Best Of

I've never really given any thought to main character vs supporting on either Keth or any alt I've created. My characters are only as ambitious as I am. I'm not sure how anyone could define the difference anyway - If a non-serious or boring(to the player) character is sudden given the key to defeating Kethuru, well then I guess they were the main character all along. 

Aeldra said:

Reading this, I am reminded I am at some point guilty of not taking opportunities myself at times and offering tidbits as to what I actually want or need from a divine, though I do realize it's mostly through me still getting super nervous with interacting with godroles, I probably should try to be a little more concise in prayers etc as to what I do seek and require. Thanks for those insights and the reminder. <.<

Even just a clue is plenty! The difference between 'hey can I talk to you' and 'hey can I talk to you about my order tasks' is huge. As long as it actually tells us the area of the question and isn't too general - such as 'can I ask you some questions' - then you've done plenty.

Reading this, I am reminded I am at some point guilty of not taking opportunities myself at times and offering tidbits as to what I actually want or need from a divine, though I do realize it's mostly through me still getting super nervous with interacting with godroles, I probably should try to be a little more concise in prayers etc as to what I do seek and require. Thanks for those insights and the reminder. <.<

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but the only thing I ever find 'bothersome' about questions is when people interact (prayer, speaking in fulcrux, etc) but don't actually say what they want. E.g. praying 'I need to speak to You, my Lady'. Most people who have interacted with Czixi will know that she won't actually respond unless you tell Her what you want.

This is even more significant now that I'm online as Czixi much less, so tend to be responding to things belatedly rather than at the time - if your prayer doesn't say what it's about, I don't know how much time I need to make for you, which makes it much harder for me to get back to you IC or to have the flexibility to make that response cool.

In terms of physically appearing/not - it's very rare that Czixi appears in person, and this is a deliberate choice. It has more power if it's not used as frequently! There are rules about when I will and won't use it, but that would be telling.

I've never been asked a question I didn't have an answer for, but I have absolutely been surprised by questions. The one that comes immediately to mind is from years ago now, when @Tirah asked Czixi whether she opposed the Traitors or not. It was surprising not just because it came quite out of the blue, but also because it came from someone who I hadn't expected to have the courage to ask such a hard question. Tirah was the first person to ever ask it, in fact, and remains the only person to have ever asked that directly.

Terentia said:

I think part of my answer is alluded to in the question! I am ambivalent to visibility. @Eritheyl mentioned in the other thread about imagining the onslaught of player interest and excitement when you go visible, and from my experience, that isn't really the case. At most I get a couple "Hail Lady" on CT or on OT, but that's about it. 

In our defense, it's not like you demand grovelling or attention like some other gods. If I were a god, I'd probably get tired of the instant grovelling and "What can we do for you?!?!?" when I became visible. On the other hand, I (and probably most mortal players) think if you show up visible, you want something, or an event is starting, or you intentionally want us to interact with you. We kinda have to balance both viewpoints out.

Terentia said:

. So you could ask Terentia about Her relationship to Meridian, for example, and I can sort of talk around it, but I may not have yet fully written out stories between her and him (and this is more just my slowness in doing that kind of work--some of my colleagues in the Havens can easily draw out complex stories or scenes with gods and histories very fast!). 

LEGASP

Echoing Mysrai's sentiment a bit here. Despite bouts of relatability, Elder Gods are eons old, and part of the fun for us is to explore what that means. For me, that means Viravain gets to show off as this innocent, green-eyed maiden who once made cute little bugs and birdies, but to Her order, She reveals Herself as this terrifying scythe-wielding force of nature, literally; She's warped and twisted by wielding the Seal of Nature and Her subsequent possession by Kethuru, all culminating in Her evolution as the all-mother of the Wyrd. She just knows how to wear makeup really, really well.

I'm guessing at this, but I think similarly, Drocilla presents Her face to the world as this sly and sassy lady with a provocative lilt, but to Her order (and maybe Magnagora -- I guess if you're lucky/unlucky), She's something else entirely. Lisaera is an enigmatic storm-warden badass, but to Her order, She's a motherly figure. And so on.

So, while Elders do sometimes put on a Mt. Olympus show for y'all, how they interact with mortals on any particular occasion definitely runs the gamut. Remember that to them, mortals are the sharded vestiges of people they once knew, and in some cases, they're old friends/enemies. Fractured. Not like them, but familiar.

If we appear in person, it could be because we're Making A Point, driving a plot forward, or are feeling like we want to terrorize people a bit (I don't know what good gods do, 'cause I hold a scythe for Aonia's sake). If we send an emissary, it could mean all of those same things, and we're trying to suggest that the Elder God might not know what's going on, but their priest is all over it. 

And sometimes, Viravain reminds folks that She's the brood mother of all arachnids, so if you see something scuttling just out of sight, it's Her reminding you that She has eyes everywhere...

I think part of my answer is alluded to in the question! I am ambivalent to visibility. @Eritheyl mentioned in the other thread about imagining the onslaught of player interest and excitement when you go visible, and from my experience, that isn't really the case. At most I get a couple "Hail Lady" on CT or on OT, but that's about it. I've never really been a fan of the kind of god-player RP where I suddenly appear or interact with them; I feel like I need a reason to do that, and honestly, I have very few reasons.

And I think part of that is because there isn't a lot of initiative (on my end and player ends) for RP. I have been noticing that a lot of engagement with Terentia is "service," which is to say, people "want to serve" Terentia, but never give any indication on what exactly that service looks like. It isn't clear what they want to do, so I am not sure what I want to do. Something that I think is slowly being named, at least amongst Terentia's followers, is that Terentia favors boldness. I take that to mean that I don't want players or followers to wait for Terentia to give them a task, I want them to start thinking: oh, what can I do? What am I good at and can provide? I want players to feel like they can just do whatever they want (of course, within the sort of boundaries of Terentia's ethos), and that I can try to do my best to help with that. 

In which case, does it bother me when mortals show up to ask inane questions? Not really. I don't entirely know how useful it is for either of us to entertain them; does learning whether or not Terentia likes fishing really help you know anything more about Terentia? I don't think so. But I do think it opens up the possibility of the kind of stop-in-your-tracks questioning like @Aonia mentioned above: someone might ask a question that is very core to the character. I will say, I think of Terentia as a TTRPG GM might. I have scattered notes and general ideas about things, but I don't really have 100% solid stories or answers. So you could ask Terentia about Her relationship to Meridian, for example, and I can sort of talk around it, but I may not have yet fully written out stories between her and him (and this is more just my slowness in doing that kind of work--some of my colleagues in the Havens can easily draw out complex stories or scenes with gods and histories very fast!). 

This might have been a long-winded answer, but I hope it helps. @Lantra and I joke that Celest admin become, much to our chagrin, verbose writers. We blame Eventru.