Nah, nah, if we’re going to say that, we need to do it the only way possible.
You! Who climbs the precipice leading to the world of the! WARRIOR! You do not know the path you shall embark upon! But for those who choose to be a WARRIOR! There will be treasures galore, even with your INEVITABLE fall unto the land of the mortals.
Do you choose to follow the path of the ULTIMATE WARRIOR! And give up the loathsome path of magery that people like HOAK HOGAN! follow? Or do you re-neg on on the promises you have made?
Every game should be narrated by the Ultimate Warrior.
Absolutely “names have power”. That’s why you don’t use your “true name” out where the whole world can hear it. If people know your true name, they can control you.
My legal name is not Jade Griffin but as many people know me as that, and that likeness, as do my real name. They are both me. However, yes, to support your statement, it is very clearly true in almost every children’s folktale, that if you have a character’s name, you have power over them.
Which is interesting…
Dave> Paul… Why “Paul”? It reminds me of the scene from “Harvey” where the doc is in the back alley with Mr. Dowd trying to discern how he came up with the name “Harvey”. Have you seen the movie and know the scene of which I speak? Heh.
Well to be wholly honest I have never read the books. I saw bits of an Earthsea made for tv miniseries awhile back (which may not be book-accurate, I don’t know) and I recall two things from it: the protagonists entering a guild hall where entry required speaking your True Name (which seemed like a vastly stupid idea to do, to me), and the same protagonists using the True Name of a dragon to compel it to answer a question, and when they asked the wrong question the dragon mocked them and flew away laughing.
I’ve never read, or ever heard of before, Earthsea.
People that know your true name can control you is something that goes back to prehistory. All primitive peoples believe it. We “civilized” people don’t put much stock in it, but be truthful. How many of you prefer that strangers call you “Mr. Jones”, instead of “Bob”? That’s the instinctive reasoning behind salesmen wanting to call you by your first name – “I tell you Bobby, can’t you just see yourself behind the wheel, Bobby, of this brand new 2014 Covette? The ladies will flip over it Bobby. You’ll be beatin’ ’em off with a stick”. When he’s using your “true name” – the name that your family knows you by, he has power over you.
Ah. I read “control over you” more literally; direct control, subjugation, subversion of will.
The car salesman in the example is not necessarily extracting power over his customer; he’s using the psychology of familiarity to create a false sense of camaraderie and kinship.
There is, though a certain predatorial power in taking advantage of people who don’t mentally prepare themselves for the kind of manipulation a “hard sell” will utilize, though.
Sorry, Dave. It’s just an odd thing my brain likes to do and the whole “Smooth winds and fair travels” bit sounds like something an incredibly wise hippie would say.
I hope I didn’t mess up whatever Paul sounded like to you. 🙂
He sounds like a British spy to me LOL: kind of sly but upper crust British accent. Not like James Bond but like some of the lesser known, perhaps even evil guys out there. You know who I’m talking about:)
It’s the same question everyone who enters a new culture faces: focus on integration, or on maintaining your cultural identity? You don’t have to entirely give up either, but you cannot fully have both.
Hmm… Paul is starting to sound more like a great all-powerful Ancient Spirit now. Is this Selkie’s subconscious adding new details to her make-believe dream-friend after hearing the story… Or was Paul always something far more than an imaginary dream-being, and has been reaching out to Selkie for some time.
This is very Gunnerkrigg Court, but very interesting as well.
Keep it up 😀
“You have chosen the power of the Warrior, you given up the power of the Mage.
Is this your choice?”
Sorry if I’m misquoting, it’s been awhile since I played. But that’s what it brought to mind.
Nah, nah, if we’re going to say that, we need to do it the only way possible.
You! Who climbs the precipice leading to the world of the! WARRIOR! You do not know the path you shall embark upon! But for those who choose to be a WARRIOR! There will be treasures galore, even with your INEVITABLE fall unto the land of the mortals.
Do you choose to follow the path of the ULTIMATE WARRIOR! And give up the loathsome path of magery that people like HOAK HOGAN! follow? Or do you re-neg on on the promises you have made?
Every game should be narrated by the Ultimate Warrior.
Hahaha:) I felt the same way! Go, Coyote/Eel spirit combo!
Absolutely “names have power”. That’s why you don’t use your “true name” out where the whole world can hear it. If people know your true name, they can control you.
My legal name is not Jade Griffin but as many people know me as that, and that likeness, as do my real name. They are both me. However, yes, to support your statement, it is very clearly true in almost every children’s folktale, that if you have a character’s name, you have power over them.
Which is interesting…
Dave> Paul… Why “Paul”? It reminds me of the scene from “Harvey” where the doc is in the back alley with Mr. Dowd trying to discern how he came up with the name “Harvey”. Have you seen the movie and know the scene of which I speak? Heh.
I’ve seen Harvey only once, as a high school stage production. Don’t recall the scene.
“Paul” is just because giving a mundane name to a fantastic creature amuses me. 😀
I think it was the Earthsea novels, where knowing someone’s true name could let you compel them to answer a single question honestly, yes?
In the Earthsea novels if a wizard new your name he could control you utterly. Using your true name he could compel you to do whatever he desired.
Sounds like you mixed up Dr. Who and Earthsea 🙂
Well to be wholly honest I have never read the books. I saw bits of an Earthsea made for tv miniseries awhile back (which may not be book-accurate, I don’t know) and I recall two things from it: the protagonists entering a guild hall where entry required speaking your True Name (which seemed like a vastly stupid idea to do, to me), and the same protagonists using the True Name of a dragon to compel it to answer a question, and when they asked the wrong question the dragon mocked them and flew away laughing.
I’ve never read, or ever heard of before, Earthsea.
People that know your true name can control you is something that goes back to prehistory. All primitive peoples believe it. We “civilized” people don’t put much stock in it, but be truthful. How many of you prefer that strangers call you “Mr. Jones”, instead of “Bob”? That’s the instinctive reasoning behind salesmen wanting to call you by your first name – “I tell you Bobby, can’t you just see yourself behind the wheel, Bobby, of this brand new 2014 Covette? The ladies will flip over it Bobby. You’ll be beatin’ ’em off with a stick”. When he’s using your “true name” – the name that your family knows you by, he has power over you.
Ah. I read “control over you” more literally; direct control, subjugation, subversion of will.
The car salesman in the example is not necessarily extracting power over his customer; he’s using the psychology of familiarity to create a false sense of camaraderie and kinship.
There is, though a certain predatorial power in taking advantage of people who don’t mentally prepare themselves for the kind of manipulation a “hard sell” will utilize, though.
Rumplestiltskin. ‘Nuff said.
Sorry, Dave. It’s just an odd thing my brain likes to do and the whole “Smooth winds and fair travels” bit sounds like something an incredibly wise hippie would say.
I hope I didn’t mess up whatever Paul sounded like to you. 🙂
If Dave can’t unhear Paul The Magic Dragon’s new voice, then I think you’ve just contributed to character development.
Am I right, O writer of the Selkieness?
If it makes you feel any better, he sounded like a hippie in my head, too.
Hm. I’m a hippy, but I heard him as a butler with a Chinese accent.
To be fair, Paul doesn’t sound 100% like a hippie to me…I just went with that because I couldn’t think of a better word.
He sounds like a British spy to me LOL: kind of sly but upper crust British accent. Not like James Bond but like some of the lesser known, perhaps even evil guys out there. You know who I’m talking about:)
To be fair I kept thinking of the Luck Dragon from Never Ending Story. The original first movie. O_O;
Falcor? Yeah…I can a little of him in Paul too.
Yup. Falcor, the name escaped me when I made the post. He seemed like a wise type of character for Fantasia. And This guy kinda reminds me of that.
I see that “RRRrrrrr” at the bottom: The Truck nightmare resurfacing?
Didn’t pick that. I think you’re right.
no
no
no
In my head Paul has a slow James Earl Jones voice (less Darth Vader, more Serak the Preparer.) It adds a wise, ponderous-ness to it.
It’s the same question everyone who enters a new culture faces: focus on integration, or on maintaining your cultural identity? You don’t have to entirely give up either, but you cannot fully have both.
English is not my first language so I might be pronouncing them wrong, are Selkie and Nei li supposed to sound the same?
No, I don’t think they are. Selkie is saying that it doesn’t really matter to her whether she picks Nei Li or Selkie as a true name.
No, they sound different.
I’m guessing her accent is gone because she’s not speaking English in this?
In other news, I hope you’re reading my comments in a Farnsworth voice because of my Gravatar.
hahahah! Yes!
Hmm… Paul is starting to sound more like a great all-powerful Ancient Spirit now. Is this Selkie’s subconscious adding new details to her make-believe dream-friend after hearing the story… Or was Paul always something far more than an imaginary dream-being, and has been reaching out to Selkie for some time.