Well of Souls Forums

Arioch wrote:

boldilocks wrote:

after all, people successful in the spook business would have to be

I think people tend to overestimate how spooks work in real life. They're not really particularly clever, and they don't have to be, because their targets aren't particularly clever either. A good example is Epstein. All you need for a honey-pot operation to work is some honey, and the dumber bears will flock to you.
For spooks, humans want to trust each-other.
And the moment you've become slightly invested in the relationship the spook builds with you, you'll start defending the relationship because if it turns out to be fake, that he was taking you for a ride, that reflects badly on your own ego.

"Spook" is slang for a spy, not a swindler or a serial child molester.

Right, but Epstein targeted the same kind of people that spies target, people well connected in terms of wealth or power, using the same methods (not just limited to child molestation though that's a surefire way to get someone under your thumb). And he was arguably an intelligence asset rather than an operative (his handler most likely being Ghislaine Maxwell.)

How did we get from Outsider to the very cusp of an 'Epstein didn't kill himself' meme?

orion1836 wrote:How did we get from Outsider to the very cusp of an 'Epstein didn't kill himself' meme?

Welcome to the internets!

Moving on from the child sex ringleader,

Could spiral's comment at the end show a hidden depth to the character. Like has been said before, she sees more hyperactive puppy or flyboy jock on par with the Tom Cruise's character at the beginning of Top Gun. However this might mean beneath the thirteen year old boy trapped in a hot girl's body mentality she outwardly shows there might be more beneath the surface?

My headcanon says something like on the lines of Deadpool or Spiderman. WHen they are talking and joking at breakneck speeds they are holding back and hiding their own fears. The moment either one shuts up is the moment to be wetting yourself and running the opposite direction as they are no longer playing around.

Arioch wrote:

Dirty Yasuki wrote:I disagree. Fear is healthy. It teaches caution and respect of the unknown or that which we have no control over. It informs us when we must favor security and survival over taking unnecessary risk and reckless abandon. Foolhardiness also profits a man nothing where wise tact would have served him better. Rather, I would suggest that it is "Irrational fear that profits a man nothing".

I'd argue that there is an element of fear which is inherently irrational. Fear is an emotion.

I think he will show the womenfolk how it's done

CrimsonFALKE wrote:

Arioch wrote:

Dirty Yasuki wrote:I disagree. Fear is healthy. It teaches caution and respect of the unknown or that which we have no control over. It informs us when we must favor security and survival over taking unnecessary risk and reckless abandon. Foolhardiness also profits a man nothing where wise tact would have served him better. Rather, I would suggest that it is "Irrational fear that profits a man nothing".

I'd argue that there is an element of fear which is inherently irrational. Fear is an emotion.

I think he will show the womenfolk how it's done

When you need a feeling felt right, you need a man.

boldilocks wrote: When you need a feeling felt right, you need a man.

Well, I believe the contemporary method is to:

1. Begin to feel afraid
2. Ignore the feeling for as long as possible
3. Notice you’re agitated
4. Misinterpret this as irritation
5. Become angry
6. Take our your feelings on those around you

Those Loroi are in for a treat.

EDIT: also, if he does the “I’m fine” thing while clearly agitated, the combo of a culture of not telling people about how you’re feeling plus a lotai might go down very badly with some loroi.

The hell of it is, that the honest answer (eg “I’m tired and hungry and stressed and I want to go home”) might work well on Beryl, maybe not so well on Tempo, who knows on Firebird and badly back home on Earth when the Admiralty finds out.

I will be interested - should the story take us there - to observe behaviour in the Emperor’s court. Will the notorious loroi honesty hold up, or will it be a den of duplicitous opportunists and backstabbers?

SaintofM wrote:Moving on from the child sex ringleader,

Could spiral's comment at the end show a hidden depth to the character. Like has been said before, she sees more hyperactive puppy or flyboy jock on par with the Tom Cruise's character at the beginning of Top Gun. However this might mean beneath the thirteen year old boy trapped in a hot girl's body mentality she outwardly shows there might be more beneath the surface?

My headcanon says something like on the lines of Deadpool or Spiderman. WHen they are talking and joking at breakneck speeds they are holding back and hiding their own fears. The moment either one shuts up is the moment to be wetting yourself and running the opposite direction as they are no longer playing around.

The Loroi have been born into the warrior caste and brought up inherently accepting that death is often part of their job. To me Spiral seems more like she is repeating a religious phrase, closed eyes and all. Some of that Loroi philosophy mentioned in the Insider, I believe. Just imagine a Spartan or Samurai reciting Spirals proverb. Her sentiment is quite common for a martial society.

Samurai Proverb - "Death is as light as a feather, HONOR.. is heavier than all the mountains of the world."

So sarcasm is par from the course.

When Alexander the Great's father told Spartans that if h attacked them they would not survive, they replied "If" and erte never attacked.

One story had a Spartan draw a life sized fly on his shield. When his fellow SPartans gave him crap for it until he said he just wants to be to be up close to the enemy so they get a good look at it (i.e. bash their face in with the massive shield).

Knights would also do something simalar. Morning Stars were often called "Holy Water Sprinklers."

SaintofM wrote:So sarcasm is par (for) the course.

Cynicism comes easy when you don't expect to live very long. The question is if Spiral believes the saying, or if it's just the nearest thing that sort of applies to the situation.

Cops, soldiers etc live as cynics. I don't see any difference here. Although I would love to get some backstory, to include that of Fireblade.