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Messages - Cozarkian

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1
DF Spoilers / Re: Daemonreach and the WC
« on: December 06, 2021, 07:47:21 PM »
I'm not sure the entire Senior Council knows the truth about Demonreach. Facts about Demonreach include:

1. It has a powerful genus loci and leyline.
2. It is a prison for powerful beings
3. The Warden has the ability to free/control the prisoners.
4. ???

The Senior Council knows #1 and probably #2. They might not realize #3 and if there is a #4, I don't think most of them know. Depending on their state of knowledge, I see the following reasons nobody became the Warden before Harry:

1. None of them live nearby and it isn't very useful unless you tend to be on the island. It might be dangerous to travel too using the Ways and inconvenient to do so in person. The dark ley line is potentially dangerous and associated with Warlocks, so none of the Senior Council would trust another Senior Council member that took control.

2. See #1 - plus there is generally no perceived need for it as the dangerous creatures have been largely imprisoned already.

3. See #1 and 2 - plus no Senior Council member will permit another to have that kind of power.

4. ???

Also, maybe the cost and risk of failing to bind it is simply too high. By the same token, there isn't a strong risk of foolish young wizard taking control because 1) Demonreach discourages vistiors and 2) young foolish wizards might not be able to take it over. Harry is young and foolish, but substantially more powerful than most young and foolish wizards.

2
DF Spoilers / Re: Harry should have trusted Ramirez
« on: December 03, 2021, 04:48:58 PM »
Harry's reaction was perfectly normal, somewhere between WTF is this about?  And pissed that his friend went along with doing this to him..

I agree, Harry's reaction was perfectly normal. But what constitutes "perfectly normal" human behavior is a range and different person's behavior typically fall within different areas of that range.

Some people, who prefer to avoid confrontation, would have told Ramirez they had sex with Murphy. That is perfectly normal human behavior, but it isn't Harry.

Some people, who are good diplomats and good at controlling their emotions, would have made an effort to push back against the bullying while inviting Carlos Ramirez to make a social call later, when he isn't acting as a warden, to discuss any personal concerns he might have about his friend. Again, that is perfectly normal human behavior, but it isn't Harry.

Harry is confrontational, he has trust issues, and issues with bullies. Thus, he pushed back as hard as he could without forcing a violent confrontation. While that is perfectly normal human behavior and the only reasonable expectation of what Harry would do, it probably wasn't the best approach.

Notably, Carlos Ramirez should know Harry well enough to understand that a confrontation like that would only push Harry away. If Carlos had truly been concerned with helping Harry, he would have approached alone. The fact that Carlos brought the team is pretty indicative that he had already decided that Harry was in bed with the White Court.


3
DF Spoilers / Re: Harry should have trusted Ramirez
« on: December 02, 2021, 10:25:22 PM »
I think he could have told Carlos on the stairs in the castle the he worked with Lara because of winter stuff and that he was sorry he could not tell him more about it.

Not a chance. Time was of the essence. Telling Ramirez anything less than the full truth would have resulted in a longer discussion in which Ramirez demanded more information or at least a better explanation as to why he can't tell them. It also would have immediately informed Ramirez that Harry was in fact planning something and the refusal to explain what Harry was planning would have made Ramirez watch him closely and ruined the plan.

Maybe he could also have told him at that point that he has a great girlfriend which he would like to introduce his friend Carlos to at some point, but that it is none of Warden Ramirez business.

That's a decent point. A clever, socially-adept, charismatic person could have pointed out that he would love to share his personal life with his friend Carlos Ramirez, but he wasn't going to be bullied by Warden Ramirez.

Harry's social skills, however, do not include quick-witted tactful diplomacy and charisma. Rather, Harry is hot-headed, stubborn, hostile toward bullying, and relies on quick-witted juvenile comments in diplomatic situations. Harry thinking of saying something like that in those circumstances would not have been a believable story.

4
DF Spoilers / Re: Two thoughts on the timing of Mab's wedding announcement.
« on: December 02, 2021, 03:09:15 AM »
My personal theory is actually that the Whamp females are infertile.  We've never seen any mention of any children of a White Vampire Woman.  Vittorio is described once as Cheserea's son, but in several other places as his aunt. 

That makes some sense, if an unborn wampire feeds on the mother, its quite possible a pregnant wampire would subconsciously feed on a fetus, killing it before the wampire even knows she's pregnant.

5
DF Spoilers / Re: Name the next book! (Unofficial Fan Contest begins!)
« on: December 01, 2021, 11:27:45 PM »
Threw my hat in the unofficial ring for courting disaster, but here's a few more:

Crippling Betrothal
Headstrong Engagement
Necessary Alliances / Unlikely Alliance (hits not just the marriage, but also the war alliance and other possible short-term alliances out of necessity, e.g. with the Merlin)
Starborn Unveiled (In addition to the wedding date, Harry has a 12 month promise on the Starborn secrets)
Ceremony Shattered (again can refer to both the wedding and any other ceremony that forms the plot of the book)

6
DF Spoilers / Long-term Marcone WAG
« on: December 01, 2021, 10:54:01 PM »
I recently read Peace Talks/Battle Ground and it really struck me how interested in and involved Mab appears to be with Marcone.

After just a moment of wondering why an idea struck me - I think Mab sees Marcone as a candidate to be the next protector of the Outer Gates. Not a Fairy Queen or the Gatekeeper, but rather the monarch of the new order that will replace the Faerie Courts after the BAT. Marcone is ruthless but he doesn't take sadistic pleasure in being cruel and it can't be disputed that he uses his power to protect innocents. Mab may very well see Marcone as a mortal embodiment of herself and is guiding him to create his own Mantel and displace the Faeries when their time as the significant power ends.

Tragically, Harry could become the counterbalance to Marcone and be forced to deal with him for the next 666 years. (Although it isn't clear whether the protector always has a counterbalance or whether that is just a feature of the Faerie Courts, and the White God/Lucifer).

edit: In fact, Marcone and Harry already have names picked out for their potential Mantles - Baron of Chicago v. Wizard of Chicago.

7
DF Spoilers / Re: Demonreach question
« on: December 01, 2021, 09:49:30 PM »
It did in Cold Days. Harry wondered if Titania would actually show.

Harry doesn't know Titania's true name = knock on door. He had a book telling him the Erlking's true name = command to appear.

8
DF Spoilers / Re: Harry should have trusted Ramirez
« on: December 01, 2021, 01:04:38 AM »
Harry didn’t want to drag him into his woes like he did Molly, and like he tried to avoid with Butters.

Harry really isn’t very good for other people.

The decision this time wasn't for Ramirez' benefit. Telling Ramirez was a huge personal risk because it would have jeopardized the chance of saving Thomas. Also, failing to save Thomas would have been a failure in his obligations to honor Winter's promise to Lara.

9
DF Spoilers / Re: Thomas hoped Marcone would Kill Lara?
« on: December 01, 2021, 12:59:19 AM »
The only reason that I have some doubts about her being completely possessed until after Cold Days is because HWWB could have gotten what he wanted if he had struck while they were confronting Maeve. From the time Harry's backup team covers themselves in mud, until they were at the finale where Harry summons Mab, Justine was inside Demonreach's defenses and was not watched suspiciously as everyone was concerned with rushing to Harry's aid. No one, with the possible exception of Mouse would have seen it coming.

Yeah, I think there has to be some rationalization between "time of possession" and "ability to assert complete control." Cat Sith was taken over pretty quickly, but perhaps human free will makes the process take longer.

10
DF Spoilers / Re: The Second Coming
« on: June 20, 2019, 02:44:20 AM »
We are likely to see a sphinx even if you are wrong.

11
DF Spoilers / Re: Any news on Peace Talks
« on: May 06, 2019, 06:49:18 PM »
may 19th is the 3 year anniversary of the release of the first chapter.  I wonder if we will get news by then or at least a rerelease of the chapter or even an updated version

We might get more news by then, but I doubt JB or his publisher are paying any attention to an anniversary of a kickstarter reward.

I suspect the next announcement will be that JB submitted the manuscript to the publisher but that the first chapter won't be released to the general public until the announcement of the release date.

12
DF Spoilers / Re: Mab is Nfected question
« on: May 06, 2019, 06:45:58 PM »
Not true. She offered him magical instruction as part of the Winter Knight package in Small Favor.

And Harry rejected that offer. Did he request instruction in his counter-offer in Changes? If not, it isn't part of the deal.

She's going to say: "Just because you dislike me doesn't mean that we don't have common enemies. Just as I was willing to allow the White Council to use my Ways against the Red Court, I am willing to allow you to go about causing general havoc to the Fomor in your own way, because it suits my purpose. Are you really willing to abandon your friends and allies to attack because of your distrust for me? I thought not."

A motivational speech is going to get Harry back into shape quicker? I don't think Harry was being a couch-potato. And if you motivate Harry to push himself too hard, that would delay his recovery.

Recovering, and that's why I said she should work on getting him to recover faster. I don't believe that she had no control over the speed of his recovery, because he was recovered just in time to kill Maeve--the timing's just too precise to be coincidence.

You are right. Uriel put Harry back into his body with just enough time for him to recover to stop Maeve, and Mab pushed Harry to the limits to make sure he recovered in time by trying to kill him daily. A motivational speech was not going make Harry recover weeks sooner.

Maybe, but given that Maeve had a 150-year backlog, I feel like Molly probably had plenty of training opportunities, and saving a bunch of innocent kids is just perfect for getting Harry to work with you. And it only took place a few days after Cold Days, so I'm pretty sure Harry could still leave the island, even if there was some risk.

Mab also wanted Molly to run into Ramirez. That was a double training opportunity.

I am not assuming that Mab wants Harry to like her at all. I am, in fact, assuming that Mab wants to kill herself to prevent Nemesis from taking over, and that having a starborn on hand to help with that would be really useful. What I am claiming is that if Mab did not have reason to kill herself (ie was Nemesis infected) then she is being sloppy (because she is Nemesis infected). It's a Morton's fork argument--whatever path you chose, you end up at the same place.

Oh. It appears we are in agreement that Mab wants Harry to dislike her. I probably should have picked up on that since that is exactly what you said in the last sentence of your prior post. Sorry.


13
DF Spoilers / Re: Molly’s soulgaze in PG
« on: May 06, 2019, 03:42:22 PM »
Nice summary. I do agree with Nadia on #5 and #6, though. In #5 Molly isn't following a path of fear, she is just relying on her intelligence more than her magic. As for #6, Fomor is possible, but I think warlock is a sufficient explanation in and of itself.

Personally, I think Molly is off all of those paths. Harry put her on path #1 when he made her help him suicide, then helped push her back toward #3 or #4 in Ghost Story, but the death of Lily and Maeve knocked her off those paths, and unless she finds a way to give up the Lady Mantle, she can't get back.

14
DF Spoilers / Re: Mab is Nfected question
« on: May 06, 2019, 03:31:05 PM »
1) I would never punish Harry for the way he spoke to me in private. It's not going to stop him being insulting, and it will make him hate me/Mab more. Also, it seems stupid to hurt him for being himself.

Probably, but Mab is confined by her nature and can only withstand so much insult before her pride compels her to act. If Harry, with free will, can't stop himself from being insulting most of the time, why would Mab, who lacks free will, be able to stop herself from taking revenge for insults?

2) When I was helping him recover from being dead, in addition to trying to kill him every day, I would offer him some level of magical instruction to bring him up to the level he was at in Changes, only without needing his equipment.

She can't. She can't give him instruction without also demanding something in turn (and even if she could, she knows Harry would never accept). Trying to kill him is a loophole, she isn't giving him anything but if he survives, he gets stronger.

3) I would work on getting him in shape quicker, so that he could be deployed against the Fomor ASAP. This would serve two purposes: it would damage and disrupt my/Mab's enemies, and it would be something that Harry would want to do anyway.

How is she going to do that? Again, there are limits on what she can do to help him and any attempt to help him would be met by resistance and suspicion that would likely slow Harry's progress, not hasten it.

4) When the Fomor/Svaralf treaty problem came up, I would send Harry to fix the problem, telling him that his brother was being held there.

Wasn't this storyline while Harry was a ghost or at least still recovering?


5) When dealing with the problem of Cold Case, I'd send Harry to rescue the kids, and just have someone else come by to take them away next week.

And miss a perfectly good training opportunity for Molly? Also, Harry was stuck on Demonreach because of Bonnie at this time.

But there are things, as I've pointed out above, that she can do, and isn't. That's a problem if we're supposed to see her as a master manipulator, as we clearly are. When it comes to Harry, she's just not acting like one.

Maybe she has reason. But I haven't seen any in the books, so Nfection seems as good a reason as any other.

1. I think you overstate what Mab can do. She can't just help Harry for free. She couldn't even just help Lea for free, and Lea is full fairy.
2. You are assuming Mab wants Harry to like her. Mab wants Harry to kill her eventually. She isn't trying to manipulate him into a long-term ally, she is trying to manipulate him into a short-term tool that will kill her in the long-term.
3. She seems like a pretty good manipulator to me. Summer Knight, Small Favor, Changes, Cold Days, Skin Game, she hasn't once failed to get what she really wants from Harry. Take a look at the end of Cold Days, after telling Harry he wouldn't survive long enough to pull the trigger (because her nature compelled her to do so) she explained to Harry reasons that he would accept to persuade him not to try. She knows exactly how to get what she wants from Harry, so if she isn't using optimum-manipulation strategy at all times, it is either because she is literally incapable of doing certain things, or she has a long-term agenda that wouldn't be served by strategies that appear at first glance to be superior.

15
DF Spoilers / Re: Mab is Nfected question
« on: May 06, 2019, 03:11:06 PM »
I also see no evidence that Mab is as strong-willed as Harry. I think one of the reasons Harry wields Soulfire is because he is unique in this aspect. While I am sure Mab is quite strong willed herself, I’m not sure if it is enough to contain Nemesis to the extent you seem to think.

Despite lacking free-will, Vadderung displays to Harry that he is strong enough to paralyze Harry with his will alone. Mab is stronger than Vadderung. There is very good reason to believe Mab could withstand Nemfection far better than Cat Sith and Leah, especially if Mab knew she would become Nfected when she saved Leah and had time to prepare defenses.

Ultimately, as demonstrated by Harry and Mother Winter, humans have free-will that is stronger than anything the supernatural entities can muster but as also demonstrated by Harry and Mother Winter (and Vadderung and the Red King),  a human has to learn how to use free-will or the human will be weaker.

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