2024-08-13 6:52:43 ¶ ●

when Caliborn first embarks on his journey as a storyteller he starts out by making his characters act in ways that entertain him but ultimately make no sense because they totally contradicts their personalities (THE ALPHA MALE WHISTLES FOR HIS BITCHES). but his end goal is to tell stories that fit the characters so well they’re indistinguishable from the “truth”; as per Hussie’s commentary, Doc Scratch can only really “nudge people in the direction of doing the nasty thing that, deep down, they already know they want to do.”

Caliborn’s main way of interacting with the world outside his session is of course through his command terminal; and while exiles can use these to “command” the heroes, they can’t just control them outright. if you command someone to do something they don’t want to do, they won’t do it! so in this way, Hussie’s tutoring of Caliborn with self-improvement literature is a direct parallel to the Mayor improving his relationship with John through self-improvement literature not just visually but thematically; they’re both, in essence, being taught to make their “commands” more effective by making their language more persuasive!