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Those summaries of all our friends' situations are hilarious. That one you probably sent to his death, that one you screwed over, that one you randomly favored... 1) I think Wotjeo and I have been using Dreamwalking to heal our injuries faster. Should we do that? Can Dreamwalkers enter other people's dreams? What kind of alterations to reality can a Dreamwalker make? What does it cost? Can you teach me how to make my sleep more restful? I'm so tired all the time... Should I be worried that I keep having different dreams about our clan being attacked by strange foreigners?
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Sep 20, 2019 04:52
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Dr Subterfuge posted:Those summaries of all our friends' situations are hilarious. That one you probably sent to his death, that one you screwed over, that one you randomly favored... Screwing people over for no apparent reason is a proud valley tradition!
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Sep 20, 2019 05:29
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Describe all the strange dreams we’ve had and ask for possible interpretations; the bee sting fever-dream, the pyramid-dream(?) ft The Matriarch and Sea Eel dream Also tell him about the Polecat alarm-dream
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Sep 20, 2019 06:16
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Dr Subterfuge posted:Those summaries of all our friends' situations are hilarious. That one you probably sent to his death, that one you screwed over, that one you randomly favored... +1 A-O Original class. ST Rubia and Amiya can join.
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Sep 20, 2019 07:28
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Frankly the friend-management / class minigame is overwhelming to me and I can’t really keep these kids straight even with the descriptions. But Pumie wouldn’t abandon it even if I prefer it faded further into the background. 2 - Let all the Ores and all the Tins (that want to join) in. But reorganize the classes. Use a Lecture/Section structure. We’re Lead tier now, so it’s appropriate to let Tin tiers in and teach them. But, when we were Tin we taught Ores, so if they want in they need to teach Ores too. We spend the first part of the day with lessons for everyone, they can be taught by us but also by other kids with special knowledge to share. Then we break the class into study groups. We’ll make sure there’s at least two tin or very talented Ores in each study group. The group members can practice with each other and help each other learn, and we can float between them. I'm not sure Pumie is smart enough to organize and manage this properly, but it's what I would do and works in real life (ok, in the real world kids this young would instantly goof off and play without an adult managing it constantly, it works with young adults and older). Questions 1. You said there was danger in dreamwalking? Could you explain what it is, and how we can protect ourselves and the people close to us? 2. You said our dreams become real, but I thought they were "True Dreams" that predict things that are already real. When we dreamed about the Polecat, did we predict him? Summon him? Make him? 3. What are the real capabilities of dreamwalkers? What do you know of master dreamwalkers doing? 4. Are there any other dreamwalkers in the clan? If not, when was the last dreamwalker active?
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Sep 20, 2019 07:33
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Mr. Prokosch posted:Frankly the friend-management / class minigame is overwhelming to me and I can’t really keep these kids straight even with the descriptions. But Pumie wouldn’t abandon it even if I prefer it faded further into the background.  I can't keep all the kids straight and I super can't be bothered to decide on a case by case basis who to include or not, I'd much prefer it if we treated this on a higher level of abstraction.
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Sep 20, 2019 07:40
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Herejo is shady as hell by the way, and he seems to be doing the Aes Sedai thing where he's deceitful without explicitly lying. I bet that gruesome death that comes from combining dreamkeeper and dreamwalker powers is the Matriarch executing you before you reach gold tier and destabilize the whole system.
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Sep 20, 2019 10:17
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What is Arley doing when she protects our dreams? Does that effect our dreamwalking potential?
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Sep 20, 2019 12:43
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LESSON PLAN Category 1 - Inner Circle – They can join the class as teacher or student (their choice) Felero – Our oldest, highly talented friend who is on his way towards a high-prestige Path and who has a rich and generous parent Amiya – Our second-oldest friend after Felero, and training partner at Mina’s self-defence class Rubia – She’s a good friend but she’s already a Lead-tier and she doesn’t seem like the type to be interested in teaching a bunch of kids LLSix posted:Close, but no cigar. Rubia was and still is a Lead tier. She was fighting up a rank. Category 2 - Worth Cultivating Further for Their Talents or Connections – They can join the class as students Silvia – Our Sifu Carmenia’s daughter, and was awarded extra lessons from Minaro (i.e. talented and/or hardworking) Mateo – Apprentice Traders eventually become adult Traders, who offer access to trade wealth and connections in the other clans Domingo – Comes as a package with Mateo, being twin brothers. Also, we should probably try to help him get stronger so he survives his Fisher apprenticeship instead of dying and making us feel guilty and thereby affecting our own cultivation Milagra – Her mother is a Fisher, which is equal in a status to Hunters Zoa – Heading towards the Trader’s path (cf. above comments on Mateo). Also, was awarded extra lessons from Minaro (i.e. talented and/or hardworking) Ximena – We owe it to Abealo to help his apprentice and successor get stronger Cacho – Described as “talented enough to do almost anything” and “Silvia told you she only barely beat him out for extra lessons from Elder Minaro” Adolfo – Let’s try to get a Hunter buddy if possible Chuno – We need a Smith buddy so we can go be a Healer ourselves, and Chuno also has a strong mother LLSix posted:“Young as you are, you do not yet realize how valuable instruction from an elder such as myself is. So I am forced to explain even such basic concepts to you. We elders take students rarely, and of your families, only Chuno’s mother has ever qualified for additional training from me.” Elder Minaro boasted. “It was under my instruction that she advanced from Copper to Iron when she was thirty-eight winters old. She is a talented woman and fortunate to be joined with the exceptional Silver Bear, Junio, but even so, she is unlikely to ever advance to the next rank to become an elder…” Category 3 – Don’t Already Owe Pumie a Favour and also Not Talented / Connected Enough to be in Category 2 – They can join the class as students Camina Facundo Goya Category 4 - Already Owe Pumie a Favour and Not Talented / Connected Enough to be in Category 2 – They can only join the class if they agree to help teach the Ore Tiers Yolanda – We helped her get to Tin Tier and thereby continue her Potion Brewer apprenticeship (“Your help probably made the difference”) Javiero – We helped him get to Tin Tier and thereby obtain a decent apprenticeship (“You have likely saved him from a life on the very lowest rung of the social and economic ladder”) Arturo – We introduced him to Mama, who helped to cure him of his terminal clumsiness Isma – “Your tutoring has already given her a shot at life as a Guard” Category 5 – Not already a friend or student of Pumie – They can’t join the class unless they make a payment of essence access or something equally worthwhile, which we will then share equally with all the other students All the other kids JosephWongKS fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Sep 20, 2019 |
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Sep 20, 2019 13:25
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THE DREAMKEEPER'S CURSE Observation: We've had repeated (albeit vague) remarks from Suena, Abealo and Felero that Dreamkeepers suffer from some kind of psychic damage and that they need to actively socialise to "stay grounded", whatever that means. LLSix posted:Suena hums in thought and looks away. Her pupils dart back and forth as if she’s looking at something no one else can see. She switches her focus back to the two of you and then says, “I have no objections, having your friend there should provide sufficient divergence from his borrowed memories. The decision is properly Abealo’s, I’ll take you to ask him. He’ll likely have questions for me. With luck, he’ll be brewing potions today instead of gathering herbs.” LLSix posted:For the second time today, luck is with you. Abealo is at home. Abealo is the oldest looking person, you know. His face is deeply lined by age, and you can hear his joints creaking as he moves. He frowns when you and Felero ask him about being apprentices together. “A dual apprenticeship? Normally I wouldn’t mind since they could help each other learn, but we usually try to avoid taking an apprentice that is too closely related because it limits their opportunities. However, I am running out of time to find an apprentice. I am not eager to give up the opportunity to convince the only child who has shown any potential in several winters to follow my Path either. Suena, Why are you going along with this? Dreamkeeper apprentices have additional issues beyond the lost opportunities as I understand it.” LLSix posted:"Confusing. Interesting. Exciting. Mostly confusing. It can be hard to remember which ones are mine. My mother says that having strong relationships helps ground us in the present, but it is... difficult for me to make friends. Children your, I mean our, age are usually frightened by the way I speak. My performance in the Luchamadra tournament helped, but now the other kids are intimidated. At least they don't attack me anymore. I'm glad you're my friend, Pūmiè." Felero and Poca hug you and Wotjeo. Observation: Herejo seems to be extremely callous and cold / detached. quote:Elder Herejo waves his hands dismissively, “Well you don’t need to know the details. Suffice to say they died horribly, as did the Dreamwalker. It is fortunate you and Felero did not experiment with his growing skills. If Elder Minaro’s failure had caused the death of so promising a student it would have been a great tragedy.” Speculation: Repeated exposure to ancestors' dreams erodes your humanity / compassion / affect, either because the Dreamkeeper's mind is being slowly invaded / colonised by those ancestors, or because having the memories of so many people destroys the Dreamkeeper's sense of self. Recommendation: Be very, very careful around Elder Herejo and share as little as possible about our past and future dreams with him. He's clearly seeing Pumie as an experimental toy for his theories about what Dreamwalking can achieve, and doesn't care about what happens to our health and well-being in the process. At this point he may well be more dangerous than Aracato is to us. JosephWongKS fucked around with this message at 15:49 on Sep 20, 2019 |
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Sep 20, 2019 14:02
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QUESTION TIME Being a Disney Princess To Mama "When I fed madra to the two rabbits, "their coats take on a lustrous shine and their ears grow even longer". What happens if I keep feeding them madra every day? Could they eventually grow to become as big as Wotjeo, or even turn into a spirit companion?" "Could we eventually tame even spirit monsters? Do you know of anyone in the past who has tamed a spirit monster?" Turning Wotjeo into Bear-terfly To Mama "I'm a half-Bear, half-Butterfly because of Papa and Mama. Could I help Wotjeo become a half-Bear, half-Butterfly too? If I found a way to feed him Light and Air essence, would he grow wings and learn to shoot beams from his eyes?" To Wotjeo "Would you like to grow wings and fly in the sky and shoot beams from your eyes? Doesn't that sound like the coolest thing ever?" Trader's Tales To Mama "Have you ever been attacked or ambushed when you were out trading?" "Could I join one of your trading trips if I become a Smith or Healer, or are Smiths and Healers required to stay in the caves all year around?" Dreamwalking and Me To Herejo "Elder Minaro had previously told me that Dreamkeepers can "cross great distances in the space of a thought like you do in a dream". Do Dreamwalkers have a similar technique too?" LLSix posted:“In a similar vein, you are now ready to learn a wide range of madra manipulation techniques. Whichever of our proud and valuable clans you decide to join, will no doubt teach you their own techniques, but I can give you a head start on any of them. Be it the Hunter techniques to guide metal weapons to their target or sharpen them; or Guard techniques to dull the edge of metal weapons or reinforce their own bodies with the power of metal or Miner techniques to reinforce their tools to prevent wear and tear or the more esoteric arts of the Dreamkeepers who can put our foes to sleep and cross great distances in the space of a thought like you do in a dream. No, don’t say anything now. Think about it tonight and discuss it with your parents and let me know what you’ve decided tomorrow morning.” "In addition to moving myself, can I also learn to throw my fei dao and needles great distances in the space of a thought?" "If I have a dream about something that happened in the past and I do something within that dream, could I end up changing the past?" "If I can fall asleep at will and dream at will, and if what I do in my dreams carries over into the real world, could I also gather and cultivate in my dreams while sleeping at the same time, so that I can continue to train while sleeping?" JosephWongKS fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Sep 20, 2019 |
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Sep 20, 2019 14:27
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Is that rabbit already a spirit animal or are we helping him become one? Wotjeo is fine just the way he is  . If we really want to represent our mom in our spirit companions, we need to bond an actual crystal butterfly who's weird and amazing enough to keep up with our bro.
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Sep 20, 2019 14:47
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Dr Subterfuge posted:I think Wotjeo and I have been using Dreamwalking to heal our injuries faster. Should we do that? Dr Subterfuge posted:Can Dreamwalkers enter other people's dreams? Elder Herejo pulls an onion out of one of his belt pouches. Does he carry onions around all the time or did he bring it hoping you would ask this? He cuts the onion in half and holds it out to you. He points to the center of the onion. "Your dreams are here. As you ascend to higher layers further away from your dream, you can see farther and truer but are at greater risk. For now, you can think of other people's dream's being in the outermost layer. This is not at all accurate, but it should give you a good idea of the dangers involved. Each person is supreme inside their own dreams and you would be completely at their mercy. It will be many winters yet before you should try to travel any but the lowest safest levels." Dr Subterfuge posted:What kind of alterations to reality can a Dreamwalker make? What does it cost? You do so and Elder Herejo points at it. "You just altered reality by raising your arm. If you had not willed your arm to raise, the reality we experience would be different." Dr Subterfuge posted:Can you teach me how to make my sleep more restful? I'm so tired all the time... Dr Subterfuge posted:Should I be worried that I keep having different dreams about our clan being attacked by strange foreigners? alpaca diseases posted:Describe all the strange dreams we’ve had and ask for possible interpretations; the bee sting fever-dream, the pyramid-dream(?) ft The Matriarch and Sea Eel dream Mr. Prokosch posted:
Elder Herejo frowns at you and waves his hands dismissively "That is not a good question. You have not been listening. I will assume for the sake of my answer that you want to know how to protect people physically close to your physical body while you are dreamwalking from your dreamwalking activities. The answer is that you don't need to. They are in no danger unless you do something terrifically foolish. Like entering their dreams. As to the other dangers... I will protect you during your lessons to the same extent that Elders protect all clan members from dangers beyond their ability to cope with." alpaca diseases posted:Describe all the strange dreams we’ve had and ask for possible interpretations; the bee sting fever-dream, the pyramid-dream(?) ft The Matriarch and Sea Eel dream Mr. Prokosch posted:
Mr. Prokosch posted:
Elder Herejo smiles and claps his hands cheerfully. "An excellent question. There are no living Dreamwalkers. If there were, you would be taking lessons from them. I was fortunate enough to be able to study, I mean, have many talks with, a Dreamwalker during my own apprenticeship years. Sadly, she died in her sleep before I became an adult. Now you are here, and I can share what I learned from her with you. What great good luck!" It is not clear if Elder Herejo means good luck for you, or for him. Toughy posted:What is Arley doing when she protects our dreams? Does that effect our dreamwalking potential? He pauses for a moment but holds up a hand to keep you from speaking. "I dislike imprecision so I will add that the Matriach appears to have similar skills, but she is a rule unto herself in this, as in so many other things." Dr Subterfuge posted:Is that rabbit already a spirit animal or are we helping him become one? Mama sounds scandalized as she scolds you "Pūmiè! We do not ask what our guests are! We very definitely don’t do it in front of them!" The impudent rabbit says. “Cool it, Puff. Kids paying for answers so she gets to ask stupid questions. Speaking of, where’s my carrot kid?” Eager to smooth over your social blunder you infuse another carrot with madra and hand it to the rabbit. It eagerly nibbles it down and then, while still nibbling, messily answers your question. “I’m a spirit. You’re madra is like very concentrated vital essence. You could say it gives me a leg up on the competition. It isn’t easy to find vital essence so close to all you humans. Everything alive in the valley competes for the vital essence. Even the trees, although they don’t move much, but being so tall gives them an edge. Doesn’t matter if you call us spirits or animals, or trees. We all work pretty much the same.” JosephWongKS posted:To Mama You asked variations on this question a couple of times in your post. I think this one answered all of them. JosephWongKS posted:Trader's Tales JosephWongKS posted:Trader's Tales Clan members are not required to do anything. Social order is mostly maintained through rewarding contributing to the clan, and only in very rare cases is punishment handed out by the Matriarch or Elders. Well, you know several people who were forced to do something by the Matriarch, but those were probably special cases and not how things usually work. You are seven, you do not have a complete understanding of the clan’s social or economic system. Unless you think you do? JosephWongKS posted:To Herejo JosephWongKS posted:To Herejo JosephWongKS posted:To Herejo JosephWongKS posted:To Herejo Mr. Prokosch posted:2 - Let all the Ores and all the Tins (that want to join) in. But reorganize the classes. Use a Lecture/Section structure. We’re Lead tier now, so it’s appropriate to let Tin tiers in and teach them. But, when we were Tin we taught Ores, so if they want in they need to teach Ores too. We spend the first part of the day with lessons for everyone, they can be taught by us but also by other kids with special knowledge to share. Then we break the class into study groups. We’ll make sure there’s at least two tin or very talented Ores in each study group. The group members can practice with each other and help each other learn, and we can float between them. This is a fine idea, but not one Pumie can come up with on her own. Minivote Would it be helpful if I restructured the question about who gets into the class into some groups that you might want to make decisions based on? e.g. good at cultivating already, hopeless losers, JosephWongKS groupings etc? I didn't want to do that initially because most of the group is so young their real value isn't obvious, and won't be until they grow up. I know some readers find them uninteresting/boring/useless which is fine, but this is your chance to trim them down to a more manageable number and there doesn't seem to be much interest?
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Sep 20, 2019 18:24
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Well poo poo if it wasn’t clear already we absolutely are his little science project.
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Sep 20, 2019 18:55
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LLSix posted:Minivote Minivote: No, for the underlined reason.
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Sep 20, 2019 18:59
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Man, we got outmaneuvered by a rabbit. I don't know if that's our fault or Pumie's for being dim. I don't have an opinion about these sorts of social votes with all of the side characters, I usually just skip over them to be honest. Grouping them might be slightly more interesting for me, but I feel like there are clearly posters interested in this aspect of the game/story, so they should get preferential treatment in regard to these characters.
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Sep 20, 2019 19:28
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Well, compared to all our other stats are we are just dumb as a sack of hammers so it makes sense. Pretty strong and very good at spiritual matters though! If there are folks super into the team friendship stuff by all means, they can play worker placement, but I do question the methodology so far (Helping Chuno over Goya stands out as a 'wait, what? why?' item). There are fifteen named people on the list of people to teach, plus options to add a bunch more people. I have any opinion at all about maybe a third of them, and one of those is Chuno (who I have strong negative feelings for). If I voted and my vote got picked, it would literally blow up the entire 'plan' of team friendship because I would kick almost all of them to curb, and I dont' want to just wreck somebody's sandcastle even if I think it'd make for a better story. Zodiac5000 fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Sep 20, 2019 |
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Sep 20, 2019 20:49
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I still think it's a good plan to reward the rabbits but didn't mean for every bit of help, just the exceptional stuff as an incentive so they try harder. Still, Pumie isn't smart. I thought he already knew about the Polecat dream because our parents told him "has she dreamed about cultivators before" or something like that I'd like to make a broad decision for who to include but failing that just do the JosephWongKS thing Questions 1. If we eat a pomegranate while dreamwalking, will we be full when we wake up? 2. If we dream about a mighty treasure, can we take it out of the dream? 3. If we dream about knowing the answer to a question, will we know it when we wake up? 4. If we dream about Papa having purple hair, will it be purple when we wake up? 4. How can we tell the difference between dreamwalking and regular dreaming? 5. Wait, the last dreamwalker died in their sleep? Does that happen a lot? How old were they? 6. If the Matriarch is the only other dreamwalker living, could she maybe give me just a little advice from her infinite wisdom? I know she's very busy and I'm not worthy of her attention but it sure would be nice, especially if this might, you know, suddenly kill me if I do it wrong.
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Sep 20, 2019 22:05
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Not voting because I binged the last couple hundred posts and it all needs to sink in. Just wanted to say that I'm caught up and don't want to get that far behind again.
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Sep 21, 2019 06:50
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Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:Not voting because I binged the last couple hundred posts and it all needs to sink in. Just wanted to say that I'm caught up and don't want to get that far behind again. Glad you like it enough to rejoin us! Mr. Prokosch posted:Questions Mr. Prokosch posted:2. If we dream about a mighty treasure, can we take it out of the dream? Mr. Prokosch posted:3. If we dream about knowing the answer to a question, will we know it when we wake up? Mr. Prokosch posted:4. If we dream about Papa having purple hair, will it be purple when we wake up? Mr. Prokosch posted:4. How can we tell the difference between dreamwalking and regular dreaming? Mr. Prokosch posted:5. Wait, the last dreamwalker died in their sleep? Does that happen a lot? How old were they? Mr. Prokosch posted:6. If the Matriarch is the only other dreamwalker living, could she maybe give me just a little advice from her infinite wisdom? I know she's very busy and I'm not worthy of her attention but it sure would be nice, especially if this might, you know, suddenly kill me if I do it wrong. That the Matriarch is a skilled Dreamwalker is not some secret knowledge, well, the name is, but everyone in the clan knows her to be able to not only see the future, but also to be the best at everything. A few words of advice from her are considered to be as valuable as seasons of lessons from an Elder. It is also well known to be even rarer. LLSix fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Sep 21, 2019 |
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Sep 21, 2019 16:11
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Random number generator says we'll be keeping the same group of students until winter 8. I went back and forth on how to handle the relatively small number of votes on this issue and have finally decided to just let it stand. The next update was always going to be about the cultivation study group, so the lack of interest in the vote to control who shows up in it has been disappointing for me and tells me I'm doing something wrong. I don't want to further delay regular updates because of that though and I will try a different approach to handle the topic the next time it comes up. Probably a straight vote to keep cultivation study group as is/keep it but shrink it/or stop entirely with less granular groupings for the follow up vote if shrinking it wins. Voting and question time is closed. I am starting work on the update. If anyone has advice on how to better handle cultivation study group and the large number of friends Pumie has made through it I would be delighted to read them.
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Sep 21, 2019 16:23
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Those kinds of management votes are always kind of overwhelming for me, sorry.
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Sep 21, 2019 16:48
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I enjoy the reading the updates themselves but I'm not keeping track of this whole cast, it'd be like micromanaging all the balls of labaras. You're not doing it wrong I'm just being a bad player.
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Sep 21, 2019 16:54
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Anyone who earnestly approached us and was sincere with a request to join us should be added. In addition, I'd pursue the idea that while our group grows, we mitigate the loss of focus by having people below us help people below them. Basically, this is a school and we need to expand our structure if this can be done we can basically let anyone who wants to join, join. A, B, C, F, G, I, L, O(mend that one), P, S, T, W Tins for sure, they can help out quite a bit.
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Sep 21, 2019 17:29
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The vote was very granular and high stakes (this likely determines both our future friends/allies and also their capabilities), but also low information. It would be necessary to go back through all of the class posts to really feel like I was giving each of the students a fair shake. This requires a larger time investment than normal. The easiest way to break it down into digestible chunks might be with a vote like: A) Keep only the cream of the crop, those with the best skills and/or connections, B) Keep everyone but the lowest performers, C) Keep it as is. This is messy but could be refined with a second round of voting. But trying to rank our friends according to their capabilities is difficult as we are too young to properly assess them and it leads to whiplash behavior like boosting Arturo's confidence right before kicking him out, or trying to keep Mateo while kicking out his brother Domingo even though we've been investing social capital in Domingo. Plus the conversation of how to sort our friends according to unreliable assessments of their value was quickly overtaken by the "solution" of having an exhausted and overworked 8-year-old simply devise a school system from scratch even though our schedule only allows us one day out of every eight to teach classes. Edit: While radically changing the structure of the class might be beyond us right now there appears to be a consensus that we could use more teachers to share the burden. It appears most education in the tribe is accomplished through a master-apprentice relationship with only one sifu and one student, with Minaro being an exception by handling 2-5 students at a time. We've already moved away from this with our current classes having ~2 teachers and ~15 students so I suppose we could go further. But I wonder why no one else has done this. It could be down to selfishness/hoarding, but I get the impression the Matriarch rewards selfless behavior that furthers the strength of the tribe as a whole. Maybe there is more danger to teaching incorrectly than we realize or appreciate, though I'd have expected an obvious warning if we were putting our students in danger. Or maybe this is down to Pumie and Felero being prodigies? Do we have any students we feel could actually teach at a similar level? malbogio fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Sep 21, 2019 |
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Sep 21, 2019 18:48
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Yeah, add anyone who wants to join to the class, but Pumie needs to go into it with the plan to only directly teach the very best of the group, with the understanding that they'll all pass those skills on to the less-experienced.
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Sep 21, 2019 20:22
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malbogio posted:The vote was very granular and high stakes (this likely determines both our future friends/allies and also their capabilities), but also low information. It would be necessary to go back through all of the class posts to really feel like I was giving each of the students a fair shake. This requires a larger time investment than normal. This, basically. I got two young kids and I usually check SA from my phone, so I'm not going to be doing rank my friends to a granular detail when it comes up, just broad strokes voting. These votes would be cool but they incentive votes to come solely from the people willing to take their time and resources to figure it out
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Sep 21, 2019 20:49
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In your lessons with Elder Herejo, he asks you at least as many questions as you ask him. Sometimes while answering his questions you’ll realize the answer to your own question. All of your sifus have taught differently from each other, so you are aware that there are many different ways to pass on knowledge. It is difficult for you to tell if this is just the way Elder Herejo teaches or if he is honestly curious. He sounds honestly curious in his questions, even the ones that lead you to answer your own, and you know Mama can sound however she wants to, so that’s not much help in determining if he is more interested in teaching your, or learning from you. Usually, when you have the Elder Lead-tier cultivation cave to yourself, Elder Herejo focuses on your dreamwalking lessons. Sometimes he’ll tell you that you're falling too far behind Felero. On those days he teaches you how to share senses with your bear brother Wotjeo, as he told the clan he would be doing. Your sense sharing lessons are much easier than the dreamwalking ones, and you progress quickly, focusing on sharing one sense at a time. It feels like an easy and natural progression of the mental conversations you’ve had with your brother since the day you were born. The first time you succeeded it was disorienting to hear your own voice with someone else’s ears, but under Elder Herejo’s expert guidance you soon became accustomed to the new perspective. Falling asleep for your dreamwalking lessons was even easier. The exhaustion from pumping the pot bellows in Carmenia’s Smithy is bone-deep and you are always tired, often even more tired than you are hungry. It requires a near-constant effort to stay awake, so falling asleep was as simple as relaxing. Waking back up was harder. Your sleep was deep and untroubled because Elder Herejo’s silver bear spirit companion, Deslea protected you from nightmares, but you rarely dreamed. If you weren’t dreaming, you couldn’t wake up, and Elder Herejo had to wake you up so you could try again. You made no progress in waking up during your first day of lessons, and the second day of lessons Elder Qiwo was teaching another student whose name you didn’t catch and your time was devoted to listening through Wotjeo’s ears. On the third day of lessons Elder Herejo brought a bottle of Ancestors Arms. Ancestors Arms, you know from your lessons with Healer Curada and Abealo the Potion Brewer, a potion that not only puts the drinker to sleep but makes other techniques on them more effective. Even with its help, you still slept without dreams and were unable to even try to wake yourself at all that day. On the fourth day of practice, Elder Herejo focused on teaching Wotjeo how to listen with your ears because Rubia was there and being instructed by Elder Cazadoro. On the fifth day of lessons, Elder Herejo had you drink Ancestors Arms, and instructed his very large spirit companion Deslea not to protect your dreams from nightmares. He was apologetic about it, but he also told you it would provide “a good incentive to wake up.” Your sleep was restless and troubled by horrible nightmares about the fights you’ve been in. In most of your nightmares, you are being beat-up over and over and over again. The worst ones are the ones with Decavo reliving your last fight. The ones where you win but kill him are just as bad as the ones where you run out of madra to keep him lost in Dream Mirrors and he beats you to death. It is a terrible day, but you do finally manage to wake yourself up twice. Elder Herejo urges you to practice on your own, but you are just too tired to be willing to give up any of your sleep time. *** The morning after your lessons with Elder Herejo you meet up with all of your friends in the same Tin cultivation cave as always. The deal Carmenia the Smith worked out with your mama and papa was that she’d compensate them for half a year’s worth of access to the cave and you’d provide the other half for as long as you were teaching her daughter, Silvia. You invited all your friends back, even Goya who is pretty upset about you and Chuuno “stealing” her apprenticeship to a Smith, and Adolfo who you’re half convinced is deliberately trying to disrupt your lessons because he’s a Hunter and you think Aracato’s family has turned most of them against you. The only real change from the previous four seasons is that your and Felero’s advancement to Lead convinced Amiya’s sifu to allow her to come to your lessons. Amiya has been your friend since you joined the clan on your fourth winter. She helped you learn how to wrestle and is apprenticed as a guard. She is not as talented at cultivating as you, Felero, or her older sister. Even though she is two years older than you, she is still Tin tier, but she is a much, much better fighter than you having devoted most of her life to learning how to protect the clan. The first morning, Felero your best friend and fellow cultivation study group teacher, has an argument with his mama, Suena, so loud that you didn’t need your excellent hearing to catch every word. Suena the Dreamkeeper, has been escorting her son, Felero everywhere since they realized he might be attacked in the hallways the same way you were. While he is greeting you and the others, she sits down against the wall and closes her eyes, apparently planning on meditating through the whole study session. When Felero turns around and finds her there he walks over to her and touches her shoulder. You’re not sure what happened next because you were talking with some of your other friends but you can’t miss it when he starts shouting. “It’s safe! They wouldn’t dare attack with so many of us! It’s embarrassing enough having to go everywhere with you, without you wasting your time here just to protect me! Go AWAY!” Suena smoothly stands up and cooly says. “Perhaps some time on your own would be good for you. Stay here until I return.” She strides swiftly out of the cave. Felero is red-faced from shouting and looks embarrassed when he notices everyone staring at him. The first day goes fine, other than that, and Suena picks her son up without further shouting. The second and third day you meet your friends to pass on the cultivation techniques Elder Minaro taught you, you see Bato and his two older cronies hanging out in the hallways. They glare at you, but they don’t do anything else. Your heart pounds rapidly with fear as you walk past, but you think you manage to keep your feelings off your face and do your best to ignore them. No one has bothered you in the tunnels since Carmenia the Smith had you start fighting spars, and even Bato is apparently unwilling to cross her. On the fourth day, you see Bato and his cronies in the tunnels again. During the study group, Bato and his older cousin Cordero peer into your Tin cultivation cave. You glare at them and stop talking until they leave, which they do soon enough. When they do, you let out a sigh of relief. Cordero is a Lead Hunter’s apprentice, and one of the first to attack you in the tunnels after you achieved Lead. You haven’t seen him since and are not eager for a rematch. On the fifth day, you don’t see any sign of Bato or Cordero and are relieved. Hopefully, they’ve given up. Your hopes are dashed only a few moments after Suena leaves. Cordero and one male and one female Lead teenager you recognize as the crueler ones from your brutal sparring matches saunter into your Tin cultivation cave. Flanking them are Bato, Bato’s two older cronies, and three other kids all your and Bato’s age or older of mixed genders. All the Ore tier kids are taking lessons from you, so you know those with Bato to be at least Tin tier. Bato is glaring at you with hate burning in his eyes, most of the other teenagers and kids have ugly smirks on their faces as they crack their knuckles intimidatingly. The Lead kids are all carrying weapons, as are Bato and his two cronies, but all are sheathed. For now. Your friends crowd around you as Cordero’s gang saunters into the cave and spreads out across their half of the cave. Your group is packed in a tight cluster on your side with a narrow strip of open floor between them. Bato starts to speak, but his cousin, Cordero, casually backhands him in the chest, knocking Bato a step back and interrupting him. Cordero’s smile is slimy as he says. “What do we have here? A bunch of wimps and babies pretending they’re worth anything. Stay out of our way wimps and you won’t get hurt. We’re here for him.” Cordero points at Felero. “Your mother isn’t here to protect you now, mud. Step up and fight me one-on-one like a Silver Bear should and I won’t break too many of your pathetic friend’s bones.” Mud is a serious insult in the Silver Bear clan. Your clan compares their strength to the hardness of metals and even ranks their youngest by the same measure. Calling someone mud is to accuse them of having no metal at all, weaker and more cowardly than even the young cubs who are considered unrefined ore, with their latent strength just needing training to be brought out. Felero looks at you and you shake your head no. The last time you fought Cordero, Wotjeo hurt him, but he still managed to crush both of you. Felero doesn’t stand a chance. You step in front of him, shielding him behind your body. “I won’t let you hurt him, and Carmenia will crush you if you hurt me outside the sparring ring.” Cordero makes a cruel sound that might be mistaken for laughter. “Yes. If I attacked you alone, but if you interfere in my fight with your friend there she won’t protect you.” A cold shiver of fear runs through you. Given what you know of Carmenia, he’s right. All the adults in your clan approve or at least don’t interfere in fights between equals. In theory, Felero is Cordero’s equal since they’re the same tier. In reality, it’d be a brutal beatdown, but as long as Felero isn’t crippled, Cordero isn’t likely to get in trouble. You look around at your friends. There are nineteen of you here now, facing only nine, including Cordero. You outnumber them two to one, and if it was just a matter of numbers, you could be sure of winning a brawl. Sadly, you’ve seen too many fights to believe numbers are the only thing that matters. Cordero’s group has three Lead tiers, and you only two; you and Felero, and neither of you are a match for Cordero or the two lead tiers with him. Thankfully, Amiya is here. She is wearing her armor and carrying her shield. You’d bet on her against any of the six Tin tiers with Cordero, but she’s your strongest fighter and you aren’t sure she would be a match for any of the Leads. Three of your other friends are Tin Tier, but only one of them could hope to go toe to toe with any of Cordero’s Tins. Mateo is training to be a trader, but his sifu had him do one trial apprenticeship with the Hunters and he has a javelin with him today. The other two Tins on your side are Yolanda and Javiero. Both are from farming families and neither has shown any notable skill as a warrior or carries a weapon. The rest of your friends are Ore tier. The oldest is Arturo. He is less clumsy since talking with your mama, but still no match for any of those with Cordero today. You have a bit of good fortune in the next three. Domingo, Camina, and Chuno are all skilled warriors who you would happily bet on against an Ore their age, but they will be fighting Tin tiers. Older, stronger, more experienced. Fully half of your friends have survived six or fewer winters. Many of them are talented, in some way, but they are very young and have had little time to advance along their paths. Another bit of good luck you have is that most of your friends have spirit companions that are large and strong for their age. You have a lot of experience with one on one fights at this point, but not much with group brawls. You cannot accurately guess your odds of winning a fight. You suspect it’s going to be a giant mess at best. You gulp but look Cordero square in the eyes. “I’m not going to let you beat up by friends.” Cordero grin is an ugly, twisted thing. “I was hoping you’d say that. Get them!” Cordero and his gang rush forward. He winds up and unleashes a wild haymaker swing at your head. The much larger teenager blinks in surprise as you duck under his swing. You always lose your all too frequent spars, but they have sharpened your reflexes. You spring towards him, ramming your shoulder into Cordero’s gut and tackle the much bigger boy to the ground. His screams of anger and pain mixes with Wotjeo’s furious roars as Wotjeo trades claw slashes with Checha, Cordero’s silver bear sister. This is exactly the kind of fight Mina trained you for, and you manage to keep Cordero’s back on the ground even while he pummels you with his fists. Milagra's barefoot smashes into the side of his head, but she's only survived six winters. Cordero is an experienced Lead-tier Hunter. He is big, tough, and his body has been strengthened by eating the flesh of spirit animals for more winter's than you and Milagra have seen combined. He continues to struggle fiercely, landing painful blows on both of you despite being flat on his back. Milagra has to smash him in the head with her bare foot four more times to bring his struggles to an end. Your sides ache and you’ll have bruises tomorrow, but you’ve had worse many times before. You scramble back to your feet and move to help your bear brother. Wotjeo is huge for his age, but he’s still smaller then Checha and was getting the worst of the exchange before you, Milagra, and her spirit brother pitched in. You look up and from putting Checha down to see the fight has devolved into a huge brawl. No one has drawn their weapons yet, although the male Lead teenager who came in with Cordero has bloody knuckles because Amiya has been blocking his punches with her shield. You know from being on the receiving end of a number of tunnel beatings that they likely won't unless you do so first. You have your dragon's teeth with you today. There are solid copper spikes well suited to throwing but can be used to stab with. In many stories, wounds get healed instantly either off-camera or through magic. This is not the case in this story. If you escalate to drawing a weapon, people are going to get seriously hurt and there is no magic that will heal them perfectly afterward. On the other hand, about half your training and all your techniques are centered around your dragon's teeth. You do not yet know the Spirit's Strength technique. 1) Do you escalate the fight by using your Dragon's teeth? A. No B. No, unless someone on Cordero's side does first. you know they probably won't C. Yes write in On your left, Amiya is holding her own against her Lead tier opponent thanks to her training and armor, but her silver bear brother, Beayro, looks to be losing. Blood is trickling down his flanks from several nasty claw marks. To your right, young Zoa and her spirit companion have been knocked unconscious. It looks like they tried to help Felero against the other Lead tier, but even together they were no match for their opponent. Felero’s nose is bleeding and may be broken. He’s staggering back, trying to block the teenage female’s attacks but will clearly lose soon. 2) You... G. draw my Dragon's teeth and stay in back until I've thrown them all. Only pick this if you voted to escalate to using weapons. H. Fighting Lead tiers is for idiots, I go find a fight I can actually win. I. I go help Amiya with Milagra J. I go help Amiya and send Milagra to help Felero K. I go help Felero with Milagra L. I go help Felero and send Milagra to help Amiya M. I go help Felero and don't give Milagra instructions N. I really don't like fighting. I try to avoid fighting, and instead pull my injured friends out of the fighting and patch them up. They won't be able to fight again, but this will likely allow them to heal faster after the fight. O. I really don't like using my Dream Mirror Technique, and these are terrible conditions to do so in, but I try it anyway. optionally, write in how write in LLSix fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Sep 22, 2019 |
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Sep 21, 2019 21:10
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HiHo ChiRho posted:This, basically. I got two young kids and I usually check SA from my phone, so I'm not going to be doing rank my friends to a granular detail when it comes up, just broad strokes voting. Several other people have expressed similar sentiments. I will try to provide easier to digest options in the future. At the same time, who you are friends with is a very personal decision and I didn't want to try to make that decision for you. malbogio posted:Do we have any students we feel could actually teach at a similar level? No. When Silvia tried to share what Elder Minaro taught her, you and Felereo were the only ones who picked up on it. Maybe Zoa but she's hard to read. Cacho made some progress with her help, but not as much as when you and Felero were teaching. Conventional wisdom is that higher tiers are better at everything about their Path, including teaching. Elders are the best. Your personal experience largely supports this. In a year, you passed on less knowledge than Elder Minaro taught you in a season. LLSix fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Sep 21, 2019 |
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Sep 21, 2019 21:15
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A, L This brawl is intense, but I think no weapons are better to protect our students. Try to help Felero.
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Sep 21, 2019 21:28
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BL
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Sep 21, 2019 21:39
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AL, why not
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Sep 21, 2019 21:42
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BJ
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Sep 21, 2019 21:55
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BL Best not to escalate and it's not like we're good with our weapons anyway. This room is just filled with bears, we have more bears than them, and in a unarmed brawl that's probably the deciding factor.
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Sep 21, 2019 22:37
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Mr. Prokosch posted:BL This clan has the right to bear arms, but apparently not the right to armed bears.
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Sep 21, 2019 23:00
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BI we need to get our strongest fighter to help us against the lead ASAP. Triple team her opponent. Felero sounds like he won't mind a few scars, he feels like a coward because of his mom and others always protecting him
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Sep 21, 2019 23:05
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B,L A big, messy, group brawl probably isn't the best place for our very precise weapons anyway.
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Sep 21, 2019 23:19
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Slaan posted:BI we need to get our strongest fighter to help us against the lead ASAP. Triple team her opponent. Felero sounds like he won't mind a few scars, he feels like a coward because of his mom and others always protecting him Yep. Assuming Felero can hold out for a little longer, freeing up our best fighter gives us the best chance against his opponent, and we need to do that fast.
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Sep 21, 2019 23:23
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B and I.
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Sep 22, 2019 01:12
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A I
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Sep 22, 2019 01:32
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