Friendship is Dragons
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Page 1609 - Dial These Numbers
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16 Comments:
I assumed he was already in on it.
He could always just say "No, playing with you all wasn't fun and I don't want to come back."
And I wouldn't blame him!
He could always just say "No, playing with you all wasn't fun and I don't want to come back."
And I wouldn't blame him!
Oh very much yes. Phone calls are the worst, followed only shortly by video calls, and face-to-face meetings. Just talking with other people of any kind, really.
Ditto on the phone calls...
Doesn't help that I spent 25 years on a black program -- where answering phones was either a plain "Hello" or the preferred "#####" (ie; the last five digits of the one's phone -- the company PABX only required 5 digits internally, and some phones had dial-locks [yes, DIAL] to block out dialing 8, 9, or 0 depending on privileges [8 was needed to get "outside local", 9 was "outside long distance", and 0 was outside operator]).
Also, the company issued "memo pads" were referred to as "ANVOs" -- for "Accept No Verbal Orders". Paper trail desired -- or at least, when actual various internet protocols became available, internal e-mail (we had to go to a special room to get to computers with access outside of the project -- mostly used to enter time-card data).
Doesn't help that I spent 25 years on a black program -- where answering phones was either a plain "Hello" or the preferred "#####" (ie; the last five digits of the one's phone -- the company PABX only required 5 digits internally, and some phones had dial-locks [yes, DIAL] to block out dialing 8, 9, or 0 depending on privileges [8 was needed to get "outside local", 9 was "outside long distance", and 0 was outside operator]).
Also, the company issued "memo pads" were referred to as "ANVOs" -- for "Accept No Verbal Orders". Paper trail desired -- or at least, when actual various internet protocols became available, internal e-mail (we had to go to a special room to get to computers with access outside of the project -- mostly used to enter time-card data).
So... I guess there will be no Discord reformation? Unless they are happy with the finale and invite him for another game
There still could be a Discord reformation. If they play out that specific episode, maybe Fluttershy's player comes up with the idea on a friendship trap.
I do find it weird to see the Discord statue here in this comic page. Seems out of place since he's not been stoned or anything yet in the game.
I do find it weird to see the Discord statue here in this comic page. Seems out of place since he's not been stoned or anything yet in the game.
I dunno, DiscorDM seems to have basically the same problem that Discord himself has/had: he's confrontational, competitive, and mired in social Darwinism, with a solid glob of Geek Social Fallacies sticking it all together. He thinks it makes him clever and cool, and it might for a while, but if you stay like that too long all it makes you is lonely. I can see him wanting to come back because surprise surprise, people liking you feels good, and then RPing Discord-the-character's reformation along an exaggerated version of the same lines (since Discord-the-DM is presumably a relatively normal adult human who grew up in a society).
Not going to work. Pretty much Discord's entire schtick is him causing trouble for no real reason, being surprised when it blows up in his face, and then needing a rescue from Twi and the others. The few exceptions are "Dungeons and Discords" involving comic NPCs, and his hassling Starlight Glimmer a few times.
I think DiscorDM is perfectly happy, at least while GMing, to play in a confrontational/competitive style. As a person, he'd probably have been willing to run a "dump-on-me" session just as a favour to his friend the normal DM - he'd have run it his way, but he'd have accepted that overall role as the cost of participating in a friend's gamble. I imagine him being willing to accept constraints from the Mane DM that would make winning essentially impossible, doing his best to make it hard to win under those restrictions, and then accepting the inevitable when it happened.
I think DiscorDM would prefer to play a "dump-on-me" session to a "redeem-me" session, at least in principle. I don't see DiscorDM being satisfied by a session intended as a redemption arc, because it would feel low-agency for the characters - DiscorDM would have to decide "how convincing was enough" on the characters' part, and success would depend partly on how DiscorDM felt about the players, instead of depending purely on the actions they took in character. If the players came up with a plan to force Discord change his mind, DiscorDM would probably feel impressed, but only if Discord (or preferably DiscorDM) was tricked into it.
(I like the Discord statue. That's how Discord appeared at the start of his previous appearance, and that's the best representation of the fact Discord is currently trapped in Ponyville).
I think DiscorDM would prefer to play a "dump-on-me" session to a "redeem-me" session, at least in principle. I don't see DiscorDM being satisfied by a session intended as a redemption arc, because it would feel low-agency for the characters - DiscorDM would have to decide "how convincing was enough" on the characters' part, and success would depend partly on how DiscorDM felt about the players, instead of depending purely on the actions they took in character. If the players came up with a plan to force Discord change his mind, DiscorDM would probably feel impressed, but only if Discord (or preferably DiscorDM) was tricked into it.
(I like the Discord statue. That's how Discord appeared at the start of his previous appearance, and that's the best representation of the fact Discord is currently trapped in Ponyville).
I feel that. Making phone calls to people in India is a big part of my job and I really, really hate doing it. As well as the usual "fun" of a phone conversation, I have to deal with language barriers + slight delays.
Making phone calls is awful. It's weird, too, because I don't have any problems when I'm the one answering the call. But if I'm the caller? Instant anxiety spike to the brain. Any time I can get away with just sending a text, I absolutely will.
Same here. Especially when it comes to leaving answering machine messages...
Same, same. Looks like the whole readership here are all phone-o-phobiacs (or are we just the only ones who feel strongly enough to comment?)
Pick up the phone.