Story Wednesday December 18, 2019

[Darth Fluffy 302]

30 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

I'm what, chopped liver?

Is that a common expression elsewhere as well? I'm surprised that a non-native speaker outside of North America knows it.

 

[ijuin 572]

And why does the expression specify that the liver be chopped?

[Darth Fluffy 302]

2 hours ago, ijuin said:

And why does the expression specify that the liver be chopped?

Liver, if you have the taste for it, is considered to be a legitimate meat, part of your meal. Chopped liver is considered to be a side dish. You might make a chopped liver sandwich, but you wouldn't likely serve it as a lump of meat.

[The Old Hack 2,448]

7 hours ago, hkmaly said:

I'm what, chopped liver?

No, you're tomato purée.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

All this talk of chopped liver makes me want some braunschweiger

Braunschweiger specifically

NOT Liverwurst

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFs6IoTM214

[Darth Fluffy 302]

2 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

All this talk of chopped liver makes me want some braunschweiger

Braunschweiger specifically

NOT Liverwurst

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFs6IoTM214

It's the wurst!

[ChronosCat 155]

16 hours ago, hkmaly said:

But how would SMOKE or any other wizard get to those door?

Being able to turn into a gaseous form should allow someone to get into a non-airtight house without breaking anything or tripping conventional security systems. If no one is home or everyone is asleep, it then shouldn't be too hard to explore the house (though why they would choose the spare door in the basement to enchant, I don't know). If Smoke doesn't have to be visible while in smoke form, they could even explore while people are there and awake.

Of course, the Verres house probably has some sort of magical security system, but since we don't know anything about it, it's hard to know what weaknesses it might have. I wouldn't consider it out of the question that it had holes that a magic user with the right spell might be able to take advantage of. (It's a different sort of magic, but at the very least Immortals seem to be able to come and go as they please.)

[hkmaly 490]

20 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

21 hours ago, hkmaly said:

I'm what, chopped liver?

Is that a common expression elsewhere as well? I'm surprised that a non-native speaker outside of North America knows it.

Don't worry, I'm sure I picked it up in North America entertainment.

There is however local phrase which could be translated like "I'm what, wax?", referring wax sculptures and having similar meaning.

4 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

21 hours ago, hkmaly said:

But how would SMOKE or any other wizard get to those door?

Being able to turn into a gaseous form should allow someone to get into a non-airtight house without breaking anything or tripping conventional security systems. If no one is home or everyone is asleep, it then shouldn't be too hard to explore the house (though why they would choose the spare door in the basement to enchant, I don't know). If Smoke doesn't have to be visible while in smoke form, they could even explore while people are there and awake.

Of course, the Verres house probably has some sort of magical security system, but since we don't know anything about it, it's hard to know what weaknesses it might have. I wouldn't consider it out of the question that it had holes that a magic user with the right spell might be able to take advantage of.

Experienced wizard with such spell, sure. Secret service training would also be bonus. Neither smoke nor the wizard who copied his smoke spell are experienced. Both are teenagers or just little older, with no formal training.

And, yes, no reason to enchant spare door in basement.

4 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

(It's a different sort of magic, but at the very least Immortals seem to be able to come and go as they please.)

Ehmmm ... Immortals are not "just invisible". They are on different plane of reality.

[ijuin 572]

Also, it has been established that the magic of Immortals is not detectable by the same means used to detect magic of Humans.

[hkmaly 490]

1 hour ago, ijuin said:

Also, it has been established that the magic of Immortals is not detectable by the same means used to detect magic of Humans.

Yeah ; and possibly not detectable at all (or possibly except by other immortals). So any magical security system based on detecting magic would miss them.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

6 hours ago, ijuin said:

it has been established that the magic of Immortals is not detectable by the same means used to detect magic of Humans.

Note the past tense

Perhaps the small changes to Magic will also include details involving Immortal Magic?

[ChronosCat 155]

14 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Experienced wizard with such spell, sure. Secret service training would also be bonus. Neither smoke nor the wizard who copied his smoke spell are experienced. Both are teenagers or just little older, with no formal training.

By "Smoke", I meant the wizard who Grace and Sam met. I had actually forgotten that Luke's friend Camdin (presumably the person Smoke copied the spell from), had talked about spying on "the Super Chicks" - though if he is doing it he's going against Luke's instruction not to spy.

Also, while an experienced wizard would be in a much better position to break in to the house, the spy could also just be a quick learner and/or quite lucky.

14 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Ehmmm ... Immortals are not "just invisible". They are on different plane of reality.

I was mostly just using Immortals of an example of the fact that whatever security the house has doesn't protect against every sort of magical intrusion. That said, Sirleck was able to exist on another plane of reality as well (and he was originally human); this raises the possibility that humans could enter and leave the spirit plane under their own power (as opposed to whatever led to Magus being stuck there).

[hkmaly 490]

10 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

17 hours ago, ijuin said:

it has been established that the magic of Immortals is not detectable by the same means used to detect magic of Humans.

Note the past tense

Perhaps the small changes to Magic will also include details involving Immortal Magic?

.... hmmmmmmm .... I don't consider it that much likely but it's true that we can't take anything discovered before the magic "small" change for granted. Especially considering that it may not be change of immortal magic but change of ordinary magic.

7 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

22 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Experienced wizard with such spell, sure. Secret service training would also be bonus. Neither smoke nor the wizard who copied his smoke spell are experienced. Both are teenagers or just little older, with no formal training.

By "Smoke", I meant the wizard who Grace and Sam met. I had actually forgotten that Luke's friend Camdin (presumably the person Smoke copied the spell from), had talked about spying on "the Super Chicks" - though if he is doing it he's going against Luke's instruction not to spy.

... I'm not sure who has more right to be called "Smoke".

7 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

Also, while an experienced wizard would be in a much better position to break in to the house, the spy could also just be a quick learner and/or quite lucky.

That would be LOT of luck to not trigger Edward's defenses.

7 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

22 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Ehmmm ... Immortals are not "just invisible". They are on different plane of reality.

I was mostly just using Immortals of an example of the fact that whatever security the house has doesn't protect against every sort of magical intrusion. That said, Sirleck was able to exist on another plane of reality as well (and he was originally human); this raises the possibility that humans could enter and leave the spirit plane under their own power (as opposed to whatever led to Magus being stuck there).

The Whale also got there.

I believe Sirleck was not able to exist on that another plane without host ... but, yes: There might be way how human magic user can enter the spirit plane. However it seems it's hard to do and/or not widely known, as it didn't seem DGB had any other way to search on spirit plane than asking immortals for help.

On the other hand ... we know that immortals can hide from each others as well. Maybe imagining spirit plane as ONE plane is misleading.

... as far as we know, Agent Cranium's method of seeing place without being there involves spirit plane. Speaking about which, this COULD be Agent Cranium.

... wait.

One more idea about the clicking involving invisible people. So far we evaluated two possibilities: that invisible person manipulated ordinary door and that the door itself is enchanted. Another option: Door is enchanted to be part of house protection. It auto-locked itself when it detected someone invisible near.