[Exalted] Ain’t No Devil

[X] Fucking livid. All this time, all this work, you've sweated and bled and now it gets yanked out from under you within reach of the goal. A big scary monster neutered at the last so the crowd can cheer and pat themselves on the back as they watch it get knocked down. Well then fine. You'll show them what a real fucking monster looks like.

[x] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

Chaos! Chaos!

[X] Furious at Hayate. He planned this from the start, didn't he? Delicate little noble shithead. Wasn't enough to come in with equipment worth more than a lifetime's earnings and all the tutors he could want and the blessings of the dragons, he had to sabotage you like he sabotaged his opponent in the semis with that shitty sword. Well he's in for a big fucking surprise if he thinks you won't play dirty right back.

[X] Furious at Hayate. He planned this from the start, didn't he? Delicate little noble shithead. Wasn't enough to come in with equipment worth more than a lifetime's earnings and all the tutors he could want and the blessings of the dragons, he had to sabotage you like he sabotaged his opponent in the semis with that shitty sword. Well he's in for a big fucking surprise if he thinks you won't play dirty right back.

[x] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

[X] Furious at Hayate. He planned this from the start, didn't he? Delicate little noble shithead. Wasn't enough to come in with equipment worth more than a lifetime's earnings and all the tutors he could want and the blessings of the dragons, he had to sabotage you like he sabotaged his opponent in the semis with that shitty sword. Well he's in for a big fucking surprise if he thinks you won't play dirty right back.

[X] Furious at Hayate. He planned this from the start, didn't he? Delicate little noble shithead. Wasn't enough to come in with equipment worth more than a lifetime's earnings and all the tutors he could want and the blessings of the dragons, he had to sabotage you like he sabotaged his opponent in the semis with that shitty sword. Well he's in for a big fucking surprise if he thinks you won't play dirty right back.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the realcompetition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

I'm willing to bet the prince doesn't actually know just how rigged everything is. Just another piece in this fucked up mess of a society. Let's give these folks a show, shall we?

[X] Furious at Hayate. He planned this from the start, didn't he? Delicate little noble shithead. Wasn't enough to come in with equipment worth more than a lifetime's earnings and all the tutors he could want and the blessings of the dragons, he had to sabotage you like he sabotaged his opponent in the semis with that shitty sword. Well he's in for a big fucking surprise if he thinks you won't play dirty right back.

I know jack shit about Exalted but by god I won't miss me a Zerban quest

ZerbanDaGreat said:

You also imagine punching the Mouth of Peace in the mouth. Who says fantasies have to be realistic?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Ngl I made a- well I didn't laugh out loud but I did exhale slightly harder through my nose when I was reading which is probably the more honest reaction to type out. But man, Jiro. He just...has no idea what to do with himself does he? He's a guy who's really incredibly good at swording, who spent his entire life getting really incredibly good at swording, who has "really incredibly good at swording" as his only relevant skill on his SV and who isn't...really satisfied with being really incredibly good at swording. And what's worth noting is that he's just- he's here on his own too. He didn't have any friends come here with him. There's nobody in the stands who knows him and who's cheering him on. And that's kinda weird because a mercenary who's basically freelancing on his lonesome is pretty rare I'd imagine? It's easier to get fucked over by clients when you're just one guy and everyone thinks you're kinda spiritually dubious. It's harder when you're five hundred guys in matching armor. And it means that he's sourcing basically everything himself out of his own funds so...

The fact that they haven't been mentioned and that he's semi-accustomed to striking out on his own is Telling.

ZerbanDaGreat said:

On the right, who can't tell who it is on sight? Dynast-Prince Hayate Tamura. The tournament was all abuzz with excitement when he joined the lists, and no matter how many lowlives and ne'er-do-wells beelined for him he just kept coming out spotless. He's been formally trained by the best tutors Realm money can buy and it shows, the difference like night and day. There's a crispness to how he fights, drilled to extreme competence where perfection is impossible, on a whole other level to the rough and improvised techniques people like you use to get by. Oh there's been a few close calls in the past few days, a couple dangerous moments when it looked like the prince might so much as get a boo-boo, but he's always pulled through. He cuts an impressive figure there, completely encased in armour of silver-white jadesteel, a white horsehair crest flowing down from his helm to the small of his back to meet the twin tails of the sash tied around his waist. His face is concealed by a solid white jade mask shaped like the snarling maw of a dragon, only his eyes left to betray the humanity - the mortality - still in there. He may not share the same blessing as his father but down there he looks every bit the part. Like a god come to visit. You look at him and you know for a fact who you'll face tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Oh maaaaaaaan, there is...a lot to unpack here about our probably-main-rival-antagonist. Namely that the Satrap's son isn't Exalted and like- man no wonder daddy's putting his thumb on the scales. The kid's got the best armor imaginable, the best weapons, the best training, and even if he's increasingly being pushed against people higher in the bracket he's still pretty much in a league of his own. And if that wasn't enough the Realm's people are rigging the betting even further in his favor. Which works just fine for them, it's ultimately all a big show and the intent is to show off the Tamura family's power and prestige. Not some kinda meritocratic deal where the best fighter actually wins. And there's that passage too, about the ambient chatter of the crowds. How everyone thinks that we'll gracefully surrender, forfeit or get plowed under and how they're all surprised we haven't done the former and are looking forward to seeing us get the latter.

So in the spirit of that.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

Ffffuuuuuck that. Fuck them. Fuck the Festival. Fuck all of it. They want a big show, they were never going to let us win fairly ("fairly") and they've poured how much treasure and influence and planning into this? Catering to the crowd for days and days, getting them whipped up for this, the biggest moment? The climax where it all comes to a head and everyone gets to see how important and In Control of things the Tamura are?

I like the idea of Jiro just viscerally and impulsively deciding to cut against the grain, to ruin it all. To take everything they've built and just spike it into the ground in what's supposed to be their moment of triumph.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

We accept nothing less than societal revolution, and this is close.

[X] Furious at Hayate. He planned this from the start, didn't he? Delicate little noble shithead. Wasn't enough to come in with equipment worth more than a lifetime's earnings and all the tutors he could want and the blessings of the dragons, he had to sabotage you like he sabotaged his opponent in the semis with that shitty sword. Well he's in for a big fucking surprise if he thinks you won't play dirty right back.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

Tbh there all good options and I have trouble picking between them all.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

Fuck you and fuck your dad, yes. But fuck the system that created you shits and the losers who enable you as well.

It's a split between the last two options for me, so I'm gonna follow Tenfold's lead and,

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

Because yeah, this is a pretty sweetly set up puff piece, and it stinks. I want to see what Zerban has in mind to piss in it.

What also interests me though is Hayate, because this is kind of a weird situation. Here we have a 'Dynast Prince' being kitted out with the very best training and equipment, but who is not Exalted. Normally, this guy would be a Patrician - basically the Realm's upper middle class or petty nobility, one of the unimportant functionaries of a Dynastic House. Someone fundamentally disappointing - he could have Exalted, could have been a jewel of the House, but... wasn't.

Except he's clearly not that. And there is no 'House Tamura' in the Realm that I know, which means we're not dealing with one of the big canon houses. Which means this whole setup is very much an unknown, and that interests me. Speculating wildly, I'd guess we're looking at a cadet House or other small fry with hopes of being an up-and-comer, with Hayate as the beloved son of one of their few actual Exalted, backed to a degree that no Patrician would normally be. I don't know for sure, but if this high-and-mighty Dynast turns out to the Realm equivalent of a petty hedge knight barely better than peasants themselves, I'm going to have a real giggle.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the realcompetition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

Nice writing thus far. Gonna lurk for a bit.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.


Lets ruin the show.
If they wanted it scripted they'd damned well pay us and tell us.

[x] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

Tenfold makes good points what can I say.

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

We are gonna take our big, blunt sword and break pretty boy's armor with it. And maybe skin. And bones.

And then we will have to fight our way out of the city .

Well I'm convinced.

Changing votes:

[X] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

LonelyWolf999 said:

I'm willing to bet the prince doesn't actually know just how rigged everything is. Just another piece in this fucked up mess of a society. Let's give these folks a show, shall we?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I'm going to bet that the prince Exalts during this actually.

[x] Seething at the entire setup. It's all fake, isn't it? All of it. It's just another piece of the posturing that is the Festival, a bloody honey trap, another way for the Tamura to show off. If wasn't the prince it'd be someone else in their pocket, someone with the tournament officials on their side, pairing people off to whittle down the real competition and fix who takes home the wreath. Well then fine. You're gonna ruin this for them too if it's the last thing you do.

uju32 said:

I'm going to bet that the prince Exalts during this actually.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

While I don't think he will be the one who exalts in this fight, I will acknowledge it would be amazing being able to watch first hand as a child of the the realm becomes Anathema in front of most of a satrapie, including his Dragon Blooded father.