Ridiculously Average Guy
I'm you, but stronger
- Location
-
This would be after all the exaltations were broken down...
[Buffy/WoD] What is Normal?
- Thread starter Ellf
- Start date
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
You CAN'T break down an Exaltation. Or weaken one, for that matter. Not even Autocthon could, and he made them; even Oblivion itself can't even scratch the metaphysical paint. Flip polarity, add on some extra bits, those are doable. Breaking one down, weakening one or outright destroying one? Nope; not happening.
Ridiculously Average Guy
I'm you, but stronger
- Location
-
I'm talking about this:
Running of of that (Exalted as the precursor for WoD), she could be a Slayer, just a very, very, weak one.
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
What part of "Celestial Exaltations would continue to exist - UNDIMINISHED - even if all of Creation - AND the Wyld, AND Malfeas, AND Yu-Shan, AND EVEN AUTOCHTHON - were plunged into Oblivion (and therefore ceased to exist)" do you not get? WoG: They're completely indestructible; even obliterating the universe which created them won't diminish them at all.
How adorable.
Yeah, sorry, in the case where Creation becomes the oWoD, that's pretty much what happens. The Dragonblooded become the Kuel-jin, wretched dammed things barely stronger than the weaker generations of Western Kindred. The Solars are lessened and when they are released again they are the Hunters [1]. And the Sidereal Exaltations are broken and their fragments are called by later generations the Avatars of Mages (see here).
Don't presume to assert a specifically 2e idea of the undiminishable Exaltation and presume it will always be the case.
And Buffy does, in fact, map pretty well to a Hunter - not least because Hunters are as a splat basically written to enable Buffy-like characters.
[1] Who had to fight nerfed versions of the mainline splats because they were right down at the bottom of the scale, while mages sat up at the top and threw peanuts down at them.
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
*inaudible muttering* Fine. When can we have another snippet, then?
Technically Exalted is canon to oWoD but oWoD isn't canon to Exalted. It's somewhat weird. It's also an irrelevant canon trivia bit to be honest given that by the time the Sixth Age rolls around nothing of Exalted exists intact or recognizable.
Of course one other thing about oWod and Gehenna is that you can take it or leave it. Hell their sourcebook Gehenna had several differnt versions as being possible. It could all simply be a giant hoax as well. So no need for hard and fast saviors or exhalts to 'fix' it. Personally I am of the belief that Gehenna is a prank by Coyote and isn't actually real beyond what people have done thinking it is.
Amorous Intent
Love the future
- Location
- Octavia, Venus
- Pronouns
- She/her
The existence of Revised oMage and other splats post-Week of Nightmares says otherwise. Tl;dr: Technocrats used an orbital mirror array to have Ravnos meet a million suns. Also, they drop a couple of spirit nukes on him, and the combined backlash creates the Avatar Storm. The storm forcibly separates all mages in the Umbra from Earth. After 90+ days, they turn into warped spirit versions of themselves, with the off-world Technocrats becoming Threat Null and the spirit-walking Traditionalists becoming the Rogue Council.
The other splats are there, but they're insignificant.
To be perfectly fair, mages throw peanuts down at unbroken Solars.
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
And then the Solars throw the peanuts right back at the mages with enough force to knock them off their heavenly thrones.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
You can draw the comparison just about anywhere, though.
If you look at the visuals? Yes, Mages beat exalts. Their stuff is sometimes quite ridiculous, if it wasn't for that nasty backlash.
If you try to fit oWoD into Creation, though...
There's a splat, for Exalted, which covers Mage-type abilities fairly well. It's called "Graceful Wicked Masques", and if I may be to bold as to suggest that there could be connection... it'd be easy to claim that the Mage stuff isn't real, in the sense that the deeds of an Exalted is; that, indeed, it only works because of the collective belief that it does.
Charms don't fail just because the surroundings don't believe in you, and if Mage talents are in fact shaping then there are some fairly nice catch-all defences to be had.
—Or so I'd say, but there is no word of god on the matter. It's up to the storyteller.
If you look at the visuals? Yes, Mages beat exalts. Their stuff is sometimes quite ridiculous, if it wasn't for that nasty backlash.
If you try to fit oWoD into Creation, though...
There's a splat, for Exalted, which covers Mage-type abilities fairly well. It's called "Graceful Wicked Masques", and if I may be to bold as to suggest that there could be connection... it'd be easy to claim that the Mage stuff isn't real, in the sense that the deeds of an Exalted is; that, indeed, it only works because of the collective belief that it does.
Charms don't fail just because the surroundings don't believe in you, and if Mage talents are in fact shaping then there are some fairly nice catch-all defences to be had.
—Or so I'd say, but there is no word of god on the matter. It's up to the storyteller.
Second Snippet
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
Little tidbit incoming. Latter part of the Grout scene and the scene after. Few more Normal-ish scenes before... well, you'll see. Would have preferred to write a bit more, but this scene was a bit of a bear. Next couple should be more fun. Also, editing first post with some minor description edits.
Buffy felt the tugging at her mind. The pull of something not herself causing things to bubble up out her was unmistakable, and while she tried to fight it, it was for naught. She couldn't overcome it. It was like a worm, burrowing deep into her psyche, a need to please this man, and a need to follow the order lest something worse happen. Still, why did it matter? She shouldn't worry. After all, it's not like Spike didn't know what was happening already. She could smell his smokes and the chemicals he used in his hair. The unsouled vampire wasn't someone whom she should trust, but the past few months, she'd been leaning on him more and more.
"Well, come on, Slayer. Let's see how much you remember." So she told him. While Spike knew everything already, she told him. Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, Angel, Glory, the Initiative, Faith, everything except for Dawn. She kept Dawn to herself. Sure, Spike knew already, but the fact that Dawn was the Key was something she had to keep to herself, even under pressure. She even mentioned Heaven and the Trio, but never Dawn.
"Probably time to sleep now, pet. Don't worry yourself, your mum and pops will get you out in the morning." Spike sounded so reasonable. She needed to sleep this dream away... after all, Sunnydale wasn't real, and this didn't feel like it was that. She laid back down in her bed and closed her eyes. This was such a sad dream. Why did she have to see Spike and not anyone else?
*********************
The following morning, she was woken by a feminine hand brushing her hair out of her face. When she opened her eyes, she smiled at her mother. "Morning..."
"Good morning, sweetie. Your father and I have some good news for you today..." Sure enough, when she looked to the foot of the bed, there was Hank Summers, smiling at her along with her mother. Sitting up, she turned to listen. "Your doctors say that it's fine to take you home. You haven't relapsed, and we can have you do any future treatment necessary as an outpatient. Frankly, I want my daughter back at home where she belongs." Hank grinned at her.
"When can we go?" Buffy tried not to sound too eager. This was still a hospital... and for all she knew, her mind could easily be playing a trick on her.
"Just as soon as we get you changed out of that gown and into some real clothes. Which means it's time for your father to step outside." Her mother revealed a hangar and a bag. Despite everything, Buffy was still a Cali girl at heart, and wearing anything but the hospital gown sounded remarkably appealing right now. The moment the door shut after her father, she grabbed at the bags, making sure to get the appropriate underwear first. "I know it's not the most stylish, honey, but you've been in here a while. I didn't know how much your body's changed."
Buffy smiled. "Anything's better than the hospital gown, Mom." Of course, then she pulled out the grey sweats and tee-shirt that said "Architects use it right" and grimaced. "Well... maybe not by much though. Please tell me you brought a jacket..."
"It's in the car, sweetie. Sorry, your Father packed the clothing when we heard." Archaeologists taste like history. Architects taste of creativity. She'd have to deal with it. If she wanted to get out of here sooner, she'd wear the ugly shirt and then maybe she'd be able to con her Dad into taking her shopping. Or better yet, con him into giving her the card and letting her go wild. She put the clothes on and was personally glad that there was no mirror in her room. She didn't want to see the mess she knew she must look like right now.
"Well... If the doctors say I'm good to go, I'd definitely like to. Being out of the hospital would be of the good." Buffy said with a smile once she'd finished. "And getting some real foodage would be nice too."
"We'll get your father and head home then. All the paperwork we've needed to sign is already done, and the pharmacy has given us your medicine." Ugh. Medicine. She supposed it might have been some help in controlling her delusion, but the reminder that she'd have to be drugged up for a good portion of the rest of her life did not sit well with Buffy. As much as she'd love to say that she was completely sane and that she didn't belong here, certain prior facts disagreed with that.
As it was, she wasn't entirely certain that even current facts agreed with her being completely sane, even if she hadn't had a relapse to Sunnydale since a week ago. Buffy didn't tell her doctors, but sometimes she heard whispers that seemed to come from nowhere. They were somewhat informative, and perhaps even helpful, but they were definitely not the mark of a sane person.
Buffy shook herself out of her musings. It was time to get home. This hospital of the insane was clearly making her way too introspective, and she was definitely more of an action-girl. "Let's go, Mom."
The pair of women stepped out, and Hank met them in the hallway. Finally getting a good look at her father, Buffy noted that the man's hair seemed a bit greyer in areas than she remembered, and though he wore a somewhat professional set of khakis and dark collared shirt, they were rumpled in areas, indicating that perhaps he'd fallen asleep in them. Maybe he'd been working late when he got the call, which would explain the ghastliness of the shirt he picked out.
"Hey Dad..." She wasn't entirely sure how she should respond to him. The last memory she had of the man prior to this point was that he was in Spain with his secretary, living out the cliché. How had her delusion made her miss with her father? He feels guilt and stayed. His secretary, nothing but kine.
"Hey pumpkin, looking good." Did his voice sound strained? He was the one who picked out the damn shirt anyway. Or maybe it was her hair. It definitely could have been her hair. Of course, a niggling voice within her told her it could easily be this place. She might have been bad with hospitals, but her father was terrible with them. The healing women of this place could not hold his fancy.
"Can we get out of here? I'm totally over the lunatic chic." Buffy said with a small scowl. Her father nodded and started leading the way out with her mother trailing behind. Buffy didn't know the other patients she passed by. No faces stood out to her, nor did she care to try and look. The less memories she had of this place, the better. Even the one within her delusion she preferred to forget with the bastard doctors feeding patients to a demon and... What makes you think this place is any different?
She shuddered as she finally stepped outside into the sunlight, suddenly feeling, for half a second that maybe this wasn't real. Maybe she was still under the influence of a demon in Sunnydale. Maybe the nerds had managed to convince her so much that she needed this that she'd.... No, this was real. The longer she stood in the natural light, the more she was convinced. There wasn't a lot of natural light in her ce-room, so it took her eyes a few minutes to adjust. Once they were, she saw where her father had led her.
"What. Is. That?" Buffy bit out as she looked at the car. Well, if you could call it that. It was a four-door something, painted a color that could only be described as puce. Oh. There was a hatchback. It was like her Mom's SUV and Giles's Citroen had a baby that was beaten with every single ugly stick on the way down.
"It's my Toyota Matrix, Buffy. I only fill up gas once every two weeks and it gets really great speeds." Her father posed in front of the car and smiled... And she swore she saw a twinkle in his teeth. Like he was posing for some sort of camera or something... it wasn't right. She shook her head, and while the car was unfortunately still ugly, Hank Summers was just opening the door for her rather than posing. "Are you okay, princess? I know it's ugly, but it was the best car on the lot for its price. I'll show you the other car when we get home. You'll like that more, I promise."
Buffy's lips curled slightly as she stepped into the car. She supposed she would have to deal with this indignity for a little longer. She buckled herself in, and with an impish glee, she said "To Home, Jeeves."
Finally, she was out of that place. No longer the One in all the world, no longer the only person whom everyone had to lean on, Buffy could finally just figure out how to be a normal girl. This is what she wanted, right? A world without vampires, demons, and her mother alive... Her parents were together. Why couldn't she help but feel like she forgot something important?
Buffy felt the tugging at her mind. The pull of something not herself causing things to bubble up out her was unmistakable, and while she tried to fight it, it was for naught. She couldn't overcome it. It was like a worm, burrowing deep into her psyche, a need to please this man, and a need to follow the order lest something worse happen. Still, why did it matter? She shouldn't worry. After all, it's not like Spike didn't know what was happening already. She could smell his smokes and the chemicals he used in his hair. The unsouled vampire wasn't someone whom she should trust, but the past few months, she'd been leaning on him more and more.
"Well, come on, Slayer. Let's see how much you remember." So she told him. While Spike knew everything already, she told him. Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, Angel, Glory, the Initiative, Faith, everything except for Dawn. She kept Dawn to herself. Sure, Spike knew already, but the fact that Dawn was the Key was something she had to keep to herself, even under pressure. She even mentioned Heaven and the Trio, but never Dawn.
"Probably time to sleep now, pet. Don't worry yourself, your mum and pops will get you out in the morning." Spike sounded so reasonable. She needed to sleep this dream away... after all, Sunnydale wasn't real, and this didn't feel like it was that. She laid back down in her bed and closed her eyes. This was such a sad dream. Why did she have to see Spike and not anyone else?
*********************
The following morning, she was woken by a feminine hand brushing her hair out of her face. When she opened her eyes, she smiled at her mother. "Morning..."
"Good morning, sweetie. Your father and I have some good news for you today..." Sure enough, when she looked to the foot of the bed, there was Hank Summers, smiling at her along with her mother. Sitting up, she turned to listen. "Your doctors say that it's fine to take you home. You haven't relapsed, and we can have you do any future treatment necessary as an outpatient. Frankly, I want my daughter back at home where she belongs." Hank grinned at her.
"When can we go?" Buffy tried not to sound too eager. This was still a hospital... and for all she knew, her mind could easily be playing a trick on her.
"Just as soon as we get you changed out of that gown and into some real clothes. Which means it's time for your father to step outside." Her mother revealed a hangar and a bag. Despite everything, Buffy was still a Cali girl at heart, and wearing anything but the hospital gown sounded remarkably appealing right now. The moment the door shut after her father, she grabbed at the bags, making sure to get the appropriate underwear first. "I know it's not the most stylish, honey, but you've been in here a while. I didn't know how much your body's changed."
Buffy smiled. "Anything's better than the hospital gown, Mom." Of course, then she pulled out the grey sweats and tee-shirt that said "Architects use it right" and grimaced. "Well... maybe not by much though. Please tell me you brought a jacket..."
"It's in the car, sweetie. Sorry, your Father packed the clothing when we heard." Archaeologists taste like history. Architects taste of creativity. She'd have to deal with it. If she wanted to get out of here sooner, she'd wear the ugly shirt and then maybe she'd be able to con her Dad into taking her shopping. Or better yet, con him into giving her the card and letting her go wild. She put the clothes on and was personally glad that there was no mirror in her room. She didn't want to see the mess she knew she must look like right now.
"Well... If the doctors say I'm good to go, I'd definitely like to. Being out of the hospital would be of the good." Buffy said with a smile once she'd finished. "And getting some real foodage would be nice too."
"We'll get your father and head home then. All the paperwork we've needed to sign is already done, and the pharmacy has given us your medicine." Ugh. Medicine. She supposed it might have been some help in controlling her delusion, but the reminder that she'd have to be drugged up for a good portion of the rest of her life did not sit well with Buffy. As much as she'd love to say that she was completely sane and that she didn't belong here, certain prior facts disagreed with that.
As it was, she wasn't entirely certain that even current facts agreed with her being completely sane, even if she hadn't had a relapse to Sunnydale since a week ago. Buffy didn't tell her doctors, but sometimes she heard whispers that seemed to come from nowhere. They were somewhat informative, and perhaps even helpful, but they were definitely not the mark of a sane person.
Buffy shook herself out of her musings. It was time to get home. This hospital of the insane was clearly making her way too introspective, and she was definitely more of an action-girl. "Let's go, Mom."
The pair of women stepped out, and Hank met them in the hallway. Finally getting a good look at her father, Buffy noted that the man's hair seemed a bit greyer in areas than she remembered, and though he wore a somewhat professional set of khakis and dark collared shirt, they were rumpled in areas, indicating that perhaps he'd fallen asleep in them. Maybe he'd been working late when he got the call, which would explain the ghastliness of the shirt he picked out.
"Hey Dad..." She wasn't entirely sure how she should respond to him. The last memory she had of the man prior to this point was that he was in Spain with his secretary, living out the cliché. How had her delusion made her miss with her father? He feels guilt and stayed. His secretary, nothing but kine.
"Hey pumpkin, looking good." Did his voice sound strained? He was the one who picked out the damn shirt anyway. Or maybe it was her hair. It definitely could have been her hair. Of course, a niggling voice within her told her it could easily be this place. She might have been bad with hospitals, but her father was terrible with them. The healing women of this place could not hold his fancy.
"Can we get out of here? I'm totally over the lunatic chic." Buffy said with a small scowl. Her father nodded and started leading the way out with her mother trailing behind. Buffy didn't know the other patients she passed by. No faces stood out to her, nor did she care to try and look. The less memories she had of this place, the better. Even the one within her delusion she preferred to forget with the bastard doctors feeding patients to a demon and... What makes you think this place is any different?
She shuddered as she finally stepped outside into the sunlight, suddenly feeling, for half a second that maybe this wasn't real. Maybe she was still under the influence of a demon in Sunnydale. Maybe the nerds had managed to convince her so much that she needed this that she'd.... No, this was real. The longer she stood in the natural light, the more she was convinced. There wasn't a lot of natural light in her ce-room, so it took her eyes a few minutes to adjust. Once they were, she saw where her father had led her.
"What. Is. That?" Buffy bit out as she looked at the car. Well, if you could call it that. It was a four-door something, painted a color that could only be described as puce. Oh. There was a hatchback. It was like her Mom's SUV and Giles's Citroen had a baby that was beaten with every single ugly stick on the way down.
"It's my Toyota Matrix, Buffy. I only fill up gas once every two weeks and it gets really great speeds." Her father posed in front of the car and smiled... And she swore she saw a twinkle in his teeth. Like he was posing for some sort of camera or something... it wasn't right. She shook her head, and while the car was unfortunately still ugly, Hank Summers was just opening the door for her rather than posing. "Are you okay, princess? I know it's ugly, but it was the best car on the lot for its price. I'll show you the other car when we get home. You'll like that more, I promise."
Buffy's lips curled slightly as she stepped into the car. She supposed she would have to deal with this indignity for a little longer. She buckled herself in, and with an impish glee, she said "To Home, Jeeves."
Finally, she was out of that place. No longer the One in all the world, no longer the only person whom everyone had to lean on, Buffy could finally just figure out how to be a normal girl. This is what she wanted, right? A world without vampires, demons, and her mother alive... Her parents were together. Why couldn't she help but feel like she forgot something important?
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Ridiculously Average Guy
I'm you, but stronger
- Location
-
Ah, memory fuckery. Always hated it.
I'd say she's a Malk, but she was standing in sunlight. All Malks share the same subconscious so they always come off as knowing too much because chances are another Malk saw or herd something. the fact she used the word Kine gives it away.
But still, she was standing in sunlight so I'm a bit stumped. Something more is going on then just Buffy being turned. It could be she's still in a delusion, or she might have wound up in oWoD after portal shenanigans and got turned. With all the crazy shit that happens in oWoD it probably wouldn't be hard to have somebody pretend to be Buffy's parents.
But again, it's the sun light that's throwing me off.
Edit: If Buffy is a Malk AND in L.A. I already know who I want to be her Sire
Edit 2: If Buffy did come to oWoD due to portals and get turned it would be kinda neat to see the others show up and be horrified that she's an alt-dimension vampire. Then again, oWoD vamps aren't nearly as bad as Buffy vamps in certain ways, they don't kill humans anywhere near as much, and it's completely possible for Buffy to exist without killing an innocent.
Also, since she isn't a traditional Buffy vampire maybe the Slayer stuff stayed behind? That could be giving her protection from sunlight, might also explain Grout's interest.
But still, she was standing in sunlight so I'm a bit stumped. Something more is going on then just Buffy being turned. It could be she's still in a delusion, or she might have wound up in oWoD after portal shenanigans and got turned. With all the crazy shit that happens in oWoD it probably wouldn't be hard to have somebody pretend to be Buffy's parents.
But again, it's the sun light that's throwing me off.
Edit: If Buffy is a Malk AND in L.A. I already know who I want to be her Sire
Edit 2: If Buffy did come to oWoD due to portals and get turned it would be kinda neat to see the others show up and be horrified that she's an alt-dimension vampire. Then again, oWoD vamps aren't nearly as bad as Buffy vamps in certain ways, they don't kill humans anywhere near as much, and it's completely possible for Buffy to exist without killing an innocent.
Also, since she isn't a traditional Buffy vampire maybe the Slayer stuff stayed behind? That could be giving her protection from sunlight, might also explain Grout's interest.
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sonicfan315
He of the Frakencomps and Frankentops
- Location
- Hicksville Illinois
I'd say she's a Malk, but she was standing in sunlight. All Malks share the same subconscious so they always come off as knowing too much because chances are another Malk saw or herd something. the fact she used the word Kine gives it away.
But still, she was standing in sunlight so I'm a bit stumped. Something more is going on then just Buffy being turned. It could be she's still in a delusion, or she might have wound up in oWoD after portal shenanigans and got turned. With all the crazy shit that happens in oWoD it probably wouldn't be hard to have somebody pretend to be Buffy's parents.
But again, it's the sun light that's throwing me off.
Edit: If Buffy is a Malk AND in L.A. I already know who I want to be her Sire
Edit 2: If Buffy did come to oWoD due to portals and get turned it would be kinda neat to see the others show up and be horrified that she's an alt-dimension vampire. Then again, oWoD vamps aren't nearly as bad as Buffy vamps in certain ways, they don't kill humans anywhere near as much, and it's completely possible for Buffy to exist without killing an innocent.
Also, since she isn't a traditional Buffy vampire maybe the Slayer stuff stayed behind? That could be giving her protection from sunlight, might also explain Grout's interest.
My money's her being either a hunter or a mage.
In fact, if it is something about the Slayer power acting up with oWoD Vampirism that's making Buffy immune to sunlight it would completely explain Grout's interest in her. Alister Grout is one of the few Vampires that still believes there is a cure, he sees Vampirism as more of a disease than anything else. A vampire that can walk around in sunlight would definitely peak his interest, it would also explain why he wanted to know all about her delusions since the answer could be somewhere in her story. The Slayer power may stick around since, as far as I know, the soul of oWoD vampires stay in their bodies after they turn, as opposed to Buffy vamps which have their souls replaced with a demonic one. We'll have to wait and see of course, but it's looking like this will be very interesting.
Edit: Providing what I'm saying is true, there are two possibilities. Either Grout, who is with the Camarilla, believes or knows Buffy is from a different world and the Camarilla or just Grout is actively working to force her to believe that Sunnydale and her previous life is a lie, since a vamp that can walk in sunlight is a pretty big deal. Or Grout doesn't believe she's from a different reality and he, or he and the Camarilla, are jumping through hoops to make sure she doesn't run off while they study her.
Or I could just be wrong about everything.
Edit: Providing what I'm saying is true, there are two possibilities. Either Grout, who is with the Camarilla, believes or knows Buffy is from a different world and the Camarilla or just Grout is actively working to force her to believe that Sunnydale and her previous life is a lie, since a vamp that can walk in sunlight is a pretty big deal. Or Grout doesn't believe she's from a different reality and he, or he and the Camarilla, are jumping through hoops to make sure she doesn't run off while they study her.
Or I could just be wrong about everything.
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Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Buffy's not just walking around in sunlight. She's ALIVE; heartbeat, breathing, everything. (Otherwise Joyce would have noticed she was hugging a corpse.) Grout may have ghouled her, though...
They can make people insane I think.
That is, if Buffy's parents, or the people/things playing her parents, aren't ghouls. It's not like a heart beat is incredibly obvious, it's something you have to actually pause and check for, she could also be breathing just because she always has.
That is, if Buffy's parents, or the people/things playing her parents, aren't ghouls. It's not like a heart beat is incredibly obvious, it's something you have to actually pause and check for, she could also be breathing just because she always has.
Arthur Hansen
Author of no Authority.
- Location
- Utah, behind the Zion Curtain.
Ghoul, then?