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Post By
HH

In Reply To
Anime Jason 
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Location: Here
Member Since: Sun Sep 12, 2004
Posts: 2,834
Subj: Now in new flavours.
Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 at 12:03:00 pm EST (Viewed 2 times)
Reply Subj: It's the thread-fast plan.
Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 at 10:41:50 am EST (Viewed 452 times)



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      He probably knows. He's just a bit vague about how fighty types do what they do anyhow. On the other hand, he is pretty much the occult equivalent in terms of stature as Chiaki is in physical combat. The techniques that build up the blatant magical powers like fireballs and people exploding tend to involve pacts or sacrifices that Vinnie won't consider. So he has to just the magicak equivalent of judo.



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    In that case, once he realizes the connection, it might make sense for him to at least ask Chiaki how she dealt with the disparagement. If he did, she would tell him that it was difficult, and that she got through it by choosing one person to impress, and discarding anyone else's opinions.


Who was that person?


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      Vinnie strongly suspects that Xander knew some things that are not available to an acting sorcerer supreme. Certainly Xander was more ruthless and effective at the job. So when some foe taunts Vinnie that he's not really up to the task there is a grain of truth there.



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    I think he mentioned that once in a story, which gave me the idea to have Liu Xi dig up Xander's library of books and start reading through them to find out what he was hiding. It may not be in those books, but she's learning a little bit.


If Xander had a library it is not to be found, except for a number of plumbing manuals.


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    And like I said above, Chiaki would be the first to tell Vinnie that the taunting is a good thing. She would say that he *should* have them underestimating him, because as long as they are, they aren't hunting him or his friends.


Vinnie's difficult family life offers some contrary lesson though.


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    That's also one of the primary reasons Chiaki stepped away from her work with Akiko Masamune. She was becoming too well known, and that was incompatible with her having friends who might be vulnerable.


More on this in tomorrow's Untold Tales.


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      Vinnie's choice to rely upon friends and allies is a pragmnatic one as well as his natural insticnt; but as we have previously discussed, his also feels the need to protect those around him from the kind of threats they could not survive or would only survive if they allowed themselves to be unpleasantly changed.



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    That's why Liu Xi gets so angry with him. From her point of view, she offers him help at any time - the power of all of the elements plus Void, in a creative and clever package - and yet he continually insists that he's alone in this fight. She wants to slap him upside the head every time he forgets about all of the assistance he has available.



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    And, she would insist, maybe his real strength is who he can call up to help him. Among those people are both way more power, and way more subtlety than Xander had access to.


We've certainly covered this before. They have an irreconcilable difference of perspective and experience on the matter.


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      Faerie doesn't really have a hyperspace, even when the planes aren't isolated as they are now. Teleportations are possible but they tend to demand prices.



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    As long as someone there warns here (and they probably have) that nothing is subtle in Faerie - that everyone with power can feel what she does - she'll probably stick to Chiaki's advice. The only danger then is if someone senses what she is, and she's forced to defend herself.


Vinnie is fairly versed in the rules. Griffin probably understands them pretty well too, although he doesn't know it yet.


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    Which brings up another point. From being on a super-team early in life, she learned that sometimes it's safer and easier to take the path of least resistance. For example, allowing herself to be captured, and then use subtle manipulation to escape later on. She's had to do that to head off attacks in highly populated areas before.


We may unpack that a little more after a forthcoming section of Untold Takes.


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      That is true. There is also the problem that Faerie is a place of emotions too. However powerful someone is, they are not always protected from attacks designed to break their heart.



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    That's where she's most vulnerable. Not so much with the "you're trapped her forever, you'll never go home" trope that is used in fairytale lands, because she's a very hopeful person. Losing friends is bad for her. Watching strangers die makes her angry and depressed, more so on the depressed side if she can't do anything about it.


Faeries can be cruel.


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      She is an attractive and obvious target, but fortunately many of those who spot her as that will also underestimate her. After all, "elementals are easy".



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    If that's true, I think most of all they'll be surprised at just how stubborn she can be.


The range of elementals familiar to this aspect of Faerie includes things like water nymphs and tree sprites, who can be easily summoned and made obedient with magic, flighty sylphs and grumpy tempests who are very trickable, and earth spirits like deep gnomes and rock dwarves who can be bribed. The greater elementals are much more difficult to call and trap but it can be done.

Lara would be a real challenge, but might not seem it.



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      I'll collate the two different postings when I archive it. All I'll need to do is add in some /ul lines to break up the two longest threads.



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    I might have to figure out how to wrap those properly someday.


The only way I could figure it was to somehow keep a count on how many indents in the reply was and then to arrange to ratchet that number back say seven or eight when it reached about ten. But I'm not sure how such a thing would be detected automatically.






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