Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens - Choose Your Own Adventure

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Sogol: Apr 11, 2013; Galileo's Finger

We are in the strong father model. Dad beats us to teach us right from wrong. Presumably when we demonstrate that we have internalized the moral structure he stops beating us, unless he is a deviant, which does not seem likely.

Of course we don't have that theory, but we don't need it to see Dad and our future responsibilities in a new light. Apparently Dad can see large movements in the world through looking at small patterns. We might not name it that way, but that is some pretty cool mojo in any case.

One consequence of taking it more seriously (which we should do) is that our world view changes and while we still believe in El and such they might occur for as sort of 'frivolous' compared with the old school Hunger of Asherah, Will of Asherah and such, particularly if we start to get 'feedback loops' beyond those provided by Dad's beatings.

We should take our lessons seriously of our own volition, rather than as a result of potential beatings and see what happens.

Og the Serious. Og the Studious. Og the Seer of Large Things in a Grain of Sand.

# ? May 26, 2013 17:02

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# ? Apr 23, 2024 09:36

Lanky Coconut Tree: Apr 7, 2011; An angry tree.

The angriest tree

UppaTree posted:

Things are starting to come together.

Our dad could probably do to lay off with the beatings, but in light of the pressures he's under, I can't be too hard on him.

He wholeheartedly believes that there's an omnipotent fish god out there who will personally doom our emtire village if we deviate from his Holy Word. Since we're being groomed to be chief lorekeeper as well as High Priest, a mistake by us would be repeated through the generations if he lets it stand.

Ten Year-Old Question: Is the earth a woman, Dad?

We know that humans were created when Asherah jizzed on the shore, but we also know how babies are made, and men can't do it alome. So is the shore a woman?

Followup question: Can we gently caress the earth?

# ? May 26, 2013 17:24

my dad: Oct 17, 2012; this shall be humorous

Lanky Coconut Tree posted:

Followup question: Can we gently caress the earth?

King of Dragon Pass says yes.

# ? May 26, 2013 17:26

Diogines: Dec 22, 2007; Beaky the Tortoise says, click here to join our choose Your Own Adventure Game!

Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens!

I am going to start working on the rest of the questions.

In the mean time,

DO YOU RE-PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME TO TAKE YOUR FATHERS LESSONS MORE SERIOUSLY? Do you stop running off to go fish with Jorah, swim in the ocean alone and be with Jalitha?
A. Yes.
B. No.

# ? May 26, 2013 17:45

my dad: Oct 17, 2012; this shall be humorous

I thought that the suggestion was more of a case of bumping dad up as a priority, not completely giving up on other activities.

NO

# ? May 26, 2013 17:50

Natalie Fartman: Apr 5, 2013; I selflessly rescued an abandoned cat during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Yes

Though I still want to spend time with Jorah and especially Jalitha. I'd rather give up being alone more.

# ? May 26, 2013 17:54

FoxTerrier: Feb 15, 2012; Perfectly logical poster who uses the tools available to him to come to solid conclusions

Diogines posted:

You reach into a crevice in another rock and begin pulling out snails. Your father frowns slightly at this question. "When it came time for me to pick my bride, Asherah declared I was to take my pick from the women of our village. And I did."

Interesting. Ask why he chose our mother.

Also, Yes. Devote time to our studies. I really hate to give up time alone in the ocean or with Jorah, but we're already falling behind in our apprenticeship and I suspect the skills our Dad has to teach us will be really valuable later on (like when we try to survive our manhood ritual, for example.)

FoxTerrier fucked around with this message at 18:17 on May 26, 2013

# ? May 26, 2013 17:56

Hot Dog Day #82: Jul 5, 2003; Soiled Meat

Yes

Childhood ends early in the Paleolithic; It is time for us to contribute to the village's welfare.

# ? May 26, 2013 17:59

Raserys: Aug 22, 2011; IT'S YA BOY

NO, rebellion forever!

# ? May 26, 2013 18:02

SerSpook: Feb 13, 2012

Eh, yeah, why not.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:06

JT Jag: Aug 30, 2009; #1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver

Diogines posted:

DO YOU RE-PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME TO TAKE YOUR FATHERS LESSONS MORE SERIOUSLY? Do you stop running off to go fish with Jorah, swim in the ocean alone and be with Jalitha?
A. Yes.
B. No.

To an extent

We start spending a lot more time with Dad. We never stop swimming in the ocean alone though. We consider it a religious activity.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:10

Sogol: Apr 11, 2013; Galileo's Finger

YES we shift priorities. This does not mean we are not rebellious. We should also learn and memorize stories from Jalitha. Her presence is now part of our village history.

We are Og the Curious

# ? May 26, 2013 18:10

ConfusedPig: Mar 27, 2013

Yes. If this is a game about gods, we should do our best to at least be a descent priest/prophet for one of them.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:13

Althair: Jul 26, 2006; words are weapons

Yes

It was well that we could experience the freedom of the sea and the still and silent strength of our own company. Now responsibility beckons, we are to be the priest of the Great Fish. Surely we must do well by our father and holy Asherah now that we are growing toward manhood.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:16

Diogines: Dec 22, 2007; Beaky the Tortoise says, click here to join our choose Your Own Adventure Game!

Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens!

my dad posted:

I thought that the suggestion was more of a case of bumping dad up as a priority, not completely giving up on other activities.

NO

Your father expects you to spend a majority of your time, every day, either with him, or doing the tasks he has given you. Right now, he only has a large minority and you frequently simply run off to go fish with your uncle Jorah, or to swim alone, or to be with Jalitha.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:16

Space Kablooey: May 6, 2009

Diogines posted:

DO YOU RE-PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME TO TAKE YOUR FATHERS LESSONS MORE SERIOUSLY? Do you stop running off to go fish with Jorah, swim in the ocean alone and be with Jalitha?[/b]

A. Yes.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:19

Diogines: Dec 22, 2007; Beaky the Tortoise says, click here to join our choose Your Own Adventure Game!

Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens!

Sogol posted:

Do tattoos have a story, meaning, happen around particular events or just adornment? We got any good ones yet?
Thanks for all the answers.

You do not have any yet. Only men have tatoos. They are usually given to honor men who bring back enormous fish, or who have an especially good season. Painful ones are given as a sign of devotion to Asherah, or to another of the gods. Asherah is represented by a set of teeth dripping blood.

Sucrose posted:

Hoo boy, when Diogines said this was a primitive village, he wasn't kidding.
Roughly what age are the boys when they get taken on the trips and come back men?

14 or 15.

paragon1 posted:

What is a witch?
I'm curious of what, exactly, Dad accused Jalitha of doing, and where the concept of witchcraft comes from in this society.

A witch is someone who uses magic and consorts with demons to hurt people.

Coq au Nandos posted:

Dad, when will I be ready to become a man?

"In a few years, my Son."

JT Jag posted:

What is the purpose of everyone growing their hair out? I assume we won't have to ask Dad about this; as not having long hair has traumatized us over the last six years, we've probably more than figured out the answer to this by now.

As best as you know, because it is the will of Asherah. You could ask your dad, but you do not know any other justification for it.

maxhush posted:

Dad; Are there any octopus, squid or kraken related Gods or beliefs?

You pluck another snail from between the rocks and drop it in your fathers bag, he nods. "Menl is the mother of lesser octopuses and lives in the reefs of Smis, for she is his bride. Ophama is the father of the greater ones, who live within the deep."

RandomPauI posted:

Question: Has the village seen any big changes since you were a child?

The biggest change was Jalitha, who is odd, being found. Otherwise, no. Little changes in your home.

Shanakin, you asked a bunch of question, which is fine, I skipped over those others already asked and which got answers.

Shanakin posted:

What is the significance of our hair in this society and why should it not be cut? What about nails etc?

There is no ritual belief associated with nails.

Shanakin posted:

What do our people call themselves?

"The people". Contact with outside cultures is so rare that your people have had no reason to think to identify themselves as different from others. Your people are vaguely aware that there are demons and demon worshipers far, far, far north.

Shanakin posted:

What are our holy days/festivals? What are they about? What kind of activities are performed?

They occur on a calendar based upon the moon. Most of them are about appeasing Asherah.

Shanakin posted:

Besides coconuts, do we eat many fruits or vegetables regularly? Wild cereals?

A wide variety of naturally growing fruits and berries. No cereals.

Shanakin posted:

Are there any constellations in the skies? Do we have a myth about the moon and tides or know about its connection?

There are many constellations. The stars are believed to be the eggs of the Great Fish, Asherah's children, descending beneath the waters to be born. They are associated with Asherah and his children.

Shanakin posted:

Technology questionsBased on what I've seen so far I'm guessing the region is somewhere between the upper Palaeolithic and the Mesolithic period which is interesting, in saying that as with the last game a lot of technologies aren't necessarily going to match up so here we go:

I was hesitant to describe you in terms of any era of human history, but, this is pretty much correct. Your people are roughly there. The other starting cultures are in the neolithic. You are the smallest and most primitive culture you know of.

Shanakin posted:

We should probably have primitive music and instruments, flutes, drums etc? What significance does music hold in our culture, if any?

Your people have simple wind instruments such as flutes as well as drums. No strings. They are used both for pleasure, for holy days and for fun.

Shanakin posted:

Do we have sculptures? Venus figurines? Asherah idols etc?

You do, but Asherah is not depicted in a sculpture. He is represented by the jaws of especially large fish, which your people sometimes catch and then ritually worship.

Shanakin posted:

Do we have access to clay for medicine and pottery?

You have clay and know how to make pots. Your medicinal knowledge is very crude.

Shanakin posted:

Is there any metal (copper) working yet? Probably not in our village but might we have some trinket found or traded? (Jalitha?)

No metal of any sort.

Shanakin posted:

Math wise, do we not have tally sticks? Or counting tokens? If so we probably know very basic multiplication/division. I guess we might not have a lot of use for them here so we may not.

There are none. You count from one to ten, then lots, then many-lots.

Shanakin posted:

How much is known about the stars/moon, astronomy? Clearly the moon is very important to us and although we generally don't have precise dates we seem to be able to get to roughly the week on our calendar? Is father responsible for reading the skies, is it a divine practice? We (father?) know it's connected to the tides yes?

The moon is the Great Fish Amal, which guards the eggs of the other Great Fish as they sail across the sky, before being hatched each night in the sea.

Shanakin posted:

Do we have bows or other land hunting weapons? What about rope? We already weave palm fibres for clothing.

You have rope and you have bows, but there is little hunting done on land.

Shanakin posted:

I'm guessing no but do we have the wheel? Are there any large labouring animals like horses or oxen, not necessarily here but in general? I'm exceedingly doubtful but do we have the wheel or sails?

You have no beasts of burden and no domestica animals. You do not have the wheel. There is no agriculture. You do not have sails, you paddle your small boats.

Outrail posted:

Wow, go out of town for 4 days and there's a 550 post backlog to read through.
Question: Do people ever run away?
I'm forwarding the notion that we shave our head at the first appropriate moment. ie not now, later when we're old enough to run away.
Also yes, start making up jokes.

Bagar, your cousin, was afraid for the ceremony to become a man two years ago. He ran away, north. This was highly scandalous to his father. No one has seen him since. Men went to go look for him and did not find him. You have not heard of anyone else running away.

Deadly Ham Sandwich posted:

Also, do we know any jokes from Jalitha's culture and can we say them in her language. If not, we really should learn at least one good joke in her language.

You do not.

UppaTree posted:

Ten Year-Old Question: Is the earth a woman, Dad?

We know that humans were created when Asherah jizzed on the shore, but we also know how babies are made, and men can't do it alome. So is the shore a woman?

Your father shakes his head. "No, my son. Dirt is dirt. We are born only from the seed of Asherah."

# ? May 26, 2013 18:20

XOXO: Mar 8, 2013; Ask me about being weaker than a 60 year-old British woman.

Yes. Swimming alone in the ocean is great, but we have a duty to fulfill now

XOXO fucked around with this message at 18:33 on May 26, 2013

# ? May 26, 2013 18:20

Arkanomen: May 6, 2007; All he wants is a hug

We should reprioritize 50/50, mostly taking away from Jalitha. If we are going to be serious about being one with the ocean we still need to be interacting with it. Maybe we can reason with dad to let us have time to swim alone and go with jorah. We can still run off time to time. Maybe tell dad the ocean calls to us and you cannot ignore it, we don't mean to be disobedient.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:25

SerSpook: Feb 13, 2012

We should really strive to get tattoos describing our dedication to all of the gods of our people, particularly Asherah. Diog, does dad have any tattoos?

# ? May 26, 2013 18:32

XOXO: Mar 8, 2013; Ask me about being weaker than a 60 year-old British woman.

Ask Dad why there are so few elderly in our town. We seem peaceful, active, and eat healthily, so I'm wondering what happens to them.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:35

Diogines: Dec 22, 2007; Beaky the Tortoise says, click here to join our choose Your Own Adventure Game!

Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens!

XOXO posted:

Ask Dad why there are so few elderly in our town. We seem peaceful, active, and eat healthily, so I'm wondering what happens to them.

You live in an isolated village and have no frame of reference to know how many elderly people should be in your village. As far as you know, the number of people in your village are the number of people in the village and there are not too many or too few.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:37

the_steve: Nov 9, 2005; We're always hiring!

Voting NO on ditching Uncle Jorah, but YES on swimming alone less often and slightly less time with Jalitha.

# ? May 26, 2013 18:53

Theglavwen: Jun 10, 2006; Frankly, I don't know anyone who likes Chinese bronzes, but I have one of the finest collections in the country.

Yes on reprioritizing. I figured it was more a 'vote' for reshaping our character to be a bit more dutiful, but yes, it makes sense that if we're that taken with what dad is saying, we'd be willing to spend most of the time he demands from us with him.

I figure, given the general theme of the world, there's a solid chance we're going end up in something like another 'Onegod' scenario, as El, the Nicegod, begins sweeping through the world, and we'll eventually have to choose between our God of hunger and fickle whims, and a God of Warmth and Protection and Love and Superdudes or something. Regardless of how we want to go, I think it'll be most interesting if we have as much information on the available parties as possible.

# ? May 26, 2013 19:00

Grognan: Jan 23, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Yes We should probably take this "son of the village elder" thing seriously.

# ? May 26, 2013 19:02

EVG: Dec 17, 2005; If I Saw It, Here's How It Happened.

Yes on prioritizing, however I would like to take time away from playing alone and hanging out with Jalitha. I think fishing with Jorah and hanging out with the other uncle are important too. With no friends, we need to learn how to behave from our father and uncles - instead of being antisocial. We love Jalitha, but her filling our head with weird tales takes time away from learning about our Gods.

# ? May 26, 2013 19:12

FoxTerrier: Feb 15, 2012; Perfectly logical poster who uses the tools available to him to come to solid conclusions

Hmm...just thinking out loud here: I didn't make the connection until now, but I wonder if it's a coincidence our name is Og, ala King Og?" He survived the flood of Noah's arc; I wonder if that's the storm that's coming. :shrug:

# ? May 26, 2013 19:26

DCBomB: Sep 14, 2008

But but but Uncle Pagam... :smith:

# ? May 26, 2013 19:27

Natalie Fartman: Apr 5, 2013; I selflessly rescued an abandoned cat during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Diogines posted:

Jalitha was found half drowned upon the shore a year before your birth. Your father claimed her as his possession in the name of Asherah, to help his newly pregnant wife keep his home clean. No one else in the village has her fuzzy status.

While a few of you are chomping at the bit to get rid of time spent with Jalitha, this bit of information makes me think that she's a bit more important to our story than just a bit player.

Also note:

Diogines posted:

...You also live with your mother, Nami and Jalitha whose exact social status is unclear to your infant mind, though she usually nurses you and is not as old as Mama, she is much lighter skinned than Mama and your father.

I think she's actually our real mother.

Natalie Fartman fucked around with this message at 20:14 on May 26, 2013

# ? May 26, 2013 20:11

gerg_861: Jan 2, 2009

A Also, what is our dad's name? He seems like a Sebek to me.

# ? May 26, 2013 20:14

Clockwork Gadget: Oct 30, 2008; tick tock

No. Uncle Jorah's much cooler than Dad, sorry.

# ? May 26, 2013 20:16

Theglavwen: Jun 10, 2006; Frankly, I don't know anyone who likes Chinese bronzes, but I have one of the finest collections in the country.

FoxTerrier posted:

Hmm...just thinking out loud here: I didn't make the connection until now, but I wonder if it's a coincidence our name is Og, ala King Og?" He survived the flood of Noah's arc; I wonder if that's the storm that's coming.

Hm, clever. We certainly seem to be of the sort that might survive a flood, if anyone is.

# ? May 26, 2013 20:17

XOXO: Mar 8, 2013; Ask me about being weaker than a 60 year-old British woman.

Natalie Fartman posted:

I think she's actually our real mother.

She could just have been a wet nurse.

# ? May 26, 2013 20:26

Successful Businessmanga: Mar 28, 2010

Natalie Fartman posted:

I think she's actually our real mother.

Why let a baby chew on your nipples and toughen them up when you can get the slave to do it?

Yes to learning better. The sooner we know all of Dad's knowledge the sooner the Cuttlefish Council can begin it's work.

# ? May 26, 2013 20:34

Half-wit: Aug 31, 2005; Half a wit more than baby Asahel, or half a wit less? You decide.

Yes to repriortizing, as long as it doesn't take away from time spent swimming alone in the ocean.

# ? May 26, 2013 20:53

Trundel: Mar 13, 2005; + =
- a sound investment!

This is a tough one, but I'm throwing my vote in on Yes. Sure our dad is an rear end by the standards of our culture but there's clearly so much that he knows that we should, and the sooner he teaches us the secrets of the oceans deeps the sooner he'll go away, presumably to be devoured by our loving god.

# ? May 26, 2013 20:53