

You are not reading what I wrote. A minor work by an ARTIFICER, but it is entirely possible there is not another being on the planet that could duplicate the work. Caitlin pounds out crap as easily as breathing, I am not demeaning what Needle is, but pointing out that it is not likely a GREATER work for an Artificer. It is priceless, possibly unique, made for an individual. Even if Caitlin tried, she may not be able to duplicate the work for someone else. What I mean by this is, suppose Caitlin decided to make a knife for Whisper. Whisper and Absinthe have very similar power/skill sets, both are sneaky Sidhe illusionists. When Whisper cut her palm and linked herself to her "Needle," it's very likely that it would end up with some very different properties based upon what Whisper needed in a knife.

Don't Drick and Drive.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #146 by Kristin Darken

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Part 4 is now up.

Fate guard you and grant you a Light to brighten your Way.

Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Kristin Darken.

7 years 6 months ago #147 by Kettlekorn

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All right! Gwendma's got a name now! Not sure I'm going to be able to remember Vauldrene though, so I'll probably just keep calling her Gwendma for now. Unless she's suddenly revealed at some point to be a manipulative bitch like Wakaunghadhailediak and co. Then I'll have to call her Vauldremort. But I don't think Gwendma was that sort of person.

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

7 years 6 months ago #148 by Domoviye

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I haven't said much, if anything about Absinthe, but I really like how the fanfiction has been updated to fit canon. It feels natural and not in the least shoehorned in.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #149 by Katssun

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Kettlekorn wrote: Unless she's suddenly revealed at some point to be a manipulative bitch like Wakaunghadhailediak and co. Then I'll have to call her Vauldremort.

Walkie Talkie makes one mistake because she got impatient and everyone just throws her under the bus on the word of some little dog. Jeez! Now if a monochromatic bird had brought it up, then we'd have something to go on!

Given that she liked to show off and insult her foes like her descendant, may I suggest Vaudeville?

The scene with Colin breaking up with Gwen in the hospital was rough. They're still friends, but that definitely tugged on the heartstrings.

Definitely a little pissed at Grit. He meant well, but don't you think that students there would be a little more aware of the consequences? Heavens forbid when they find out about Chou, especially because she's not even a mutant. Though I guess traitor is worse than spy.

Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Katssun.

7 years 6 months ago #150 by Kettlekorn

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Katssun wrote:
Kettlekorn wrote: Unless she's suddenly revealed at some point to be a manipulative bitch like Wakaunghadhailediak and co. Then I'll have to call her Vauldremort.
Walkie Talkie makes one mistake because she got impatient and everyone just throws her under the bus on the word of some little dog.

Just one? Do you really think that Wihinape was the best she could do for Danny? It's pretty obvious at this point that Wakinky Tanka's scratching an itch with the Franks family. But anyway, most of that jab was aimed at Baloo and Unga Bunga. Walkie Talkie is definitely one of the more benign members of the Ancient Spirits With Delusions of Relevance Club.

Speaking of Baloo, I enjoyed his reaction to the demon bear. "Wasn't me, guys! #NotAllBears!"

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

7 years 6 months ago #151 by Dreamer

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Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ]

Thank You for story comments appreciated and help me know me they are being read and liked.

Note: My story comments can't nor are trying to replace reading the stories, simply my way of enjoying them and letting the authors know I enjoy them.

7 years 6 months ago #152 by Dpragan

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Sounds like team Kimba might be giving some Training for Team...MCO-I/O?

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #153 by Arcanist Lupus

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I thought it was an interesting implication that Absinthe has had this dream multiple times before, but it was too scary for her to sleep through it all the way to completion. And now that she's braver/more sure of herself, she can ride the dream through to the end.

Also, we still haven't learned why Absinthe has an LSD glamour rather than a more typical 'awe' or 'love' glamour. Maybe only royalty get the full glamours, and adopted nieces get off brand models?

Actually, I like to think that Vauldrene had a regular glamour, but got tired of the humans she was dealing with bowing and scraping to her, so she tweaked it to make them stoned instead. This seems like something that she would do.

Oh, and does anybody else think that the story of getting Gwen to the emergency room through the glamour and the hobgoblins would make an excellent microscene?

"Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy." - Spider Robinson

Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Arcanist Lupus.

7 years 6 months ago #154 by Katssun

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I still like whoever's theory that the first demon bear attack corrupted her glamour, and she passed that trait on to her son, which ultimately manifested in Gwen.

She can only contain it by the coincidence that she can controls her hobgoblins. I doubt anyone would do something like that to themselves intentionally. Nikki's glamour makes people want to serve her according to Phase. Gwen's would only drive everyone from her. That's clearly not something Vauldrene wanted, given how her life played out.

7 years 6 months ago #155 by Hardric

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Katssun wrote:
Kettlekorn wrote: Unless she's suddenly revealed at some point to be a manipulative bitch like Wakaunghadhailediak and co. Then I'll have to call her Vauldremort.
Walkie Talkie makes one mistake because she got impatient and everyone just throws her under the bus on the word of some little dog. Jeez! Now if a monochromatic bird had brought it up, then we'd have something to go on!

That, and not only it was brought up by Wile E Coyote, automatically making it BS, but unless I'm having a bad case of Alzheimer, I distinctly remember the Bastard and the liikes making its move and destroying people and whatever long before Walkie Talkie decided to go for Brandon after all (Voodoo Wolves, for instance?). If anything, I got the impression the opposition cheated first( oh!, bad guys cheating! the shock!), and WT cheated back to level the game, especially when players like Unka Bunga and Baloo the Bedside Rug, or Heyoka and his Trickster spirit, for that matter, were already there. Unless Spirits really like the trope throwing children protagonists to the grinder (possible). But can we hope, that just once, the ancient entity, isn't utterly manipulative and egocentric?

Interesting way to explain the situation with the Sidhe ancestry too. A nice addition to the original story, that I'm glad to see integrated to the canon.

Although I have a little nitpick to do about the writing. I mean, sometimes you can get an impression of redundancy, like "to catch any of my afternoon classes. The interview had lasted even longer than I’d expected, much to my annoyance. I’d actually been looking forward to catching my afternoon magic class." The second afternoon don't seem to be necessary, for instance. Or the impression the same idea is repepated several times in one paragraph, like "The room didn’t look anything like what I would have expected of an interrogation room. It was well lit and had carpet instead of a concrete or tile floor. There was a round table in the middle of the room with a half dozen chairs set around it. A single look was enough to show that this was a conference room rather than an interrogation room, which was probably why security had given this room to the MCO agents to use.", but that's probably just me, so sorry if I'm offending you.

And again... I know the standards of Security were 'lowered' because of the necessity of keeping Don Assholo around, but at some moments, with many stories on the site, I really get a feeling of too much. The stories sometimes give the impression that if you're not a protagonist of a story, you're a bully, and that every single bully can just do whatever he wants on campus ground without being never ever busted, unless it's needed for the story. I get the idea that School of Adventure cannot get a perfect security, but... There got to be a point when Security isn't left ith the role of blind-deaf drooling morons, or crooks, unable to do anything while students are beat up to death (the Wicked Bitch of the Great North, and to a lesser extent Don Assholo looked dangerous until her fall because she could do things like that). And now every two bit-bully can crack security without breaking a sweat (they got all these gadgeteers and devisors around, and they don't even try to make sure they can't take over te camera when they feel like it?). With people like Hive or Delarose at helm (if a most sadistic and terrific cyborg assassin like Deathlist knows you by name and bother to remember it, you're clearly not a kindergarten-level player.).

7 years 6 months ago #156 by NJM1564

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Dreamer wrote: SPOILER ALERT
Below is a stream of conscious commentary I type up as I read the story. There will details from the story included in it. If you have not read the story yet and don't wish to have details of it spoiled, read no further.

Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice Part 4 comments
Great, the idiots think they are going to win, when it isn't an ambush and they have time to prepare. Talk about overconfident. Dana, Collin, Fixx, and Gwen against Centurion, Switchblade, Slingshot, and Unstoppable, can't wait to see it, hope the good kids win. Until Sunday to prepare, just over 3 days, wonder what they can come up with in that time, especially Gwen and Fixx.

Spending all that time pumping Absinthe's glammer into a essence battery would have some fun implications.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #157 by Anne

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Remember that the narrators of these stories are telling their point of view. So we don't know what else security may be doing. One thing you can be sure of is that they are engaged in an ELINT war with the students on the tech track. Among the daily attacks (at a minimum) they have to deal with is the SpyKids who just don't think normal channels should apply to them. Then there are several (at least) feuds that are underway, so if they are responding to one, they may (actually will) miss another. That also doesn't count the number of people who are trying to make sure that whatever they are up to isn't recorded by the various cameras and other sensors that security has deployed. It is too bad that we probably will never see more stories from the perspective of Hive.

Adopt my story: here
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Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Anne. Reason: HTML errror

7 years 6 months ago #158 by Malady

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I feel so sad for Balderdash!

Explanation of Sidhe Ancestry! Nice! Wonder which sister's the mother, and how Elle's gonna affect things...

More ships! Gwen + Collin... Still floating?

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7 years 6 months ago #159 by null0trooper

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Anne wrote: Remember that the narrators of these stories are telling their point of view. So we don't know what else security may be doing.

Exactly. Security has finite, mostly baseline, resources available at any given time. There definitely aren't enough eyes available to put on every camera, even polling through every few minutes. If they did, one good magic spell might be enough to take out an entire set of monitoring by targeting the watchers.

Mind you, some of the upperclassmen in IT and physical security classes may be earning some extra credit through counter-intel (at least Blue and Cyber-kitty are shown earning brownie points for their work at times). Some of the Maintenance budget also has to be going into physical security, and sensor network repairs... and is another thing that Jinn and Shroud are not authorized to confirm or deny about Whateley infrastructure, (Anna's work-study now looks more important too, doesn't it? That's also another reason for her to have been in the way of so many bullies as a freshman underdog.)

Forum-posted ideas are freely adoptable.

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Discussion Thread

7 years 6 months ago #160 by Malady

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There's that new spy tech that was uncovered during the Mutant Deathmatch investigations, that was basically immune to all scans / preventions except the physical? But setting it up campus wide, is a huge reno, I think? So it hasn't even been done by 2016??

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7 years 6 months ago #161 by Kettlekorn

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The ship took on some water, but I'd say yeah, it's still afloat. Collin seems the sort who can get past the formerly-male thing; it'll just take him some time to get a handle on it.

I am the kernel that pops in the night. I am the pain that keeps your dentist employed.

7 years 6 months ago #162 by Hardric

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Anne wrote: Remember that the narrators of these stories are telling their point of view. So we don't know what else security may be doing.

Intellectually, I know that, and the idea they could get some assistance and even badly need it, like null0trooper said (Although I'd like to see Stormdork and co do more than cop-bullying, like that was the case during It's So Good To Be The Don. When was the last time they weren't sort of antagonistic?).

It's just... the pile-up. Many of the characters written lately here are new characters, and they need opponents for the stories to go on. And in a school, especially like one Whateley who fiercely defend its neutrality, so exterior threats cannot really go when they're on school grounds, the bulk of them would be super-powered bullies at first, threats from outside having either the potential to dramatically rise the odds (Halloween, Year One or the Bastard), or potential Comic Relief (the two robbers at Berlin in that story with Jade, or probably the IRS when they they're ready to suicide by Whateley). And if they get thwarted by security too soon, no story. And every author prefer to create their own characters, so each one of them has their own 'stable' of opponents, and well, bullies. The thing, it's that you end up with many, many bullies, all attacking seemingly at the same time the different protagonists, or at least in a seemingly relatively small interval of time, and since security cannot stop them at first for the sake of plot, reading all of it at once give an impression of "To each protagonist, a pack of bullies." "Free Reign of bullying during first semester". That's not true, but that's a little hard to see beyond the limits of the characters' viewpoints when they all run in similar problems.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #163 by Malady

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What we need. Is a timeline.

Unless you actually got a good one in ur heads. *shrugs*

We don't have a look at the week after Halloween?

On a quick on-site search, Switchblade is Danny+Absinthe, but not R&R? And the male bully gang seems to be LV1 Bullies. R&R have advanced beyond them onto their LV2 of Starbrat, that zapper chick, and that guy, whose name I forget.

Also, we have a search option for In-universe timeline search??

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Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Malady.

7 years 6 months ago #164 by null0trooper

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Centurion and Switchblade are basic opportunistic bullies who haven't learned the Whateley life lesson that sometimes the "sheep" is a wolf in drag. Or a tyke bomb. And then there's Jade.

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7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #165 by E!

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Malady wrote: What we need. Is a timeline.

Unless you actually got a good one in ur heads. *shrugs*

We don't have a look at the week after Halloween?

On a quick on-site search, Switchblade is Danny+Absinthe, but not R&R? And the male bully gang seems to be LV1 Bullies. R&R have advanced beyond them onto their LV2 of Starbrat, that zapper chick, and that guy, whose name I forget.

Also, we have a search option for In-universe timeline search??

Doesn't the fan fic of Porcelain's POV story take place after Halloween?

Edit: I just checked there aren't any dates, so The Porcelain Mask could take place anytime really.

Edit 2: Never mind quote from the story tells us when it is.

Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ]

Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by E!.

7 years 6 months ago #166 by null0trooper

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Malady wrote: We don't have a look at the week after Halloween?

Morpheus has R&R, Imp, and Absinthe up to that point. He may have gone as far as he can without publishing spoilers for the other canon storylines. Sure, we know that some of the canon characters live past this timespan, but not ALL of them. Anyone fancy a taste of fried squirrel?

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7 years 6 months ago #167 by Dpragan

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Anne wrote: Remember that the narrators of these stories are telling their point of view. So we don't know what else security may be doing. One thing you can be sure of is that they are engaged in an ELINT war with the students on the tech track. Among the daily attacks (at a minimum) they have to deal with is the SpyKids who just don't think normal channels should apply to them. Then there are several (at least) feuds that are underway, so if they are responding to one, they may (actually will) miss another. That also doesn't count the number of people who are trying to make sure that whatever they are up to isn't recorded by the various cameras and other sensors that security has deployed. It is too bad that we probably will never see more stories from the perspective of Hive.

Hmm sounds like Security need to hire some of the Devisor and Gadgeteer track students (and overlap their watch zones in case one is compromised) to be their cyber-warfare Auxiliaries.

7 years 6 months ago #168 by Katssun

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Hardric wrote: That, and not only it was brought up by Wile E Coyote, automatically making it BS, but unless I'm having a bad case of Alzheimer, I distinctly remember the Bastard and the liikes making its move and destroying people and whatever long before Walkie Talkie decided to go for Brandon after all (Voodoo Wolves, for instance?). If anything, I got the impression the opposition cheated first( oh!, bad guys cheating! the shock!), and WT cheated back to level the game, especially when players like Unka Bunga and Baloo the Bedside Rug, or Heyoka and his Trickster spirit, for that matter, were already there.

You're forgetting that Wakan Tanka hates Aunghadhail, and strongly dislikes/dismisses Baloo. The Five Fold Court did nothing to help The People when The Bastard started attacking them, because they could hurt him and the court could not.

She's not helping them in any way. Kayda is because she wants to do so. Because she's kind and selfless and a bit of a crybaby. Coyote was pointing out that her returning early resulted in the evil spirits independent of The Bastard to wake up early as well.

Vauldrene bridges the gap from the other side, at least to a degree. She clearly did not agree with or care for the Court's direction on human or non-Sidhe. Pixies befriend her while they hide from Aunghadhail and Nikki. When she fled in shame, she took on a husband from The People, who accepted her with open arms.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #169 by Kaitha39

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Hardric wrote: Intellectually, I know that, and the idea they could get some assistance and even badly need it, like null0trooper said (Although I'd like to see Stormdork and co do more than cop-bullying, like th

/snip/

. That's not true, but that's a little hard to see beyond the limits of the characters' viewpoints when they all run in similar problems.

I said it recently, I'll say it again:
People are forgetting that the universe WU lives in was originally described as one that FEARS AND HATES mutants. Possibly because most of the stories are now in the mutant-friendly area of the school, or because most of the recent new first-generation mutant PoV characters have friends and families that actually support their new mutantancy. But go back to the first stories, and look how common it was for the new mutant to be hated. Humanity First, MCO and the KoP are big players because of how widespread the hate is. The average first generation mutant is one that gets disowned by their parents and thrown out onto the street if they aren't the victim of honor-based killing first. Even those whose parents love them enough to support them are still being disowned and hunted by their friends, schoolmates, and neighbours, or went through some kind of drama that could close them off to the world and make them take a hit to the old alignment meter.

How many of the origin stories feature baselines bullying them?
Trying to kill them?
Abductions for some reason, mostly being a 'test subject' for experimentation?
Being rejected by their baseline friends?
Being assaulted?
Being forced to live on the streets, going to the church for help, captured by the CIA, experimented on and then attempted assassination that got hir moved to an insane asylum before being freed only to be corrupted and then split into twins? On top of already having been in a cult of anti-mutant child-killers? (Okay, Merry may have been a bit OTT, but you get the point.)

Grown adults often develop hardened personalities that are cold and selfish after going through these events. The 'bullies' in these stories are actually the expected statistical normal. "Well-adjusted people" that want everyone to get along, without becoming 'heroes' are the odd ones out.

Edit: For clarity, I don't mean the first generation as in 2006 vs 2016. I mean mutants whose parents are not also mutants.

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Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Kaitha39.

7 years 6 months ago #170 by Kaitha39

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As an addendum to the "There are too many bullies, what is security doing?" discussion.

According to this page from the Whateley wiki, which admittedly could be outdated, there are only 54 security officers (9x6) with 20 security admin guys. At any one time, only half of them are actually on campus.
The school's student population has been given as between six to seven hundred.

They're outnumbered almost by an order of magnitude, and can't be everywhere. Cut them some slack.

Any stories or Characters I put out are available to write around. Feel free to borrow them!

7 years 6 months ago #171 by Hardric

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Katssun wrote:
Hardric wrote: That, and not only it was brought up by Wile E Coyote, automatically making it BS, but unless I'm having a bad case of Alzheimer, I distinctly remember the Bastard and the liikes making its move and destroying people and whatever long before Walkie Talkie decided to go for Brandon after all (Voodoo Wolves, for instance?). If anything, I got the impression the opposition cheated first( oh!, bad guys cheating! the shock!), and WT cheated back to level the game, especially when players like Unka Bunga and Baloo the Bedside Rug, or Heyoka and his Trickster spirit, for that matter, were already there.

You're forgetting that Wakan Tanka hates Aunghadhail, and strongly dislikes/dismisses Baloo. The Five Fold Court did nothing to help The People when The Bastard started attacking them, because they could hurt him and the court could not.

She's not helping them in any way. Kayda is because she wants to do so. Because she's kind and selfless and a bit of a crybaby. Coyote was pointing out that her returning early resulted in the evil spirits independent of The Bastard to wake up early as well.

What I wanted to say about Wakan Tanka's return is more on the lines of this:

Wakan Tanka- Huh, these duckers Unga Bunga and Bedside Rug are both within hosts right now? What could be important enough these tw– Oh my me, the Bastard is back! Quick, I must go to Brandon, now!

Random Spirit- But that would mean giving the right to other spirits to join the fray, Boss.

WK- Humans have an interesting way to put: 'The whole house is in fire, who cares we destroy the kitchen?'

RS- You could also trust Unga Bunga and Bedside Rug to take care of the People while dealing with the Bastard.

WK- ...

RS- ... Right. Good luck with Brandon, Boss.

Kaitha39 wrote: Grown adults often develop hardened personalities that are cold and selfish after going through these events. The 'bullies' in these stories are actually the expected statistical normal. "Well-adjusted people" that want everyone to get along, without becoming 'heroes' are the odd ones out.

I didn't forget the fact this 'verse hate mutants (Loose Cannons is for instance an excellent recent example), but, yeah didn't think about these consequences. Fair point. Depressing, but fair. Where did you say it the first time?

Kaitha39 wrote: According to this page from the Whateley wiki, which admittedly could be outdated, there are only 54 security officers (9x6) with 20 security admin guys. At any one time, only half of them are actually on campus.
The school's student population has been given as between six to seven hundred.

Another fair but depressing point, especially when a whole platoon is corrupt, so worst than useless. Why exactly aren't there even more mortal accidents already? Guess I was a bit pampered by my experience of high school, because... I can't really imagine a situation so bad and think 'that's the way it's supposed to be'. That's really depressing.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #172 by Kaitha39

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Hardric wrote: I didn't forget the fact this 'verse hate mutants (Loose Cannons is for instance an excellent recent example), but, yeah didn't think about these consequences. Fair point. Depressing, but fair. Where did you say it the first time

A little R&R 3 thread, on August 29th, quoting you in the post.

Kaitha39 wrote: It's not so much a quota, as the reality of how most manifestations would change people's personalities. The "social queens who lost it all" who want it back? Well, think about it:
-If they have a good manifestation and don't come to Whateley 'under endorsement from law enforcement' then, of course, they're going to want their top space back. And the nature of kids/teenagers is to be prepared to be a little bit of a bully to get other's respect.
-If they had a bad manifestation and their presence at Whateley is to prevent their presence otherwise being in prison? At the very least, they live in a world that mostly hates mutants, so it's not unreasonable they adopted a bit of "Well, then let me be evil" and have less of a problem being a jerk. At the more worse outcomes, they'll have been turned into some form of selfish-nihilist who thinks they have to be top dog to survive.

What? Don't look at me like that, the forum does have a search function, you know.

Edit: And yeah, it is depressing. Sometimes the biggest thing to stretch my sense of disbelief in the WU is the fact that Carson's supposed to be considered competent at hiring people, yet she only has three actual psychiatrists on staff.
Like, okay, that's more than most schools, granted, but this is a special school. Mutants are one in a million, yet the entire western world at least is scared and obsessed over them to the point they made an entire international organisation of corrupt private police for them(MCO)? AND there's a very well known private military contractor death squad out specifically to kill them(KoP)? AND a massive grassroots civilian organisation specifically to KKK-style lynch any that the above miss "taking into custody"(H1)?
Seriously Carson, why do you not have at least one actual qualified psychiatrist for each dorm? You have one-tenth of the mutant population in your care, and if these people aren't already traumatised on arrival, you damn well want them to be well-adjusted on departure.

Any stories or Characters I put out are available to write around. Feel free to borrow them!

Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Kaitha39.

7 years 6 months ago #173 by Hardric

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Kaitha39 wrote: What? Don't look at me like that, the forum does have a search function, you know.

Sorry, I'm not really used to do researches on forums beyond doing it the old-fashioned way, go through the posts (That's a joke, not a mockery, right?)

And yes, I think you also rise a good point with the psychiatrists

7 years 6 months ago #174 by Katssun

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Kaitha39 wrote: Edit: And yeah, it is depressing. Sometimes the biggest thing to stretch my sense of disbelief in the WU is the fact that Carson's supposed to be considered competent at hiring people, yet she only has three actual psychiatrists on staff.
Like, okay, that's more than most schools, granted, but this is a special school. Mutants are one in a million, yet the entire western world at least is scared and obsessed over them to the point they made an entire international organisation of corrupt private police for them(MCO)? AND there's a very well known private military contractor death squad out specifically to kill them(KoP)? AND a massive grassroots civilian organisation specifically to KKK-style lynch any that the above miss "taking into custody"(H1)?
Seriously Carson, why do you not have at least one actual qualified psychiatrist for each dorm? You have one-tenth of the mutant population in your care, and if these people aren't already traumatised on arrival, you damn well want them to be well-adjusted on departure.

That's what Fixers and Cottage parents and RAs are for. The whole Cottage system itself. You don't need a whole cohort of psychologists when the students help each other without any other aid.

- Poe is an entire support network for students struggling with accepting their sexuality, or having it changed on them, and on top of that you have changelings (when there are statistically only a handful, Gen 1 and Gen 2 are bumper years). The kind of stuff Gwen's going through pretty harshly right now, that Kayda suffered terribly with last spring. Zenith is a saint.
- Thanks in part to Phase and the Kimbas, the Outcasts as a whole, and more directly from Caitlin and Roulette, Hawthorne is turning from a tragic dungeon into a refuge for the kids too strong for their own good and with specific issues. Caitlin and Roulette are turning it into a real home.
- Whitman and Twain do the same for all the GSD cases, and in cases like Murphy forcing some of the more prejudiced students to see those students as people, friends, not as freaks. That helps both sides.
- Even Mellville. The Alpha leadership ruined it in Gen 1, but you can still see that the intention (and stated clearly in Gen 2) is to work on the haughty and stuck up students. Like Charge and so on. To teach them respect for their "lessers" and to act with dignity. They intentionally pair some of the more problematic students...who aren't outright evil, with their opposites. Charge with Alicia, Jadis with Misty.
- Finally, you have Dickinson and Emerson...where they put many of the bullies, cattiest and cruelest students with all the do-gooders and wannabe superheroes.

The whole system is set up to mellow out the extremes, or give shelter to those who need it.

It's also been hinted at that not only are Administration and Security fully aware of the bully problem, they count on it as part of their big picture goals for the student body. Some of the slower response times may in fact be intentional, as are the reluctance to expel the habitual perpetrators. But when things go too far (Freya, Hamper and Damper, any murderer) they punish to the maximum extent possible.

Some schools have a required swim class, Whateley has combat finals.

7 years 6 months ago #175 by E. E. Nalley

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Kaitha39 wrote: Seriously Carson, why do you not have at least one actual qualified psychiatrist for each dorm? You have one-tenth of the mutant population in your care, and if these people aren't already traumatized on arrival, you damn well want them to be well-adjusted on departure.

Oh yes, rake Carson over the coals because she can only afford THREE seasoned professionals who command six figure salaries on HER budget.

Loophole (JUST Loophole) in TWO semesters did millions of dollars of damage to her dorm, Arena 99 and caused an explosion that was measurable by SEISMIC equipment! One student out of that student body, think about what the upkeep costs must be! Carson is doing pretty good squeezing the budget to afford the department she's got.

And yes, Katssun is correct in her observation of the cottage setup and its reasoning. Well done!

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.
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7 years 6 months ago #176 by MM2ss

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On the bullies and such... I have been substitute teaching and coaching football for a while. I work in schools (elementary, middle and high). Even at small schools with dedicated SRO's (school resource officers, usually a member of the local police department or sheriff's department) there are plenty of instances of bullies that get away with a great deal despite the best efforts of adults on campus.

On of the local schools I work at has about 400 kids total in six grades. There is one SRO, one principal, two vice-principals, 40-50 teachers/coaches and various aides (Title 1 for example). That is one adult for every 20 or so students. Bullies still get away with a great deal. We catch some, we try to keep a handle on the problem...but even at a 20 to 1 ratio we can't stop all of it or even find out about all that happens. Now, throw in supper powers and technology that defies anything we can envision...the problem gets even worse.

Thus, Whateley, which has more students per staff member than the schools in our reality is likely doing pretty well overall on limiting the bully problem to what could be considered an "acceptable" level. Plus, it is mentioned (one of the stories about the Don I think it was) that the bullies are allowed some freedom to cause problems in order to teach students to deal with problems on their own to a degree. But when things go too far the hammer will fall.

7 years 6 months ago #177 by MM2ss

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A brief addendum to the above post.

There are times in our own reality where students are essentially told to handle something themselves. Not necessarily to teach them to handle their own problems but because it is a problem the teacher is not able to do something about. For example, if Bobby trips Mary in the hall, a teacher can't really do anything about it unless they see it. But Mary could go to the SRO and file a report for assault if she thinks it was intentional. That is on one extreme obviously. On the other end, Fred keeps staring at Jane when the teacher isn't looking and it makes Jane uncomfortable. The teacher can't really do anything about that at all. But Jane could... There are also times where teachers choose to "not see" something... I hate to admit that, but I have heard enough first hand accounts over the years. Like a teacher informing me that "she didn't see anyone beat up the school bully" (not an exact quote, but close enough) at break on day...while she was on break duty and the area is wide open with nowhere to hide. (That was some years ago, that is less likely in today's schools than it was then, I remember a PE coach that would give people a set of boxing gloves so they could "settle their differences", which is a no-go now)

7 years 6 months ago #178 by Hardric

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Sorry for disturbing and derailing this thread with my whinning. Guess I should have just know better than that , or arguing world-building on a setting I Knew for not even one year... Duck, pretty much every single work of fiction with this sort of 'unsavory elements' point out it's impossible to root them out, but that's just so... depressing to know. Behaving this way just seems so ridiculious, stupid, and useless...

7 years 6 months ago #179 by Malady

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Don't worry about it! I took it as "I don't get why the WU is like this. Someone please explain?"

And now we have reminders for the reasons behind things and stuff...

Hmm... What to ask, that would go here instead of in an Character Thread... ... Maybe, names for Absinthe's group?

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7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #180 by null0trooper

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E. E. Nalley wrote:
Kaitha39 wrote: Seriously Carson, why do you not have at least one actual qualified psychiatrist for each dorm? You have one-tenth of the mutant population in your care, and if these people aren't already traumatized on arrival, you damn well want them to be well-adjusted on departure.

Oh yes, rake Carson over the coals because she can only afford THREE seasoned professionals who command six figure salaries on HER budget.

Headshrinkers are a dime a dozen, and most of the student body only has the usual teen problems with socialization. She could afford more baseline psychologist, psychiatrists (for the very many who DON'T have regen neutralizing any meds they take - after all the most common powers shown among canon students are gadgeteering and devising. Between the Adders and Aspies, the Workshop must account for half the Ritalin and Risperdal consumption in NH.)

On the other hand, between staff and students the place is lousy with empaths and telepaths. "But he was such a nice quiet boy." and "We couldn't have known!" testimonies don't cut it.

E. E. Nalley wrote: Loophole (JUST Loophole) in TWO semesters did millions of dollars of damage to her dorm, Arena 99 and caused an explosion that was measurable by SEISMIC equipment!

The Swamp on Game Day triggers seismic equipment. Fort Knox training is good for more false positives - not entirely cool for an area that does get minor tremblors up to 3 or so. And as far as the Arena goes, it was a teacher who pushed the girl to the breaking point. Idiot ball does go to Loopie for not thinking ahead of time about how magnetic fields can interact.

As far as hammering the recalcitrant physical bullies goes? Third Platoon. Because "lawful evil gets things done". First Platoon, because "good isn't always nice". Second Platoon, because red tape beats duct tape (You may not have a mark on you, but you won't forget the encounter.)

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Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by null0trooper. Reason: misattribution

7 years 6 months ago #181 by MM2ss

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Hardric wrote: Sorry for disturbing and derailing this thread with my whinning. Guess I should have just know better than that , or arguing world-building on a setting I Knew for not even one year... Duck, pretty much every single work of fiction with this sort of 'unsavory elements' point out it's impossible to root them out, but that's just so... depressing to know. Behaving this way just seems so ridiculious, stupid, and useless...

No argument from me on that point. I see no reason to be a bully personally. If you have the power to hurt someone (emotionally, physically or mentally) then you have, in my opinion, a duty to try to avoid hurting that person. Now, I will say that I feel that goes out the window once the fireworks start. I am well trained in the art of verbally slaughtering a person (the Navy teaches many useful skills). But I am not going to unleash my tongue on a person without (what I view as) just cause. Similarly, I know very well how to fight with a number of implements and unarmed (I might not be an expert, but I know enough to be dangerous). But I have a moral duty to not go out looking for a fight. On the other hand, if attacked or defending someone else, game on. That's all in the "real world". We can't root out all the people that are socially unacceptable (seems like a polite enough term). All we can do is respond when we catch them up to no good.

My view on the matter (I am NOT an expert) is that the Whateley World is largely similar to the "real world" in most respects. Sure, we would all like to have a utopia, but we all know it is not going to happen. The same applies to the Whateley Universe.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #182 by Kaitha39

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Hardric wrote: Sorry for disturbing and derailing this thread with my whinning. Guess I should have just know better than that , or arguing world-building on a setting I Knew for not even one year...

It's the internet and "The Royal City of Rabenastre" has a queue time of more than thirty minutes, so you know, arguments and looking for debates is like, what else is to be done? ^_^
Anyone who mentions triple triad or Lord of Vermillion here didn't get the joke.

Duck, pretty much every single work of fiction with this sort of 'unsavory elements' point out it's impossible to root them out, but that's just so... depressing to know. Behaving this way just seems so ridiculious, stupid, and useless...

It always seems like it's childish, but it's so popular to do! ^_^
Also: for half these bullies, remember that everyone is the hero of their own story, even Nephandus and Belphegor (both surrounded by 'idiotic lesser intellect morons' who stop them from working.) For example, Dump Truck and co in Pounce's stories are doing their God-given duty and clearing out an abomination, as described in Leviticus(Religious argument not the point, point is that from their point of view, the 'dirty faggot' is the evil one.) . For those of us who aren't homophobic, we can just see that they're being bigotted dickbutts.

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Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Kaitha39.

7 years 6 months ago #183 by elrodw

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Kaitha39 wrote:
Hardric wrote: Sorry for disturbing and derailing this thread with my whinning. Guess I should have just know better than that , or arguing world-building on a setting I Knew for not even one year...
It's the internet and "The Royal City of Rabenastre" has a queue time of more than thirty minutes, so you know, arguments and looking for debates is like, what else is to be done? ^_^
Anyone who mentions triple triad or Lord of Vermillion here didn't get the joke.

Duck, pretty much every single work of fiction with this sort of 'unsavory elements' point out it's impossible to root them out, but that's just so... depressing to know. Behaving this way just seems so ridiculious, stupid, and useless...
It always seems like it's childish, but it's so popular to do! ^_^
Also: for half these bullies, remember that everyone is the hero of their own story, even Nephandus and Belphegor (both surrounded by 'idiotic lesser intellect morons' who stop them from working.) For example, Dump Truck and co in Pounce's stories are doing their God-given duty and clearing out an abomination, as described in Leviticus(Religious argument not the point, point is that from their point of view, the 'dirty faggot' is the evil one.) . For those of us who aren't homophobic, we can just see that they're being bigotted dickbutts.

They're bigoted asshats, one of whom has some unwanted and frightening same-sex attractions, and rather than confront those feelings with the help of professional counselor, he instead lashes out, trying to prove by bullying that he really ISN'T "like them" and that he's perfectly normal, besides which, if there weren't any of "them" he wouldn't have those strange feelings and he would be normal. Which he isn't. But he can't admit to himself, let alone friends and family.

Or maybe not :evil:

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7 years 6 months ago #184 by Ametros

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On the point of only having the three psychiatrists, we know that they're overworked. Bellows deals with the majority of the POV characters, as he's apparently deemed to have the best touch when dealing with gender issues.

But to solve the problem of there being so few isn't as simple as just hiring more. With Security, you can hire people who can get the job done, and the troublemakers can be put in Third Platoon where they can be watched. But they report to Delarose - there is oversight on them. But psychiatrists? That situation is a lot more delicate. They have to be trusted to act in the best interests of the students at all times, and have the ability and mindset to do so without making things worse. But more than this, they have to be trusted to do this alone, with nobody prying or overseeing it.

The vetting process for them would be the toughest of the lot, I'd think.

Seriously, thank you for your time and effort. It is appreciated.

7 years 6 months ago #185 by Katssun

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No oversight? Don't they report serious concerns directly to Carson, the medical staff, the heads of security, and the appropriate house parent?

Maybe not specifics, which would breech confidentiality, but they'll convey, "very depressed and stressed out" and put a student on suicide watch, have security keep them away from problem students more thoroughly, and other actions to preserve their well-being. Or at least have Carson do all those things.

7 years 6 months ago #186 by Ametros

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Yes, they do report serious concerns. But they're trusted to act independently and escalate if they feel the need. They operate differently to the other staff due to the respect for privacy and patient confidentiality, and that would necessitate extra care taken in who to hire.

Seriously, thank you for your time and effort. It is appreciated.

7 years 6 months ago #187 by Valentine

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I think one thing everyone here is missing is that Dr. Bellows is the only Psychiatrist (Medical Doctor), the other two Dr. Markham is mentioned as a Psychologist (presumably she has a PhD in Psychology or Child Psychology or Mutant Psychology), the third Roger Cannell has a degree that makes him a Certified Social Work Case Manager.

Note that these three are apparently the entire "Psychology Staff." This is three more than my high school of 4000 had.

Now what we don't know is what qualifications the House Parents have, other than some of them being mages. It is possible, and even probable, that some, if not all, have some sort of Degree in a psychology related field or at least some training or experience.

Don't Drick and Drive.

7 years 6 months ago #188 by mhalpern

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Sorry I haven't been commenting recently, anyways I do like how Alyss was Incorporated into this, overall I think that this part is the most improved over the fanfiction counterpart of all of them yet, more changed and those changes really added to it as opposed to just making the original work in canon.

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7 years 6 months ago #189 by Kettlekorn

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I don't think we've ever seen someone denied therapy at Whateley due to a lack of supply. Adding more people would let them spread the workload out a little, which might improve the quality of care that existing patients get, but it's not going to do anything for the majority of students who decline to seek help at all. You can lead a person to therapy, but you can't make them partake.

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7 years 6 months ago #190 by elrodw

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Valentine wrote: I think one thing everyone here is missing is that Dr. Bellows is the only Psychiatrist (Medical Doctor), the other two Dr. Markham is mentioned as a Psychologist (presumably she has a PhD in Psychology or Child Psychology or Mutant Psychology), the third Roger Cannell has a degree that makes him a Certified Social Work Case Manager.

Note that these three are apparently the entire "Psychology Staff." This is three more than my high school of 4000 had.

Now what we don't know is what qualifications the House Parents have, other than some of them being mages. It is possible, and even probable, that some, if not all, have some sort of Degree in a psychology related field or at least some training or experience.

Given the anti-mutant sentiment in the world, the fact that many students lost their homes or families or friends, the fact that many were bullied until they suddenly had powers and succumbed to the temptation of revenge, there are a LOT of potential head-cases at Whateley. So a staff of 3 'formal' counselors probably seems light.

A valid question is what training others have. It is fairly safe to assume that the house-parents have training in counseling, like a social worker or pastor, plus they have a lot of experience. It's safe to assume that the medical staff has some training a well, given the unique nature of Whateley. It's also a reasonable assumption that the student advisors (e.g. Totem, Mrs. Hastings) have some training as well (although with Mrs. Hastings, it obviously didn't take!).

We know of 3 'formal' counselors, but that is not necessarily an exhaustive list - there could easily be a couple more that we've never seen or heard about. The Wiki and character list doesn't list everyone, after all.

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7 years 6 months ago #191 by Malady

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Hmm... How about borrowing psychologists or whatever, from ARC?

Although, given The Hand You're Dealt, there's not much info-sharing going on?

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7 years 6 months ago #192 by Kettlekorn

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ARC gives us an example of what Ametros was talking about regarding vetting. Remember Dr. Lenston? The guy who was abusing Merry, and then left magic traps behind so that Dr. Otto continued abusing her even after Sara scared Lenston off? Then there was his brother Frank at the CIA. Whateley has plenty of justification to be paranoid about who they bring in.

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7 years 6 months ago #193 by null0trooper

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elrodw wrote: We know of 3 'formal' counselors, but that is not necessarily an exhaustive list - there could easily be a couple more that we've never seen or heard about. The Wiki and character list doesn't list everyone, after all.

Most of the POV stories have been from the underclassmen, and most of the need would be psychological not psychiatric, so it's reasonable that aside from the formal counsellors (including Rev. Englund and Totem) and educators, there are other resources we haven't seem. The powers testers and adjunct professors have interns and assistants, why shouldn't the area's only trauma center?

There's enough Bad Stuff in the Whateley Universe New England that there may be many useful resources not mentioned so far.

And again, while a person may be able to hide how they're feeling from the baseline folks around them, these kids have espers on every floor of every cottage, and in nearly every classroom. What are the odds that the Psychic Arts curriculum includes everything from Pop Psych 101 to Beyond Para-abnormal Syndromes 503? (My own head-canon has much of the philosophy and religion offerings and some advanced languages under Mystical Arts.) That doesn't mean everyone gets all the help they need, but if (for example) Rusty shows up for class off his meds someone should be able to call him on it after "seeing" him off them and on them.

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7 years 6 months ago #194 by annachie

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Wouldn't surprise me if Fubar was also a qualified counselor or psychologist.

7 years 6 months ago #195 by MM2ss

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In some of the stuff about Mahern, it did seem to be alluded to that there were the regular shrinks/counselors and also psychics that also provided services. I'd have to go digging to find it, but I think the line was something like "As soon as one walks in the room he leaves" when Bellows and Carson were about having then Eric Mahern be counseled by a psychic.

7 years 6 months ago #196 by Valentine

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elrodw wrote:
Valentine wrote: I think one thing everyone here is missing is that Dr. Bellows is the only Psychiatrist (Medical Doctor), the other two Dr. Markham is mentioned as a Psychologist (presumably she has a PhD in Psychology or Child Psychology or Mutant Psychology), the third Roger Cannell has a degree that makes him a Certified Social Work Case Manager.

Note that these three are apparently the entire "Psychology Staff." This is three more than my high school of 4000 had.

Now what we don't know is what qualifications the House Parents have, other than some of them being mages. It is possible, and even probable, that some, if not all, have some sort of Degree in a psychology related field or at least some training or experience.

Given the anti-mutant sentiment in the world, the fact that many students lost their homes or families or friends, the fact that many were bullied until they suddenly had powers and succumbed to the temptation of revenge, there are a LOT of potential head-cases at Whateley. So a staff of 3 'formal' counselors probably seems light.

A valid question is what training others have. It is fairly safe to assume that the house-parents have training in counseling, like a social worker or pastor, plus they have a lot of experience. It's safe to assume that the medical staff has some training a well, given the unique nature of Whateley. It's also a reasonable assumption that the student advisors (e.g. Totem, Mrs. Hastings) have some training as well (although with Mrs. Hastings, it obviously didn't take!).

We know of 3 'formal' counselors, but that is not necessarily an exhaustive list - there could easily be a couple more that we've never seen or heard about. The Wiki and character list doesn't list everyone, after all.

Songbird has formal training or at least semiformal training.

Of course Dr. Bellows just a big load dropped on him.

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7 years 6 months ago #197 by Sir Lee

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I don't know if headshrinkers are "a dime a dozen," but COMPETENT, trustworthy, fully vetted ones who are willing to work under almost battle conditions... that wouldn't be nearly as cheap.

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7 years 6 months ago #198 by Arcanist Lupus

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Counseling with any Diedricks student probably qualifies you for hazard pay. And I'm sure that they're not the only ones.

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7 years 6 months ago #199 by konzill

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I don't know that it's valid to assume that just because Dr Bellows is the only Psychiatrist who has been referred to by name in the stories it automatically means that he is the only psychiatrist on staff. I always assumed that there were a lot of other unnamed faculty members, who are unnamed simply because they have not been relevant. I thought the Imp stories made it pretty clear that there is a lot of other faculties that we simply have not met yet. Also note how those stories introduce Ronald Williams, with the assumption that he has been teaching History at Whateley for quite some time even though we never heard of him before this.

Quite Possibly Bellows gets a lot of screen time because he specialises in helping the changeling students, so he is the Psychologist we see. He is also probably the department head.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #200 by Malady

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We don't assume there's only Bellows. We know there's at least two more. Markham and Cannell . (Should I make a Psychologist Category??) and it's just that some of us feel that only 3 psychers on campus is too little for what seems like a really big pile of issues.

However, we've been reminded that there's others to help with psyche issues, like the RAs and House Mothers and people's friends and stuff. (too many ands, dear)

And now I'm wondering about Markham and Cannell's histories that they get to work at Whateley... Bellows was former military of some kind?

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Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Malady.

7 years 6 months ago - 7 years 6 months ago #201 by Anne

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Malady wrote: And now I'm wondering about Markham and Cannell's histories that they get to work at Whateley... Bellows was former military of some kind?

From the story where he gets permission to hear about the Dragon Slayers it is pretty clear that Bellows has some sort of military background. What that background is is not clear because we really haven't seen his back story. All we know for sure is that he is a low level empath and would have been probably considered an underdog if he had (maybe he did?) attended Whateley.

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Last Edit: 7 years 6 months ago by Phoenix Spiritus. Reason: Fixed the quote

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