Inner Peace (Through Superior Firepower) – Episode 039

[effataigus]

On a related line of speculation...

What might a hippiemancer/thinkamancer/croakamancer be able to do?

Well, a croakamancer is missing the life axis, and a hippiemancer has that. Perhaps a linkup can accomplish true resurrection. Mebbe Jillian really was dead, and these peeps just brought her back. Jillian's Erf-dream could then just be a representation of the afterlife for Erfworlders that have returned to their equivalent of Gaia.

[0beron]

Perhaps a [Florist-Croakamancer] linkup can accomplish true resurrection.

I doubt it, because that would be as powerful if not more so than Decryption. Adding a Florist to the creation of an uncroaked would probably make it last much longer by replacing some of the bodily systems with plant anatomy, but it wouldn't be the same as truly resurrecting a unit.

[effataigus]

Perhaps a [Florist-Croakamancer] linkup can accomplish true resurrection.

I doubt it, because that would be as powerful if not more so than Decryption.

Trimancers have been shown to do things that are much more powerful than bringing a single unit back. Also, Decryption's main strengths are the ability to do it all day without running out of juice, the bonus loyalty spells thrown in for free, and the 0-upkeep.

[splexis]

And good job on not overdoing it...

[goldenboy]

Very nice update, astonishing writing, and yay. We're finally getting down to essentials...

[cheeseaholic]

"Suns rose and set."

Is there one sun per hex? Taking this literally is one way I can think of for how Erfworld can be sentient with time the way that it is. What else is there? The units move at varying speeds and sees its own sun?

[badninja]

Wow, Wanda has really lost her marbles here. The art really shows that her side is killing her in a sense, so if signamancy is in play then why is she so much better then in FAQ, it cannot be just the sex with Jillian?

[Kreistor]

Holy BOOP what is wrong with Wanda?! It's no wonder she presumably turns to FAQ...if that Signamancy is any indication, she is wasting away here. :/ I think she ate her own "poison pill" instead of being one for Haffaton.

There are lots of possibilities for why she has chosen this Signamancy. My two favorites:

1. Quiet protest against Haffaton.
It's one of the ways she fights back against her Masters. If they have a concept of morality, every time they see her they will know she is unhappy.

2. Getting closer to her Craft
She may not yet be a Master, and so may be attempting to better understand Croakamancy. Perhaps she thinks that emulating her Uncroaked will bring her the enlightenment she needs to overcome a block in her understanding.

Both are consistent with later images of a healthy Wanda in FAQ.

[the_tick_rules]

Boy Wanda is a creepy one.

[warriortribble]

The scars on Wanda's body suggests she initially got this way due to extensive sessions of "enhanced Turnamancy." So yea, definitely think she's doing this as a way of reminding herself and her captors what she went through. Another possible bonus is she doesn't have to deal with free lovin units of Haffaton... Especially since there's a good chance they forcefully showed their "love" for her during those enhanced sessions.

[Whispri]

Sudden thought: It's her revenge, on herself, for the destruction of Goodminton. I mean, if she's claiming to have croaked Atomic 'Tommy' Firebaugh...

[elecampane]

So, Jillian was poisoned, fell into the deep sleep and awakened from it in a glass coffin because her future love kissed her. That is a very twisted version of snow white.

[Oberon]

It is tempting to wonder if the garden in this update is in fact a dream as Jillian hopes it is. Which would mean that the person talking to her might not be entirely Wanda. Perhaps it could be Wanda & Olive interacting with the poisoned/sleeping Jillian, through a trimancer link or otherwise.

I could easily be proven wrong by future updates, but for now I don't buy it. Why spend the juice and risk on a trimancer link when Wanda is so effective a torturer all by herself?

Some reasons to think that it isn't really real, from this update alone:
1. This "Wanda" says that she croaked her brother. Wanda did not croak her brother; Olive did.

You're forgetting the power of guilt.

2. The image of uncroaked Bart "resolved itself in Jillian's mind." This wording makes the situation sound unreal.

It was already established that Jillian had a limited field of vision.

3. "Wanda" does not refer to herself by name, and reacts badly when Jillian says it. This could be part of the torture routine, but it raises suspicion.

It's part of the torture routine. How is this suspicious? It's the exact scenario that played out in the GK dungeon, with Jillian starting by calling Wanda by name, and quickly getting slapped into submissive mode and the use only of the title "Mistress."

4. "Wanda's" signamancy. It is a plausible change, given how old Wanda is relative to Jillian, but the transformation BACK to youthful-looking Wanda and the development of a sensual/sexual relationship with Jillian at ANY point is highly IMPLAUSIBLE if any of what's happening is real.

You are again forgetting the power of guilt and signamancy.

It'll be very interesting indeed to see how Jillian turns the tables on Haffaton in the end.

I think you meant to say "It'll be very interesting indeed to see how Wanda turns the tables on Haffaton in the end." After all, it's pretty much a known unknown that Wanda will be responsible for the downfall of Haffaton, just as she was for FAQ. Jillian may be a bit player, but Wanda will be the key to Haffaton's demise.

[splintermute]

So, Jillian was poisoned, fell into the deep sleep and awakened from it in a glass coffin because her future love kissed her. That is a very twisted version of snow white.

Also in (the Disney version of) Snow White the beautiful evil queen took on the form of a hideous old woman to get her to eat the apple. This could just be a Foolamancy or Changemancy experiment on Wanda's part.

[Beeskee]

Damn, Wanda is creepy.

[BCCroaker]

He turned his head and looked at her, the firelight glinting in his eyes. "You are my daughter. While I live, avenge Tommy. Should I fall, avenge me. Avenge Goodminton. I want you to make them pay. If they swallow you, be a poison pill. Let that be my legacy. It is terribly important, I feel."
I guess Wanda is being a poison pill.

[jkosta]

*tinfoil hat time*
Did that update just imply that Erfworld is alive?? And that it was waiting for someone to give it motion? What did Sizemore and Wanda do?

*better get a 2nd tinfoil hat here*
If Erfworld is waking up, and the GK-zombcano is its eyes, then Erfworld has lava lake sclera! You heard it here first!

Actually, "it was a kiss": Gobwin Knob is the Mouth of Erfworld. Yay Toolism!

So, Jillian was poisoned, fell into the deep sleep and awakened from it in a glass coffin because her future love kissed her. That is a very twisted version of snow white.

All the non-Disneyfied Grimm Fairy Tales are pretty twisted. "Fairy" is not a happy word. For instance, if this is a Snow White story, then Olive Branch's end looks like this: "As punishment for her wicked ways, a pair of heated iron shoes are brought forth with tongs and placed before the Queen. She is then forced to step into the iron shoes and to dance until she drops dead."

[name lips]

Of course, nobody in Erfworld would recognize what Wanda has created here... this is a world where corpses vanish on their own, what need do they have for graves, headstones, and tombs? It's not a garden, it's a graveyard... But Jillian doesn't have the words for it.

[Silverhorn]

I don't think signmancy is something you choose, it something that is the result of your choices and attributes.

I think when Wanda came over to Haffaton, it was a rough transition. At first Wanda rebelled, but Olive worked on her. Slowly Olive supressed all that was Wanda's core personality. Under Haffaton she withered as person. Eventually this was reflected in her signmancy. But at the same time we see Olive's work all over Wanda's new personality. Olive dislikes Croakamancy. New Wanda feels guilt over her actions and builds cemetary. Olive was just doing her job when she croaked Tommy. New Wanda takes the blame for killing Tommy because of her resistance.

But I don't think Wanda consciously chose this shape.

[Whispri]

]I think you meant to say "It'll be very interesting indeed to see how Wanda turns the tables on Haffaton in the end." After all, it's pretty much a known unknown that Wanda will be responsible for the downfall of Haffaton, just as she was for FAQ. Jillian may be a bit player, but Wanda will be the key to Haffaton's demise.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's due to Wanda's 'pop debt' as much as anything. But yeah, I can't see Jillian and her complete lack of an army being Haffaton's death at this point. And she does have a habit of flying directly away from the most brutal and decisive battles.

Of course, nobody in Erfworld would recognize what Wanda has created here... this is a world where corpses vanish on their own, what need do they have for graves, headstones, and tombs? It's not a garden, it's a graveyard... But Jillian doesn't have the words for it.

I can't help but wonder if Wanda has a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in there somewhere.

I don't think signmancy is something you choose, it something that is the result of your choices and attributes.

I think when Wanda came over to Haffaton, it was a rough transition. At first Wanda rebelled, but Olive worked on her. Slowly Olive supressed all that was Wanda's core personality. Under Haffaton she withered as person. Eventually this was reflected in her signmancy. But at the same time we see Olive's work all over Wanda's new personality. Olive dislikes Croakamancy. New Wanda feels guilt over her actions and builds cemetary. Olive was just doing her job when she croaked Tommy. New Wanda takes the blame for killing Tommy because of her resistance.

But I don't think Wanda consciously chose this shape.

Wanda has a great deal of magical might and her abilities may extend to Signamancy. If so, she may be able to choose how she looks.

While this may be close to the truth, I doubt very much that it's the Uncroaking that's lead to the monuments. It's the bit before that. The bit where you walk up to a person with likes and dislikes, loves and hates, thoughts and memories, hopes and dreams... and squeeze out the life. Wanda didn't want to conquer the World as I recall. In fact, the thought that she was fighting the future conquerers of Erf gave her some comfort when her beloved Side of Goodminton was facing certain doom. And yet here she is, forced to wage war upon Sides she has no quarrel with.