Book 2 - Text Updates 053

[drachefly]

Friends was/is not a historical television show. It's a sitcom. Anyway, Rachel is the short-haired one, and Phoebe is the one that looks like she has taken better care for her hair.

I's historical in the same sense that I Love Lucy is a historical television show: it is no longer in production. To be sure, I Love Lucy is more historical than Friends.

[udat]

Friends was/is not a historical television show. It's a sitcom. Anyway, Rachel is the short-haired one, and Phoebe is the one that looks like she has taken better care for her hair.

I think he meant "historical" as in "old" rather than "about history".

Also, I think Monica is in the middle, not Rachel.

[udat]

And apparently I'm slow.

[M.A.D]

Call me a grammar Nazi, but that's not how the word "historical" should be used. But I think udat is right about Monica. I've gotten too used to the short-haired Jennifer

[Housellama]

What the heck is "Ke$ha"?

Edit: I though Ke$ha was l33t talk for Keisha, but there really is a singer by that name (?).

Unfortunately, yes. There really IS a singer name Ke$ha. She was even featured on Glee. That is, her songs were featured on Glee. Ke$ha was referenced on the show as being "a cultural icon for weeks". High praise in this day and age.

[Dr Pepper]

What the heck is "Ke$ha"?

Edit: I though Ke$ha was l33t talk for Keisha, but there really is a singer by that name (?).

Unfortunately, yes. There really IS a singer name Ke$ha. She was even featured on Glee. That is, her songs were featured on Glee. Ke$ha was referenced on the show as being "a cultural icon for weeks". High praise in this day and age.

Ok, but why was [-]beron threatening to call (\)beron by that name? Is there something really awful about the singer?

[Kreistor]

There's something fundamentally wrong with anyone that uses a $ in their name.

[fjolnir]

There's something fundamentally wrong with anyone that uses a $ in their name.

Only if their dedication to selling out as soon as they have something to sell is not total.

[Sixty]

I can't help but think of that episode of Sealab where they meet the bizarro versions of themselves. Like Oberon and Bizarro Oberon.

[Digitality]

Stanley surely would have mentioned the casters he took, and that he was now Overlord, if the attack on FAQ had been the special mission.

I don't think it was planned by Stanley. I think Pud has it right here. Wanda was scheming but her plan really was to probably kill Stanley until things went FUBAR.

The fact that Stanley mentions in that text update that he found ridiculous numbers of dragons on his way to FAQ suggests Charlie had something to do with the entire process, providing him the means to overcome the trap laid for him. For whatever reason, Charlie has his/her hand in killing Saline IV as well probably and I think his agenda is far more complicated than implied. Hoarding wealth is good and all, but we don't really know much more about his/her motivations for stockpiling it, or what it's intended for.

It isn't until after that special mission he becomes Overlord, when he returns and retakes Gobwin Knob. I think he's just overlooking the details of the mission that aren't about how awesome he is. lol I know when I tell people stories about things I've done not every specific detail is covered.

[effataigus]

Ok, but why was [-]beron threatening to call (\)beron by that name? Is there something really awful about the singer?

Well, poor dental hygiene for starters... she brushes her teeth with a bottle of Jack.

Aaaaaannndd... that song is stuck in my head now. I have only myself to blame.

[fjolnir]

it's easy, to steal the massive city-state video games thing again; Charlie is going for an Economic Victory, while Stanley's big option is the Military victory.

[coyotenose]

RE: the 4th Arkentool. Eons ago, way back during book 1 there was a lot of speculation about what the 4th Arkentool was. The most popular theories were the Arkenshovel for Sizemore to attune to or the ArkenSaw just for the pun. (Arkensas (pronounced Arken-saw) is a state in the U.S. for those from other countries or folks educated in Arkensas and other southern states)

It's spelled "Arkansas".

Signed,

One of them thar ignert Southerners what wouldn't know a map from their butt if Jeff Gordon had it tattooed on his jumpsuit*.


*I'm aware that you can't tattoo a jumpsuit, thanks.

[Kreistor]

Stanley surely would have mentioned the casters he took, and that he was now Overlord, if the attack on FAQ had been the special mission.

I don't think it was planned by Stanley. I think Pud has it right here. Wanda was scheming but her plan really was to probably kill Stanley until things went FUBAR.

I didn't say anything about Wanda at FAQ in that statement. What's the relevance?

The fact that Stanley mentions in that text update that he found ridiculous numbers of dragons on his way to FAQ suggests Charlie had something to do with the entire process, providing him the means to overcome the trap laid for him. For whatever reason, Charlie has his/her hand in killing Saline IV as well probably and I think his agenda is far more complicated than implied. Hoarding wealth is good and all, but we don't really know much more about his/her motivations for stockpiling it, or what it's intended for.

Charlie? Charlie lacks the assets or need for any such efforts. Saline was clearly belligerent, since he was impressed by Stanley's victories, so there was plenty of work for Charlie without removing Saline from power.

The one group with the power and will for Stanley to defeat FAQ is the Magic Kingdom Conspiracy that made the scroll. They needed regime change to:
1) Put someone in power over GK that could be manipulated into seeking the Arkentools
2) Put Wanda in that Side to collect hers
3) Cause GK to start losing in order to force the Ruler into seeking out a genius Warlord from outside Erfworld

The conspiracy has access to the casters necessary (since it can access all casters). In this case, all it would take is Luckamancy scrolls to alter the chances of feral dwagons popping in those hexes, which could have been used by Marie herself. Wanda could do it, too, but her stated motives should prevent her from giving Stanley the power to beat FAQ. It would take more than moving dwagons into his path, since we know that the Archons are only finding 2-3 dwagons per Turn. Stanley needs those dwagons to have not taken Turn yet, in order for them to have Movement on his Turn.

Charlie gained nothing by Stanley beating FAQ, since FAQ was not employing him before or after their destruction. Further, I'm not sure how you think he could have achieved this. MK casters don't seem to leave the MK unless they are joining a Side (like Vanessa joined FAQ), so Chalie can't just throw money at MK casters and say, "Make dwagons be in these hexes." He has no casters to use scrolls, and the Archons lack the necessary disciplines (and have not yet used scrolls) to affect such a massive dwagon encounter. Charlie would have to know Stanley was moving the Turn before Stanley departed.

It isn't until after that special mission he becomes Overlord, when he returns and retakes Gobwin Knob. I think he's just overlooking the details of the mission that aren't about how awesome he is. lol I know when I tell people stories about things I've done not every specific detail is covered.

No, that's not exactly true. Since only the City of GK fell when Saline died, not the others of the Side, Stanley immediately became Overlord of the remaining Cities, with a different Capital.

[Oberon-avatar-theif]

it's easy, to steal the massive city-state video games thing again; Charlie is going for an Economic Victory, while Stanley's big option is the Military victory.

It's funny that Charlie's economic strategy promotes war, while Parson's military strategy can bring about peace.

[MarbitChow]

Charlie gained nothing by Stanley beating FAQ, since FAQ was not employing him before or after their destruction. Further, I'm not sure how you think he could have achieved this. MK casters don't seem to leave the MK unless they are joining a Side (like Vanessa joined FAQ), so Chalie can't just throw money at MK casters and say, "Make dwagons be in these hexes." He has no casters to use scrolls, and the Archons lack the necessary disciplines (and have not yet used scrolls) to affect such a massive dwagon encounter. Charlie would have to know Stanley was moving the Turn before Stanley departed.

Charlie has been shown to have some influence on neutral units, including where (or whether?) they spawn. Charlie has also been shown to be able to have remarkable intelligence - we know that he can access any information communicated through Thinkamancy. Odds are good that major initiatives are coordinated through Thinkagrams, so Charlie would be aware of them.

We know that Charlie is responsible for certain events:
He directly assisted Jillian in getting the Giants to turn against their current allies.
The bracer indicates that he's probably behind GK's inability to locate any gobwins in the wild.

We know that similar events have occurred in the past:
Saline was defeated by an internal revolt, much like the Giants revolting in Jillian's encounter.
Stanley's FAQ victory was a direct result of an unusual concentration of popped dwagons that he could tame, directly in his path.

None of this is proof, obviously. But the hints appear to point to Charlie, whereas there has been no foreshadowing of the MK Caster Conspiracy having that level of power, or being that manipulative, whereas Charlie has been shown to be a behind-the-scenes manipulator quite regularly.

[Kreistor]

Charlie has been shown to have some influence on neutral units, including where (or whether?) they spawn.

Citation, please. If you're thinking of the 70% chance he is behind the missing Gobwins, that isn't a matter of units popping, it's a matter of hiring the ones that exist. We know fromt eh uncroaked Archons that prior to tBfGK, Charlie had no Natural Allies in his employ, so he is capable of hiring any of them. I have pointed out elsewhere

Charlie has also been shown to be able to have remarkable intelligence - we know that he can access any information communicated through Thinkamancy. Odds are good that major initiatives are coordinated through Thinkagrams, so Charlie would be aware of them.

I never said anything about him being unaware. Wanda would have used Thinkamancy to contact the Chief Warlord Stanley. What I can't fathom is why he would care.

We know that Charlie is responsible for certain events:

All listed events are post-tBfGK, when the Royal Sides were no longer hiring Stanley. Doing something against GK at this time makes him a viable business partner again. I am asking for a reason why Charlie would care, when Stanley was just another Chief Warlord of just another Side.

We know that similar events have occurred in the past:
Saline was defeated by an internal revolt, much like the Giants revolting in Jillian's encounter.
Stanley's FAQ victory was a direct result of an unusual concentration of popped dwagons that he could tame, directly in his path.

Noth of which are consistent with the Conspiracy's goals, not Charlie's.

None of this is proof, obviously. But the hints appear to point to Charlie, whereas there has been no foreshadowing of the MK Caster Conspiracy having that level of power, or being that manipulative, whereas Charlie has been shown to be a behind-the-scenes manipulator quite regularly.

Again, this is not evidence of Charlie's involvement, only someone's involvement. Charlie has no known motive for these events nor the power, but others do -- Marie, the Conspiracy, and the Titans.

Police look to means, motive, and opportunity.

Marie has means -- scrolls from the MK. She has Motive -- her predictamancy concerning Peace on Erf. She has opportunity -- she is located not far from the hexes with the dwagons, plus Predictamancy can tell her when Stanley will come, letting her easily set up the effect without direct knowledge of Wanda's communication to Stanley.

The Titans are a big question mark. They may not have means (I suspect they locked themselves out from direct intervention in the game). They have motive (to end the game so they can rewrite the rules and start a new game) and opportunity (they're demi-gods... what would be beyond their capacity). More on this will appear in a thread i hope to finalize tonight.

The Conspiracy has means. Thinkamancy can Link to provide the power for a spell that could cause this effect. Marie has given them motive -- to prepare the way for Parson. Opportunity is the question -- whether they can actually affect such influence from the MK itself, or if they can get Free casters to the FAQ mountains.

Charlie lacks the means -- he would need to obtain casters from the MK. He does not have motive -- at the time, only money is his motivation, and there is no indication that his revenue stream would be improved by such interference in FAQ's welfare. And opportunity is a problem. Transporting casters across an unknown number of hexes in an undignified net is not an attractive option. Charlie's Turn order forces him to predict Stanley's choice of when to attack, since if he's involved in combat across the continent, he goes early. Stanley will likely be out of combat (since he wouldn't run off on such an adventure while in the midst of another War), so for the Luckamancy or whatever modified the popping rate has to be in place on the evening before Stanley leaves. Charlie can overcome the Opportunty problem, but you must give him Motive enough to Hire massively from the MK for this effort. That means, "Show me the profit."

So, even on a cursory basis, the only thing people seem to have for Charlie's involvement in this event is some kind of conviction that Charlie is the master of everything. Even if he is... show me why he cares. Marie has all three -- motive, means, and opportunity -- and makes the most likely candidate for this.

[Goshen]

One of them thar ignert Southerners what wouldn't know a map from their butt if Jeff Gordon had it tattooed on his jumpsuit*.

If it was tattooed to HIS butt, I'd enjoy it.

-- A perverted Southerner

[Sixty]

While playing Disgaea 3 I discovered the true Oberon hiding in the Item World. (Not one of my units, just a random Warlord named Oberon, thought it was timely)

Spoiler: show

[Oberon]

I googled it and there are apparently two porn stars by that name (keisha). Shame on you «Oberon the elder.»

Edit: I though Ke$ha was l33t talk for Keisha, but there really is a singer by that name (?).

Yeah, shame right back on you for assuming that my rather specific citation of Ke$ha had anything to do with the two porn stars that you "googled" (better get to a doctor, you may have caught something!).

Ok, but why was [-]beron threatening to call (\)beron by that name? Is there something really awful about the singer?

It's just another example of a lame use of 31337 speak/spelling that needs to die in a fire.

Well, poor dental hygiene for starters... she brushes her teeth with a bottle of Jack.

Aaaaaannndd... that song is stuck in my head now. I have only myself to blame.

See?!? You, too, have caught an ear bug (virus, STD) from Ke$ha.