Theo Anders and the Black Exaltation[Worm/Exalted][Hiatus]

[mishie]

Not a disgustingly good writer confirmed. *fist pump*

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Eh, to be completely honest it kinda shows that you're new to this, especially with how you're characterizing some of the characters. But at the same time you've got a solid foundation of actually decent writing so learning how to not fuck up characters too much is something that will come with time and just learning how to write characters that you might not be too familiar with .

 

[Anasurimbor]

TDP is going to train reading between the words of others to figure out what they want from him in that instance(as it turns out, that was how I had been treating Exquisite Etiquette Style.

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How you've shown it so far seems about right. It means that TDP is extremely quick and accurate at reading people's intentions in a broad, general sense. Notably, this effect can be replicated mundanely(difficulty 3) given a bit of time and skill to observe someone.

SCA is blatant magic that pulls information out of nowhere. Often it will effectively look like a more specific and detailed version of the first charm, but then other times it will tell you things you have no way of inferring. Dragon is an AI. Amy is romantically attracted to her sister. Thomas Calvert wants to take over the city. The trick is using it at the right time, because it is instant and not cheap.

SCA does function as a social perfect, but it is hilariously prone to failure. It also won't protect against most Master powers.

 

[Anasurimbor]

Secondly, once again they're hilariously different quests in hilariously different environments, what works for them probably wont work here.

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I don't think they are that dissimilar, but that's not the same as saying they should be mindlessly copied. Theo's basic game plan here is actually hilariously similar to the one Taylor stumbled her way into in Conquest Quest.

That is nice... but tanuki thinks that Abyssal!Theo would object to being in the same quest as an exalted!Taylor. ^_-

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So basically, 2 totally unrelated quests that the GM and players can feel free to continue to ignore. Awesome.

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Now I feel strangely compelled to write some terrible crossover omakes once things are more established. But will it be The Locust Crusade: Brockton Bay Edition, or The Dark Prince vs. Firefly in an epic battle befriending seduction something?

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

Re-read stunt rules.

Like theonebutcher's subvote with the airquotes and attitude, 1-die stunts are adding good flourishes and embellishments to actions. Saying you punched someone with an extra twist to create a corkscrew punch isn't going to cut it.

'My hand drinks in the light of life,' you say as light flickers and swirls into nothingness around your fist in strange fractal patterns, 'Feel the cold hand of Death! Imploding Freezing Finger!' you yell and thrust your hand, hidden in the middle of a dark frosty cloud, into Armsmaster's stomach, where it instantly freezes and shatters the armor, leaving the man with heavy frostbite across his abdomen.

I'd say something along those lines is a good 1-die stunt. It's short, sweet (has a fucking killer G-Gundam reference) and has decent embellishment around the action itself. It can be a little wordier than that, especially if it's a social stunt.

Bii's 2-die stunt involves a good description the social environment around TDP while adding flourishes to his social actions. Its also a bit wordier allowing for more description. Don't go overboard. I'm not going to limit the word count but a 2-die stunt shouldn't consistently take more than 500 words. Bii's was ~300 words. There is an element of what's around TDP and using it to add even more awesome sauce to the plate of delicious ass-kickery.

3-die stunts are straight up wire-kung fu badassery. Moments worthy of legend and song. Poetry in motion. Bravery and bravado. A lengthy and awe-inspiring rendition of 'boop'-ing Behemoth on the nose with a grand daiklave before using that as a fulcrum to leverage yourself into the air and double kicking Alexandria in the face in order to propel yourself back into the hero-killer and hitting him with all the wrath of dead-titans that cannot die. These are not handed out like candy.

All of these are ultimately up to me to award dice for. You can suggest a 3-die stunt, but I might feel it's only a 2-die stunt. 1-die stunts are fairly easy to come by, but if it doesn't have an element of movie-action awesomeness to it, you might not even get that. Just bouncing off the wall isn't enough for a 2-die stunt. I awarded TDP a 2-die stunt earlier when he was shadow-swording. He flipped over the 'enemy's' strike ran a bit up the wall, flipped over the imaginary enemy keeping the shoulders at the same horizontal level, and spun like an upside down top of death. I used the environment to facilitate giving even more awesome to the action, and I was being a bit generous to myself.

=====

Its sorta come up twice. Once in the thread and once in IRC.

Its hard to write Nazis as people.

I'm in no way, shape, or form a Nazi sympathizer. I don't condone any form of discrimination over naturally occurring things (like race, gender, sex, or sexuality). I don't care about race, gender, sex, or sexuality. I don't like people discriminating against others for something that is impossible or difficult to change. I don't like being discriminated against.

My political stance can be rather succinctly put as 'I want transgender same-sex married couples to be able to defend their pot plants with guns, without them judging me for wanting a traditional family (and a dog, because dogs are superior to cats) that I also would defend with guns.'

But I am trying to make these characters more than just bland cut-outs. KKK members or Neo-Nazis are people, deeply flawed and/or misguided, but people none-the-less. I'm not a skilled enough writer to make this easy on me. I just want to make it clear.

=====

Now that all of that has been said. I had an IRL friend over and meant to post this like an hour and a half ago. I'll be working on the snip from here on out.

 

[ryuan]

Good to know that your political stance mention guns twice.

 

[Snake/Eater]

But I am trying to make these characters more than just bland cut-outs. KKK members or Neo-Nazis are people, deeply flawed and/or misguided, but people none-the-less. I'm not a skilled enough writer to make this easy on me. I just want to make it clear.

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Don't worry with time and practice You'll be able to write the human side of the most monstrous characters.maybe it would help to create a thread where we discuss such characters in history and fiction.

 

[Biigoh]

Here's a trick for getting stunt dice in an exalted game.

Remember that cool moment in a tv show, manga or anime, or even a movie? The one that made you go fuck yeah! That's awesome!

That moment is the heart and core of your stunt. Your stunt must make you say fuck yeah...

That is how you know you are doing it right.

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

You mull your answer over. It could be some sort of test. You'd really rather not get stabbed again, or be cut off from your rather sizable allowance. You settle on commenting on the power play and skirting around what your father said. Forcing him to explain further.

"That's... rather close to what I was thinking. Minus hormones."

When Max chuckled you relaxed a little bit, but not entirely.

"Even so, why didn't you say anything before?"

There's a creak of leather from your father's gloves on the steering wheel.

"I had to make sure you'd toe the party line. Whichever came first, your eighteenth birthday or your trigger, I'd sit you down and explain it to you. Your grandfather, he was a true believer. Sharon, she believed enough. Heith believed. I didn't care, I was better because I was better. I had to make do, you will have to make do. Don't think that Jessica and Nessa haven't noticed your dissent, or James."

James Smith. Krieg, Gwen's Uncle. The Gesellschaft contact within the Empire. A believer if there weren't any else.

"James is going to oppose your rise to power, unless he can tie you firmly to Gwen, and rule you through her and the Empire through you, until such time he isn't needed; or you prove a valuable enough sympathizer, if not an outright believer. The Empire is not powerful enough to upset the Gesellschaft."

"Toe the party line? You had to make sure I'd spout my superiority based on an accident of birth?"

"Yes. I didn't want the Gesellschaft to come after you. They probably will go after Aster if I can't pull Kayden back into the Empire. They don't like letting go of parahumans. It was a fight and a half to let Night and Fog retire. It would be a war to get them to let you or Aster go."

Okay, that shit won't fly. The Society will get theirs.

"I might not be the best family man, or the best father, but I try. You and Aster will live long, fruitful lives if I have anything to say about it. Theo..."

He trails off.

A drop of cold-bone power flows into your veins, and your forehead doesn't split open. Holy shit! You didn't have to bleed every time you used your power. You would have to be careful, the cold-bone power was much smaller than the hot-blood power.

But you've used this power before and you inspect your father.

He really just wants to make sure you and Aster live well.

This sure as fuck upsets your world view.

"Theo," his voice is thick, "I'm sorry. I never wanted you to trigger in the first place. A life of violence for the last piece of Heith I have? A life of violence for my quiet son? You could just have MedHall and do your own thing. And then you trigger when I all but kill you."

The rest of the ride is quiet. You're not sure if you want to forgive him.

On one hand, you got sweet ass powers out of it. On the other, he did kill you.

Max seems to understand this, without you even voicing anything. He's probably thinking the same thing, all the while beating himself up.

=====

That shit was fucked up enough, how many other people have been lying to you your entire life?

You pull a book on body language and another on facial recognition from the study and decide to sit in the mostly empty dining room, where you died. For the next few hours you whittle away the time before you have to go get ready reading.
Right before you have to get ready, you can feel a new pattern forming within your mind/power, highlighting the other patterns for a brief moment. Your new... spell? power? pattern? does something similar to the one you use frequently. It lets you know what the other person wants, what they are aiming for with a statement, and ignore what they were saying.

You feel the patterns, and you can discern a bit better what some of them are for. Half of the patterns/spells/powers involve using a sword. The rest seem to be of use in a social setting. You bet if you were creative, you could find more combat-oriented applications for those social powers. The final power is what let you flip around like one of those badly dubbed kung-fu movies.

You find your father in his study when you return the books.

"I'm a Trump. I just gained a new power. Keep this between us."

You enjoy the gobsmacked look on his face as you leave to go shower and change into your very nice suit. You can't help but notice you feel strangely energized and brimming with power.

Does resting provide power? You didn't feel like this after sitting in Johann's shop for a few hours. Maybe its the dining room?

You could ask the Lover when you dream of her again. Or experiment over the next week. You put it our of your mind and focus on the night ahead.

You know who's going to be there, and you have a business date (that you might be able to turn into something more).

How TDP treats Sabah:

[] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there together.

[] Just flirty enough to let her be sure you wouldn't mind some Persian spice. While that would cut into you possibly getting into another girl's good graces, you'll see most of them at school.

[] You want in those panties! You have powers, convince her. She could have a super-powered, rich boyfriend. But you probably won't be seeing much of anyone else.

[] Write in

TDP's first Target:Attendees

[] Write in
-[] Write in on how to approach said target

======

Jessica and Nessa look absolutely stunning in opposite but otherwise matching slinky red numbers. Of course, you complement them properly. Jessica is giving you eyes that make you sure that she is going to honor her side of the bet, probably when you get home. Nessa gives you a good once over, and fakes a sniff.

"They grow up so fast."

Max offers you a nod, before smiling and ushering everyone into the limo. It was a holiday party, a time for good cheer, and a little politicking. There's plenty of small talk on the ride over, though the twins shriek with good cheer and begin poking fun at you when Max mentions you having found a date, just hours after another girl had given you her number.

Much of their good cheer is lost when you leave the limo and spot Sabah. You go over to her, eyeing her choice in outfit for the night. You can hear Max whispering harshly to them, likely reminding them of who was included in 'Aryan' and some of the modern day allowances that had to be made.

And some allowances would have to be made for Sabah's feminine lord's outfit.

She went for a stylish, and elegant coat, mainly colored silver, with gold buttons and embroidery. The high collar serves to highlight the fluffy and lacy poof of fabric that covered her cleavage, that same laces pokes out of her sleeves. The coat stops short, in the front, of her belt and her white blouse peeks through before running into her silver and gold pants. Her coattails sway as she smiles and walks to you, an excited bounce in her step.

Her boots are sporting low heels and are a dark brown leather, and they clack firmly on the cement.

"Theo! I've already had three people stop and ask me about my clothes and where they came from, I even got an order! I'm so glad I accepted your invitation," she says as she approaches you, your own face now sporting a smile.

You take her hand in yours and bow over it.

"Miss Sabah, I'm glad to see that you've come!"

You offer her an arm, which she takes, a bit of a blush on her cheeks. Perhaps she's never been treated right before? Or it could be the excitement at getting noticed in her chosen field.

And with that, the Dark Prince leads his current lady into the party, just trailing behind your father and cousins.

TDPs general attitude for the night:

[] I'm a motherfucking Prince. Get the fuck at me scrubs.

[] A Prince is the highest of noblemen, treat me with proper respect, peasant.

[] A Prince is the highest of noblemen, and noblemen should be loved by the peasants.

[] I am a humble but proud Prince. Generous to those who please me, terrible in my wrath to those who displease me.

[] Write-in
=====

XP Gain: 4 XP

+10 motes

Charm Gained: Scathing Cynic Attitude

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

Good to know that your political stance mention guns twice.

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Big supporter of 2nd Amendment rights. But then again, I was raised around guns, went to 'war' with bigger guns, came home and bought more guns because my oath doesn't expire just because I'm out of the military. And in order to avoid more modern political discussion that isn't related to the quest, 'Murica.

 

[Biigoh]

[X] Plan Bii

[X] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there together.

[X] Socialize target: The Mayor and nuclear family, includes Rory (Triumph) and girlfriend Sam (Prism)
-[X] Start mapping out the social web from them.

[X] A Prince is the highest of noblemen, and noblemen should be loved by the peasants.

Stunt! for Socializing - Extra Dice is always nice
A prince is a prince, noblest of nobles. And yet, the Mayor was the king of the city, for a set term, but the king who ruled from his palace.

And yet, Theodore Anders was the scion of Max Anders, the rather wealthy owner of Medhall. One could say many things about the Anders, about their quiet way of promoting caucasians over other ethnic groups, or their possible nazi ancestry and so on. But one can not deny that the Anders were a power of Brockton Bay, the employers of numerous people, the source of votes and money.

And thus, 'Theo' smiled as he was introduced by Mayor Christner to Rory and Sam, his son and his son's girlfriend from New York. A meeting of equals as Theo's father went off to speak with the Mayor, to be seen with him on good terms.

 

[Snake/Eater]

[X] Plan Snake

[X] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there together.

[X] Socialize target: The Mayor and nuclear family, includes Rory (Triumph) and girlfriend Sam (Prism)
-[!] Start mapping out the social web from them.

[X] I am a humble but proud Prince. Generous to those who please me, terrible in my wrath to those who displease me.

 

[Marthis]

[X] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there together.

[X] Socializing targets to be determined later

[X] A Prince is the highest of noblemen, and noblemen should be loved by the peasants.

 

[Drak4806]

[X] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there together.
[X] Socializing targets to be determined later
[X] I am a humble but proud Prince. Generous to those who please me, terrible in my wrath to those who displease me.

 

[Kerfirou]

[X] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there together.
[X] Socializing targets to be determined later
[X] I am a humble but proud Prince. Generous to those who please me, terrible in my wrath to those who displease me.

 

[1986ctcel]

[X] Plan Bii

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

Last night was a but quiet huh?

 

[Selias]

[X] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there together.
[X] Let the people come to you.
[X] A Prince is the highest of noblemen, and noblemen should be loved by the peasants.

 

[derkan]

[X] Plan Bii

 

[Kiriel]

[X] Plan Bii

 

[Karnven]

(and a dog, because dogs are superior to cats)

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See this here is the part where you lose all credibility.

You filthy dog lovers, I swear you'll be the first people we glass...

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

See this here is the part where you lose all credibility.

You filthy dog lovers, I swear you'll be the first people we glass...

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To the last, I struggle with the. For hates sake I spit.my last breath at thee. From Hell's Heart, I STAB AT THEE!!!!!

Cats are evil soul stealing devilspawn.

 

[1986ctcel]

No cats are superior due to the fact that all cats love me and want to snuggle with me whereas most dogs are scared of me and don't let me pet them (unless I give them treats) or they bark at me

 

[Nyrath]

[X] Plan Bii

 

[SerbobIV]

[X] Plan Bii

 

[evildice]

[X] Plan Evil

[X] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there together.
-[X] "I hope you don't mind a little teasing." (use superpowers to figure out how far we can go)
-[X] Soon enough, she will ache for us.

[X] Socialize target: The Mayor and nuclear family, includes Rory (Triumph)
-[X] Start mapping out the social web from them.
-[X] It's nice to be on a first-name basis with powerful people.

[X] Secondary socialize target: The Stansfields (Including Dean as Dean)
-[X] "Sometimes it's nice to be an heir, isn't it?"
(Then Victoria comes over. "What are you two talking about?" -- "Oh, just putting on heirs.")

[X] Write-in
-[X] The major risk that I'm taking this evening is internal politics: inviting Sabah. Making the evening with Sabah go off flawlessly, ensuring that neither of us is embarrassed in public or private would be a very solid win.
-[X] I learned a lot today, let's not stop now. My goal tonight is to figure things out, not to make more waves.

 

[SwiftRosenthal]

[] Socialize target: The Mayor and nuclear family, includes Rory (Triumph)
-[] Start mapping out the social web from them.
-[] It's nice to be on a first-name basis with powerful people.

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This could go hilariously if we use the "Amazing what money can buy." excuse for why we went from fatkid!Theo to TDP: Triumph and his father could think that we're referring to a Cauldron vial.

[X] Plan Evil

 

[evildice]

This could go hilariously if we use the "Amazing what money can buy." excuse for why we went from fatkid!Theo to TDP: Triumph and his father could think that we're referring to a Cauldron vial.

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Oh man, that's plausible yet hilarious. I love it.

Rory: "Just got your powers?"

Theo: "Er, yeah. It was ... unusual. Dad was ... well, I don't want to talk about it."

Rory: "Oh wow. Yeah, my dad helped me too. If you know what I mean." (meaningful look)

Theo: "Oh my god, I thought it was just me. The, uh, dark woman?"

Rory: "Yeah. We can't talk about it, or her."

Theo: "Right. Shit, you're right."

~ A Triumphant Misunderstanding ~​

 

[Snake/Eater]

Oh man, that's plausible yet hilarious. I love it.

Rory: "Just got your powers?"

Theo: "Er, yeah. It was ... unusual. Dad was ... well, I don't want to talk about it."

Rory: "Oh wow. Yeah, my dad helped me too. If you know what I mean." (meaningful look)

Theo: "Oh my god, I thought it was just me. The, uh, dark woman?"

Rory: "Yeah. We can't talk about it, or her."

Theo: "Right. Shit, you're right."

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More! i want more of these awkward Theo and Rory omakes,this a bromance in the making,built on the sticky and hard foundation of miscommunication.

 

[Biigoh]

Tanuki made edit to vote!

[!] Socialize target: The Mayor and nuclear family, includes Rory (Triumph) and girlfriend Sam (Prism)
-[!] Start mapping out the social web from them.

Stunt! for Socializing - Extra Dice is always nice
A prince is a prince, noblest of nobles. And yet, the Mayor was the king of the city, for a set term, but the king who ruled from his palace.

And yet, Theodore Anders was the scion of Max Anders, the rather wealthy owner of Medhall. One could say many things about the Anders, about their quiet way of promoting caucasians over other ethnic groups, or their possible nazi ancestry and so on. But one can not deny that the Anders were a power of Brockton Bay, the employers of numerous people, the source of votes and money.

And thus, 'Theo' smiled as he was introduced by Mayor Christner to Rory and Sam, his son and his son's girlfriend from New York. A meeting of equals as Theo's father went off to speak with the Mayor, to be seen with him on good terms.

 

[1986ctcel]

What about socializing with Vicky and seeing if we can break her brain by showing off Sabah as our "date" so she starts getting all apologetic and "oh god I'm so sorry Theo I was wrong about you" or maybe we could start flirting with Panacea/Laserdream?