NIETZSCHE; DEAD PHILOSOPHERS' INBOX

[explosivecombat]

[TEXT; LOCKED TO doitrockapella]

The offer for conversation is always open, should you desire to take me up on it; I can't guarantee that I'll respond immediately, nor will it necessarily be the response you want, but I'll always respond in some way.

In the name of enlightened discourse.

Comments

[doitrockapella]

Does it bother you to be compared to him?

[explosivecombat]

No.

Should it?

[doitrockapella]

Only if the comparison ends up unfavorably toward you.

[explosivecombat]

And what do you think the odds are of that happening?

[doitrockapella]

Slim — but you know I don't like to rule out possibilities, fullstop.

[explosivecombat]

Fair enough, I suppose.

I do have another question, however, when it comes to this business of taking what others have - do you keep whatever it is you take?

[doitrockapella]

Not permanently.

Sometimes I send it back with a calling card.

[explosivecombat]

So it's for the same reason you gave with regards to alchemic discovery, then - you want to challenge yourself in doing it, and you want people to know that you did it. Is that it?

[doitrockapella]

Now you're making me sound predictable. Be careful or I might get offended.

[explosivecombat]

I've found that nine times out of ten, all humans are predictable. Myself included. Again, there's no shame in it - things are what they are.

[doitrockapella]

In that case, speaking of alchemic discovery, when do I get my marks for my homework? I've been doodling circles for the better part of two weeks now.

[explosivecombat]

[...uh.]

Circles to do what?

[doitrockapella]

They're not to do anything. Other than to kill some time, that is. I don't know enough yet to make one with intent behind it, and I've more than had enough of the trial and error method already.

[explosivecombat]

I don't understand - how are you drawing circles with no intent behind them?

[doitrockapella]

Traditionally, I start by placing my pen on the piece of paper and then inscribing a line that continues through three hundred and sixty degrees, returning perfectly back to its point of origin.

[explosivecombat]

There's no need for that. Has it just been literal circles, or have you been attempting to actually design things?

[doitrockapella]

They're circles with patterns inside. No particular design, no particular intent, other than that they looked interesting. They're pretty and aesthetically pleasing and I suspect they'd accomplish absolutely nothing, not least of which because I had nothing in mind for them to accomplish.

They're whims. Dreams. You might've noticed by now that's something I do a fair amount of.

[explosivecombat]

Well, putting my usual stance on such things aside for a moment, this is one of the few cases where I'll actually encourage such things. Go ahead and dream if you like; see if there's anything you like, any themes you keep coming back to.

Personal understanding and creativity are just as important as logic and procedure when it comes to drafting arrays; the latter can sometimes be bent to suit the former, if you know what you're doing. If you're finding designs you like, keep playing with them.

[doitrockapella]

[...things she was not expecting to hear out of Nietzsche, news at eleven.]

Really?

[explosivecombat]

Yes, of course. Why?

[doitrockapella]

I'm pleasantly surprised. I was under the impression I'd be chastised for sinking Atlantis again.

[explosivecombat]

For reference, the reason that particular array you showed me would have sunk Atlantis was largely to do with the fact that what you designed likely would have caused a massive energy instability. You then were forcing said massive instability through a symbol dedicated to increasing the elemental power of your transmutation. Four times.

Honestly, I couldn't see what that would possibly be good for other than simply causing the powers that be to give up and give you a volcano, at the cost of yourself and everyone in a thirty-mile radius.

[doitrockapella]

...which is why the intent matters. Because first I need to decide what I want the energy to do, and then I have to make the circle to control the energy, rather than to invoke it. That's what I was doing wrong before — or at least part of it. The circle is like a container, with the lines directing what's put into it. It's not about summoning something, it's about holding it. Is that it?

[explosivecombat]

Good! That's very good - keep that up and I may have to be proud of you.

But yes, that's exactly it; as I said at the beginning, you can't create from nothing. All the energy you'll ever need for a transmutation already exists; it's simply a matter of harnessing it and directing it. Some disciplines simply do that in different ways than others.

[doitrockapella]

Or in your case, controlling the built-in, orchestrated instability to destroy what you want it to.

That's how yours works, isn't it?