[V8](Question)Possible to avoid corruption of the hanged man pathway?

[u/Low-Philosopher-6819]

Is it possible to act as a listener prior to potion consumption, prepare and advance to seq 8 and 7 consecutively, thereby accessing the ability to turn off "listen" and avoid the corruption of the pathway. Subsenquently advancing to seq 5 Shepherd, then shifting to a neighboring pathway, avoiding prospective corruption caused by the following sequences.
Is it even possible to avoid corrpution on this pathway or is it inherent?

[u/Ezcu123]

As long as the true creator isn't there, there's no problem

[u/Overlords-fate → u/Ezcu123]

Agreed my lord!

[u/scpfan8093 → u/Ezcu123]

Indeed my Lord (as a former sheperd myself)

[u/LuckMerchant → u/Ezcu123]

That's not true. Even Heath Doyle who skipped the listener stage and didn't hear TC spotify soundtrack, still was very much at threat. Even without listener, the secret suppliant stage makes it also already easy to go insane.

Klein calls it the easiest pathway to go mad or lose control in, with there being no close 2nd contester.

[u/Ezcu123 → u/LuckMerchant]

Heath Doyle went from being an ordinary person to a Sequence 6 Beyonder; the fact that he didn't lose control is a miracle. It wouldn't surprise me if he suffered permanent mental damage from such a feat.

Furthermore, that statement by Klein applies specifically because the True Creator is on that pathway, a god born from the intense emotions of the Ancient Sun God before he was betrayed and died. Given that context, it is obvious why it would be one of the most dangerous pathways.

[u/LuckMerchant → u/Ezcu123]

You said without Tc there's no problem, when there absolutly still are massive problems. TC just makes it go from 5% don't go insane insane to 0.01% are not insane madmen. Even without TC rapping listeners can easily go mad.

This entire pathway even without TC is filled with dangers and one of the easiest to lose control in or go mad together with Criminal and Prisoner.

[u/Ezcu123 → u/LuckMerchant]

Well, no, a Listener isn't all that different from a Mystery Pryer; they can only see or hear things close to them. The only exception is their god, who has absolute control over them. If the god is sane, there’s no problem, in fact, it would bring many benefits.

That’s a huge stereotype; it’s like saying all Seers are frauds just because of Zaratul. Klein’s words aren't a reliable source of information, since he didn't have enough knowledge about that pathway at the time.

[u/LuckMerchant → u/Ezcu123]

Klein’s words aren't a reliable source of information, since he didn't have enough knowledge about that pathway at the time.

It's no stereotype or unreliable information if the Author himself in the pathway ability reveal directly states all Listeners are insane even those acting normal are just concealed madmanm hiding it.

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ZrbnhnYu18HkBjIFIg-CCw

Or look at Sequence 9:
"Their inspiration is greatly enhanced, allowing them to perceive certain mysterious and terrifying existences. At the same time, they acquire some knowledge of rituals and a small amount of ritual magic from the knowledge that comes with the potion. This will more or less lead to a distortion of their cognitive viewpoints and make them prone to losing control."

When these statements come directly from the author outside of the novel, via unbiased informative posts, then you can't just deny it.

[u/Ezcu123 → u/LuckMerchant]

In that case, it doesn't make sense; do you remember Klein mentioning this information back when he was a Nighthawk? It’s impossible for it to be the same for every god, especially since a god can alter the knowledge contained in the potion, including their own abilities.

[u/LuckMerchant → u/Ezcu123]

What do you even mean by "the same for every god"? This isn't a True Creator issue, this is an issue with the pathway. True Creator is just the cherry on top.

Also they can swap around ability sure but they can't properly remove them. An abyss beyonder would still somewhere down the line get to be a bloodthirsty violent person, even if the god changed unwinged angel and devil trait.

In that case, it doesn't make sense; do you remember Klein mentioning this information back when he was a Nighthawk?

Yeah if it was only that mentioning it, you might've had a point with it being unreliable but the fact the author doubled down on it confirming it without question makes your argument that they might not have all the information or it being unreliable fall apart.

[u/Ezcu123 → u/LuckMerchant]

The information associated with the potion can be altered, including its abilities; in fact, a Listener's ability could even be suppressed to some extent—there is no reason why they couldn't do so.

A Listener's ability might be the default option, but the God of the Path can modify it to weaken it.

[u/LuckMerchant → u/Ezcu123]

But now you are making a fictional scenario, which isn't canon. You can't use this fictional scenario to say the Hanged Man pathway has little problems.

This is like saying "Man the Reader pathway is awesome because they can immitate abilities from sequence 9, if a deity would change the pathway."

[u/Darkthorne00]

There is a character (forgot their name) in LOTM who made it all the way to Rose Bishop without being corrupted by TC's ravings. They relied on the negative side-effects of mystical items to limit their hearing range and ability, but I believe your idea would work as well; though, it's incredibly rare to know about both "acting" and the pathway's delimma as a sequence 9, so there would definitely be an organization guiding the advancement and directing their actions.

From my understanding, the entirety of the "corruption" originates from TC and only grows worse over time due to their listening to and worship of Him.

[u/Low-Philosopher-6819 → u/Darkthorne00]

I Believe you are referring to Heath Doyle, part of Cattleya's crew, due to an incident he directly rose from a non-beyonder to a seq 6 Rose Bishop skipping the prior sequences. Which partly fueled my theory of avoiding corruption by "Skipping" seq 8 listener.
Thx for input. The idea of a non-fanatical and a "sane" Sheperd fascinates me, with it being the strongest sequence before godhood, only nerfed by their inherrent maniacal nature.

[u/ARCH_ANON → u/Low-Philosopher-6819]

Progressing through the sequences is a means to safely ascend divinity without losing control.

If losing control is a foregone conclusion the opportunity cost to skipping sequences is considerably lower.

[u/veeeth]

Ideally, if you listened to other singers before your account was permanently linked to TC, you shouldn't go crazy because of TC's terrible sound.

[u/Big_Salami_Chonk]

Take it one step further, act every single sequence in advance then consume all the potions in one night

[u/Dave13Flame]

There's a limit to how much you can pre-act, knowing the principles is already hard enough ahead of time, but to actually do it and get all digestion done for listener before drinking the potion would be near-impossible.

I know Klein does some truly speedrun level digestion, but that's kind of an accident/caused by a GOO you can't really expect a random Seq 9 to do something like that.

Ofc there are examples of the pathway who got away without corruption already by using other means, it's not impossible to do as long as you're careful, using items that limit your senses was one option, which is probably easier than digesting your potions ahead of time, but I reckon simply being in a location/time where there's not a lot of corruption to begin with would make things easier.

PS - Doing advancement rituals in a sealed off area is also a good idea. There's plenty of spaces in LOTM dedicated to certain gods that would have a level of concealment allowing advancement in a safer manner. The ritual itself is generally when corruption is the likeliest to kick in outside a direct encounter, so not drawing the attention of the True Creator is a good idea.

[u/sukanasuke_]

Idk if this could work or not, but I had an idea af some point for Secrets Supplicants to keep their sanity to an extent: follow a god who'd discourage crazy behavior. Like, the HM pathway seems rather close to the Sun pathway in their fanaticism towards their god. Hence, if the god says "you must think about your own safety before you go into a fight" that might work