06-23-2011, 10:09 PM | #21 | |
Petitioner: Word of IN Filk
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Longmont, CO
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
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I don't mean to imply that Seraphim must be robotic or stupid -- far from it. But what Seraphim often are is sober. They say what they mean and they get a bit disappointed when others don't hold themselves to the same standard. For a Seraph, dissonance is only a lie away. So they tend to the literal rather than the figurative, the precise rather than the vague, because it's safe. After a while -- and a Seraph may have been doing this for centuries -- it becomes reflexive. Sure, they can understand metaphoric and inexact statements in others. But it's inelegant, like a Shakespearean-trained actor listening to Billy the Redneck at the corner bar. And their reflex is for the literal meaning. You're right in that a Seraph of any experience will be able to get past that easily, but it's still a little grating. That said, Seraphim do care. They do love. They are capable of great beauty and grace. They're just also a bit ... fussy. (Your mileage, of course, may vary.)
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“It's not railroading if you offer the PCs tickets and they stampede to the box office, waving their money. Metaphorically speaking” --Elizabeth McCoy, In Nomine Line Editor Author: "What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Stronger" |
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06-23-2011, 10:15 PM | #22 | |
Petitioner: Word of IN Filk
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Longmont, CO
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
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"My name is Isabel." No, no it's not. Your name is Sophira, Angel of Judgment. Isabel is the name of the Role you assume in order to act on Earth, but it's not your name, anymore than Kenneth Branagh's name is "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." "People call me Isabel." Yes. That is true. They know you under your Role name and use that to refer to you. "You can call me Isabel." Yes. That is true. They are physically capable of doing so, regardless of whether that is your true name or not. Subtle distinctions, indeed. So yes, a Seraph understands verbal subtlety. It has to. Otherwise, it couldn't navigate the minefield of language at all.
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“It's not railroading if you offer the PCs tickets and they stampede to the box office, waving their money. Metaphorically speaking” --Elizabeth McCoy, In Nomine Line Editor Author: "What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Stronger" |
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06-23-2011, 10:38 PM | #23 |
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
Oops, sorry. I guess I got a little over-zealous.
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“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster…when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you…” –Friedrich Nietzsche Last edited by DBloch2012; 10-10-2012 at 08:08 PM. |
06-24-2011, 01:20 AM | #24 | |
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Seattle
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
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And nothing at ALL prevents a Seraph from breaking with his general Choir sobriety and being jovial. In a game I ran there was a PC Seraph of Trade who hosted society cocktail parties, seduced congresswomen, and generally played his rich, eccentric foreigner Role to the hilt (the player's stated goal was to be Sean Connery-esque but he really came off more Michael Caine, I think). The player did struggle a bit at first to edit more metaphorical language from his PC's diction, but he really got to enjoy the challenge and run with it. It helped that he had a human Servant (who was his manservant) and he answered many questions with "my manservant will answer that." He was an unconventional Seraph to be sure, but never dissonant. Very far from a robot.
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“The world is going to Hell in a hand-basket, but I’ve got Good News: I saved my soul by switching to Heaven.” —Baruel, former Djinn of the Media, now Cherub of Destiny and the Angel of Good News |
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06-26-2011, 04:55 PM | #25 |
In Nomine Line Editor
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Frozen Wastelands of NH
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
It depends on the Elohite. Some strive to suppress all emotion, yes, but others merely suppress the expression of any emotion that is not beneficial, or at least neutral, to the best interests of the Symphony. Elohim of the Wind are terribly objective about their mayhem, for instance, but that doesn't mean they don't enjoy their job immensely. And Elohim of Creation and Flowers are especially likely to be tender-hearted, whether they show it or not.
( This and this include one of my takes on an Elohite of the Wind. For those new to the SSO, the Balseraph player, Liriel, is a member of a Third Celestial Side, and terribly, terribly honorable. So honorable, that when she rolled a 111 in the Marches, she became a pseudo-Malakite with a flaming sword for a while. It was terribly embarrassing. It shows up frequently on Malakite honor-readings.)
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--Beth Shamelessly adding Superiors: Lilith, GURPS Sparrials, and her fiction page to her .sig (the latter is not precisely gaming related) |
07-01-2011, 10:19 AM | #26 | |
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Boston
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
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07-01-2011, 10:36 AM | #27 | |
Petitioner: Word of IN Filk
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Longmont, CO
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
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I really don't see why the canonical example "makes no sense," as you put it. In each case, it's a clear example of marrying expression with intent. (Heck, even though it's canon that some Seraphim are able to tell stories -- since the audience clearly knows the account is fictional and that the purpose is to entertain rather than decieve -- I rather suspect it was one of the Most Holy who began the classic Islamic storytelling opening: "It is said, though Allah alone knows the truth ..." )
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“It's not railroading if you offer the PCs tickets and they stampede to the box office, waving their money. Metaphorically speaking” --Elizabeth McCoy, In Nomine Line Editor Author: "What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Stronger" |
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07-01-2011, 11:40 AM | #28 | ||
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Boston
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
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07-01-2011, 11:50 AM | #29 |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Portland, OR
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
I don't know if I agree with that. When someone says "my name is Isabel," I take that to mean that their formal first name, as printed on their identification/birth certificate/taxes/whatever. If someone says "I'm called Isabel" then I get the immediate impression that it's a nickname, middle name or, well something that's not their formal first name.
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07-01-2011, 11:50 AM | #30 | ||
Petitioner: Word of IN Filk
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Longmont, CO
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Re: Seraphim and Profanity
Quote:
The angel, by contrast, is putting on a disguise. She may well be called Isabel by others, but she isn't Isabel -- not in a real, true sense of the phrase. So one can be true and one a lie. Quote:
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“It's not railroading if you offer the PCs tickets and they stampede to the box office, waving their money. Metaphorically speaking” --Elizabeth McCoy, In Nomine Line Editor Author: "What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Stronger" |
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Tags |
dissonance, in nomine, profanity, seraphim |
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