I assume that the Wanda in the mirror is all,
"I'm spooky and powerful and hot and OBEY ME!". As for the difference between them, other than several levels and a couple ranks of mastery, Lady Firebaugh of Goodminton of the (nearly-lost) Croatan tribe seems quite capable of love, while Lady Firebaugh of Gobwin Knob of the (lost) Croatan tribe has been described as
a loveless woman. So, it is possible the powerful and commanding reflection Wanda sees in the mirror is in fact a diminished version of herself.
Whispri wrote:Sorry to snip, but do we know that? When was the word of Delphie "We'll pop a Warlord, honest guv" Temple declared reliable? There seems to be something going on with all the stuff Wanda keeps finding, but Chiefness?
I made a similar observation a couple of posts earlier, but, given present Wanda's fatalistic view on Fate, it would not be unreasonable to suppose that every Prediction about which she has been informed has come to pass. Indeed, given the fact that present Wanda's current views are almost identical to Delphie's, it is entirely plausible to believe that Delphie, or at least her Predictions, will be vindicated in Wanda's eyes.
multilis wrote:"We don't know how Erfworld calculates the debt, nor how it could be paid." - We have hint that a luckomancer by helping one person takes luck from others on same side, and that Wanda has fate give the luck. So it might be that everyone else around wanda suffers some bad luck as part of that debt.
When Wanda was describing to Parson lot of being an instrument of Fate, she says,
"You will suffer, as you pursue your path. You will grieve. And lose." This seems to be Wanda's experience. The price paid may not be paid by the unit itself. It may be paid by those around it, or it may be paid emotionally. Also, the first page of Book 0 also mentioned that if the exact price is paid, a unit may even come back. This sounds alot like Decryption. It is possible that Wanda has to pay the exact price for every unit she brings back. They may be part of the reason her own cost is so high. Also, Wanda's Luckamancer might also explain some of the weird numbers we've seen, such as all the Dwagons Stanley found on the way to Faq or the lack of Gobwins around Gobwin Knob. Of course, this is all speculation.
ParsonIsOP wrote:The first definition is not problematic because it's just a colloquialism that means you have rights you enjoy. Rights are a social-legal construct and NOT a metaphysical condition.
Without going in-depth, the second definition is obviously nonsensical. You can have all the choice you want in the world. It doesn't mean those choices are immune to causality or that they grant you the kind of power you wish you had over your life. So when I say "illusion," I mean that people maintain the fantasy that they are more powerful than they actually are. People maintain this belief for completely irrational reasons.
The difference between our Cassandra and ordinary people is simply that it's more difficult for her to participate in this sort of self-deception.
I agree with you regarding free will. It is impossible to remove casual effects, so a person really doesn't have any choice. If a person with a certain personality finds themself in a certain situation with certain knowledge, they will act or react a certain way. There is a difference here, though. Erfworld is fiction. Ultimately, Fate and free will operate however the author decides they do. Given the fact they are one of the central themes of the comic, I bet Rob has it figured out. I've seen it work multiple ways in different media. I've seen stories where Fate is unmutable, semi-mutable or easily ignored by the protagonists. Personally, I find the last to almost always be a cop out, like the author painted themself into a corner and wasn't clever enough to figure out a better solution. I have faith in Rob as a writer to avoid this pitfall. On the other hand, I have no more idea how Fate actually works in Erfworld than anyone else here. Hence, speculation.
ParsonIsOP wrote:Two. This isn't a large sample size.
And Doctor House will tell you that people always lie. Corollary: Lying isn't necessarily evil or malicious.
Also, Janis isn't lying about anything important. The audience already knows that Janis thinks that Parson is Erfworld's best chance for peace. It's not such a stretch to see why she might support Parson. And insofar as her opposition goes, it only goes against the Thinkamancers trying to claim custody of Parson. This isn't an argument about whether Parson belongs in MK, but a power play.
Assuming Janis isn't actually Predicting, she could just very well be predicting. Any canny observer could guess at what Janis might do in this situation.
As for manipulation, Marie is making Janis do what Janis wants to do? Ummm. Whatever. That horse isn't going anywhere.
*sigh* Now I remember why I hardly ever post here.
I wasn't making a point about the nature of Predictamancers, I was making a point about how we, the readers, don't know how Predictamancy works because the Predictamancers are unreliable narrators.
Yes, two is, scientifically speaking, the worst possible sample, because, in case of divergence, there is no way to know which is right. Still, we know that the
Predictamancers, as a grou,p have manipulated the Thinkamancers, as a group, since the Thinkamancers only think they know what is going on. We also do not know the Predictamancers' agenda. Just as they've manipulated the Thinkamancers, it is possible they've lied to Janis and the Florists about their aims.
I never claimed lying was malicious. It is always manipulative. Even if it is a child telling their mother that they took the trash out when they really haven't so they don't get yelled at. It is manipulative.
Marie is the Predictamancer. Janis is a Hippiemancer. Janis is a pacifist. Janis doesn't want to attack anyone. Marie is telling Janis that Marie has Predicted that Janis will stack with Parson and attack the Thinkamancers if necessary. Doing so would be very against Janis's nature. Marie telling Janis that, whether it is manipulative.
Also, my point at the time was, once again, we do not know what is an actual Prediction, and what is pure manipulation. We have seen both known Predictamancers end sentences with, "this I Predict." We, the readers, have no way of knowing if these are actual Predictions or merely rhetorical devices used by Predictamancers to get others to do what they think they should. We do not know what it looks like when a Predictamancer casts. It is probably alot more subtle than many casters, but we know there is a spark when a Luckamancer casts, so I think we should see something. What we do know is that Marie did not know that Parson was coming to the Magic Kingdom, although Predictamancers did know something was going to happen there. Unless she is making Predictions as we watch, which I'll admit is possible, there is no way she could have Predicted Janis stacking with Parson, since didn't Predict he would come. That would make her statement to Janis rhetorical.
Of course, what do I know.
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