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[Exalted, ?] Most High

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Guile said:
Look, there's going to be some people at this celebration that will need a good stabbing. Assassins, random jackasses, possibly family members, whatever. We might as well get that out of the way up front.

In particular, I'm hoping to use Saery's prodigious Medicine score to keep ourselves from going FULL Hangover, in exchange for beating up/Accursed assassinating some dudes that will almost inevitably picking on Seacrown mortals/Saery's pals/Nellens folk. We might as well reap the fruits of our work via honour duels. They reap the whirlwind.

Oh Pipeman, you silly goose. We merely need the power to stalemate a 3CD like Ligier (he's a 3CD, right?), which will hopefully be accomplished in a year or so. Then we can marry whoever we want, and laugh at any nay-sayers.
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Wait... You don't want to go full Hangover? But you were the one who proposed it! That's, like, a negative argument against Revelry.
 
Updating my vote, now colour-coded for you convinience!

[X] Raw Power
[X] War-Saint's Ferocious Vigor
[X] Better Listener (Half of it)

Better focus on basics of the combat first, I think. On what to get from Better Listener, I think these parts marked with red are a good start:
*The keenness of his hearing and touch increase dramatically, allowing him to feel the vibrations from a insect's tread, or listen to conversations insulated by solid stone.
*His powers of sight are improved as well, giving him superlative vision under all circumstances. He can make out details through a blindfold, or read a letter through a window from three rooftops away.
*His heightened senses allow him supreme readiness for battle. With a modest exertion of power and will, he can leap into the fray with uncanny speed, seizing the momentum of the fight and significantly increasing his ability to spot hidden enemies.
*At Essence 3, his comprehension of physical vibrations is unmatched; he can feel the movements of individual formations through the ground of the battlefield, comprehend the utmost whispered discussions of enemy generals leagues away in their tents, or stalk a trackless foe by the miniscule vibrations of steps left hours ago. A one-man intelligence operation, he can ferret out secrets from a room hours after they were spoken, or monitor the entire guard detail of a fortress by crawling along its walls.
*All effects occur in a manner that avoids overwhelming Odyssial.
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I believe the last part is automatic with all of the effects, but if not, that has priority over all else. With the two I marked, we become virtually impossible to be surprised by enemies who are not significantly above us in their threat level (or just don't produce any sound at all), and even then it will be at least very difficult for them. If possible, I would like to also grab that Essence 3 Charm, as it focuses on hearing like the other choices except for the one improving sight, but it can wait a few days more. I just want to get our anti-assassination measures ready as soon as possible.
 
Orm Embar said:
We don't know for sure what the future will hold. Cruel reality often crushes beautiful dreams, but even that reality must yield before the power and unbreakable will of the Exalted. All we can do is act in accordance with Ulyssian's character. Dynastic revelry might yield benefits, but it's hardly the option that comes most naturally to Ulyssian, and I'd argue that it's much less beneficial than training. Avoiding the worst aspects of Realm culture in favor of building on highly productive habits is hardly a bad thing. We defied Zao for the right to associate with Moon, so we've already decided not to let external factors stand between us.

Anyway, establishing a precedent of holding ourselves separate from and above the frivolities of Dynastic society could work out in our favor, if we were to carefully develop our reputation. Recall Nathor and the option we had to leverage a standoffish nature into inspirational magnetism.
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Yeah, if we were going to step aside and let the world have its way, we should have chosen He's Right. That ship has departed, and the S.S. Uly/Moon has unfurled her sails.

Who's Nathor?
 
meianmaru said:
Updating my vote, now colour-coded for you convinience!

[X] Raw Power
[X] War-Saint's Ferocious Vigor
[X] Better Listener (Half of it)

Better focus on basics of the combat first, I think. On what to get from Better Listener, I think these parts marked with red are a good start:

I believe the last part is automatic with all of the effects, but if not, that has priority over all else. With the two I marked, we become virtually impossible to be surprised by enemies who are not significantly above us in their threat level (or just don't produce any sound at all), and even then it will be at least very difficult for them. If possible, I would like to also grab that Essence 3 Charm, as it focuses on hearing like the other choices except for the one improving sight, but it can wait a few days more. I just want to get our anti-assassination measures ready as soon as possible.
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No, the last part is just purchased at E3 because you can't buy it at mere E2. It requires you to have keen hearing first. Even if they don't produce sound, you can stil detect them by feeling the earth toph-style, or feeling disturbances in the air Zao-Style!

~ Op, op, op, oopa Shogun style ~
 
From a realm political standpoint Ulyssian marrying Moon is actually somewhat plausible as well, once you have the big picture in view. Granted that would require her to be openly known and proven as the Heir of the Last Shogun which means it has to wait until she gets to the point she can survive the ensuing shitstorm. I don't know if the timing can be done properly for it, but it certainly seems to be within the realm of possibility.

I do want to know if Zao is aware of just who he has here though. There hasn't been any statement either way that he's aware that Ulyssian is ... more than just your garden variety newly exalted Solar. Beyond all the other things that being the Second Coming of Odyssial entails there IS the connection to the Realm Defense Grid.

I've mentioned it before, and I can't really stress how useful that connection is. The Sword of Creation is an incredibly powerful and useful tool, and the fact that Ulyssian is hardcoded into it is something that the people making plans for his future should be aware of. Ivory probably knows, but Zao probably doesn't.

At least I think that's how things stand?
 
Savonarola said:
Who's Nathor?
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Nathor was the protagonist of Into the Light, the briefest of Rihaku's quests. He was a captive paladin turned gladiator, and we had a number of options designed to win the favor of the crowd; one was to become a frigidly magnetic figure, capable of capturing attention and inspiring admiration without engaging on a personal level.

I think we can do something similar here; we do, after all, have a Presence Excellency.
 
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Guile said:
Oh Pipeman, you silly goose. We merely need the power to stalemate a 3CD like Ligier (he's a 3CD, right?), which will hopefully be accomplished in a year or so. Then we can marry whoever we want, and laugh at any nay-sayers.
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That's more than a bit of a ridiculous assertion.
Marriage or at least betrothal is too powerful a card not to play, if we're really going for control over the Realm which all choices so far have been directed towards one way or another, and we outright told Zao we'd acquiese to any of his plans in exchange for his permission to tell Moon the full story about the Anathema stuff.

Given that he told us not five minutes earlier that we're going to have to marry some Dynast anyways, refusing that later on would mean Uly deliberately ignored this and told Zao he'd be willing to cooperate anyways and that's not something I can accept as a key facet of his character.

Well, I suppose there's still a lot to be said for making the best of the time Uly and Moon have left so to speak, but I can't help but feel the attraction to the romantic part of that vote is more than a bit tainted by it only delaying the demands the reality of their situation has of the two of them and, unless we really need to flee again, that's what this is.

Orm Embar said:
We don't know for sure what the future will hold. Cruel reality often crushes beautiful dreams, but even that reality must yield before the power and unbreakable will of the Exalted. All we can do is act in accordance with Ulyssian's character. Dynastic revelry might yield benefits, but it's hardly the option that comes most naturally to Ulyssian, and I'd argue that it's much less beneficial than training. Avoiding the worst aspects of Realm culture in favor of building on highly productive habits is hardly a bad thing. We defied Zao for the right to associate with Moon, so we've already decided not to let external factors stand between us.
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If we were going to ignore Zao's demands anyways, we should have just ignored him and told Moon anyways like I voted to.

But that's not what we did.

We negotiated, made concessions, accepted that he was right and only got to keep associating with Moon because both of us deemed it a sensible course of action after all.
We did not defy Zao, we agreed with his central argument but convinced him of our approach to the Moon situation.
Going back on that the moment we actually have to be engaged to someone else would be the kind of disingenious and spineless decision making I absolutely cannot accept from Uly.

Orm Embar said:
Anyway, establishing a precedent of holding ourselves separate from and above the frivolities of Dynastic society could work out in our favor, if we were to carefully develop our reputation. Recall Nathor and the option we had to leverage a standoffish nature into inspirational magnetism.
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Well, this does kind of assume the damage control run by Nilul or something like that not only happens but is also successful, because otherwise the whole "Pissing all over our House and alienating the rest of our friends at least a bit" thing still argues for Revelry of some kind.
A single evening of reveling does not preclude us from engineering such an image anyways, especially not since there are different degrees of revelling.
 
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You don't actually have the access info until you grow more powerful, just like how you don't have all your First Age memories. Your brain literally can't process it. Consider the amount of information Better Listener requires your brain to sift through, then add about nineteen additional senses of equal or greater complexity on top of that, and you will have only a fraction of the information needed to encode High First Age Odyssial. I mean, you can't even perceive spatial dimensions above three!
 
Rihaku said:
You don't actually have the access info until you grow more powerful, just like how you don't have all your First Age memories. Your brain literally can't process it. Consider the amount of information Better Listener requires your brain to sift through, then add about nineteen additional senses of equal or greater complexity on top of that, and you will have only a fraction of the information needed to encode High First Age Odyssial. I mean, you can't even perceive spatial dimensions above three!
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So we can't access the Sword of Creation until we're stronger?

Welp it's grinding time.
 
Rihaku said:
No, the last part is just purchased at E3 because you can't buy it at mere E2. It requires you to have keen hearing first. Even if they don't produce sound, you can stil detect them by feeling the earth toph-style, or feeling disturbances in the air Zao-Style!

~ Op, op, op, oopa Shogun style ~
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I actually meant this by the last part.
*All effects occur in a manner that avoids overwhelming Odyssial.
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But regardless, that is starting to sound even more OP. Actually, I'm changing my mind, I want it as soon as possible.
 
Pipeman said:
We negotiated, made concessions, accepted that he was right
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We absolutely did not accept that he was right; that option lost. Our feelings for Moon led us to find a way; because we respect our mentor, that way involved negotiation and taking a firm stance on the issue, rather than simply going behind his back. Just because we demonstrated tact and maturity does not mean we are irresolute.
Pipeman said:
Well, this does kind of assume the damage control run by Nilul or something like that not only happens but is also successful, because otherwise the whole "Pissing all over our House and alienating the rest of our friends at least a bit" thing still argues for Revelry of some kind.
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I think you're overselling the personal repercussions. There've been stunts to mitigate the fallout, mine among them. Our friends, at least, will understand. With Nilul's help, perhaps House Sesus will as well.

In any case, I wouldn't underestimate the importance of carefully planning your first impressions; such moments can be very important. If we're just another party animal, despite being Zao's heir, then that informs all future thoughts on us.
 
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Pipeman said:
That's more than a bit of a ridiculous assertion.
Marriage or at least betrothal is too powerful a card not to play, if we're really going for control over the Realm which all choices so far have been directed towards one way or another, and we outright told Zao we'd acquiese to any of his plans in exchange for his permission to tell Moon the full story about the Anathema stuff.

Given that he told us not five minutes earlier that we're going to have to marry some Dynast anyways, refusing that later on would mean Uly deliberately ignored this and told Zao he'd be willing to cooperate anyways and that's not something I can accept as a key facet of his character.

Well, I suppose there's still a lot to be said for making the best of the time Uly and Moon have left so to speak, but I can't help but feel the attraction to the romantic part of that vote is more than a bit tainted by it only delaying the demands the reality of their situation has of the two of them and, unless we really need to flee again, that's what this is.


If we were going to ignore Zao's demands anyways, we should have just ignored him and told Moon anyways like I voted to.

But that's not what we did.

We negotiated, made concessions, accepted that he was right and only got to keep associating with Moon because both of us deemed it a sensible course of action after all.
We did not defy Zao, we agreed with his central argument but convinced him of our approach to the Moon situation.
Going back on that the moment we actually have to be engaged to someone else would be the kind of disingenious and spineless decision making I absolutely cannot accept from Uly.


Well, this does kind of assume the damage control run by Nilul or something like that not only happens but is also successful, because otherwise the whole "Pissing all over our House and alienating the rest of our friends at least a bit" thing still argues for Revelry of some kind.
A single evening of reveling does not preclude us from engineering such an image anyways, especially not since there are different degrees of revelling.
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Don't worry, he'll be dead soon and you won't have to care what he says!

I don't think Ulyssian's commitment was quite that open-ended, obviously if Zao tells him to summon a chicken he would at least ask why. But yeah, Ulyssian wasn't really thinking about the marriage thing at the moment, so focused was he on making sure not to hurt Moon.
 
[X] Raw Power
-[X] Stand-in: Nilul.
[X] War-Saint's Ferocious Vigor
[X] Better Listener(half)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I could do as you, say, or I could do the more efficient thing. Between the two of us, you are dramatically better at all things social. I also don't doubt that you can disguise yourself. So the solution is simple, go to the party as me for me."
 
Ridiculously Average Guy said:
[X] Raw Power
-[X] Stand-in: Nilul.
[X] War-Saint's Ferocious Vigor
[X] Better Listener(half)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I could do as you, say, or I could do the more efficient thing. Between the two of us, you are dramatically better at all things social. I also don't doubt that you can disguise yourself. So the solution is simple, go to the party as me for me."
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This can't possibly go wrong!

I recommend this. Niluly will get so much action that you will be a legend!
 
Orm Embar said:
We absolutely did not accept that he was right; that option lost. Our feelings for Moon led us to find a way; because we respect our mentor, that way involved negotiation and taking a firm stance on the issue, rather than simply going behind his back. Just because we demonstrated tact and maturity does not mean we are irresolute.
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There was never an option to go behind his back.
There was an option to outright refuse his commands and tell Moon because that's what we wanted to do.
There was an option to completely accept his demands because we're in complete agreement with him.
And there was an option that accepted his reasoning, acknowledged his concerns and argued that these issues could be handled without putting his plans for Creation at risk.

The last option is the one we chose and it is also the option that invloved giving him our promise that we would listen to his commands when concerend with plans to save Creation.
We outright gave him our word on that.

There was never any mention of us wanting to be with Moon no matter what.
Uly's arguments were that abandoning Moon like that would be unfair, that Zao's concerns can be dealt with and that Moon is underutilized as an asset if we don't keep associating with her.
And at the end we agreed that we'd actually do what it takes to save Creation when it comes down to it.

There was an option to be a maverick and we did not take it.
If we go back on our comittment to save Creation for the sake of a relationship with Moon now, we would not be sticking to our guns no matter what, we would be the kind of shithead that pretends to be reasonable when things are going his way and decides to fuck everything over the moment they aren't.
 
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Pipeman said:
If we go back on our comittment to save Creation for the sake of a relationship with Moon now, we would not be sticking to our guns no matter what, we would be the kind of shithead that pretends to be reasonable when things are going his way and decides to fuck everything over the moment they aren't.
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'Fuck everything over'? We're still a Solar willing to hang around and direct our incandescent might at Zao's enemies.

Zao can just deal.
 
Pipeman said:
There was never an option to go behind his back.
There was an option to outright refuse his commands and tell Moon because that's what we wanted to do.
There was an option to completely accept his demands because we're in complete agreement with him.
And there was an option that accepted his reasoning, acknowledged his concerns and argued that these issues could be handled without putting his plans for Creation at risk.

The last option is the one we chose and it is also the option that invloved giving him our promise that we would listen to his commands when concerend with plans to save Creation.
We outright gave him our word on that.

There was never any mention of us wanting to be with Moon no matter what.
Uly's arguments were that abandoning Moon like that would be unfair, that Zao's concerns can be dealt with and that Moon is underutilized as an asset if we don't keep associating with her.
And at the end we agreed that we'd actually do what it takes to save Creation when it comes down to it.

There was an option to be a maverick and we did not take it.
If we go back on our comittment to save Creation for the sake of a relationship with Moon now, we would not be sticking to our guns no matter what, we would be the kind of shithead that pretends to be reasonable when things are going his way and decides to fuck everything over the moment they aren't.
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Zao plans for us include among other things either A. become the head of House Sesus or B. the head of another Great House so we don't really HAVE to get betrothed unless we MAJORLY fuck up and get dis-owned by our family so as long as we schmooze enough to make a good enough impression on the family to become the head we can marry Moon, at least as long we excel enough to bring great power and glory to the House that they're willing to accept any little "eccentricities" we may have (such as wanting to marry a Stray Egg).
 
All that we need to do to make it alright for Ulyssian to marry Moon is make sure she trains enough to survive the ensuing hellstorm when we set up Zao as the new ruler of the Realm. We can make ZAO marry for dynastic purposes, it'll be perfect! He's just cynical enough for it to work!
 
Pipeman said:
There was never an option to go behind his back.
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Actually, that was on the table, had Persuasion failed.
Pipeman said:
If we go back on our comittment to save Creation for the sake of a relationship with Moon now, we would not be sticking to our guns no matter what, we would be the kind of shithead that pretends to be reasonable when things are going his way and decides to fuck everything over the moment they aren't.
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We have Word of Rihaku that the commitment is not so open-ended as that. Personally, I believe that the two can coexist quite easily and productively. The fate of Creation does not depend solely on who Ulyssian is in a relationship with; the idea that we must kowtow to Zao's every whim or damn Creation to utter darkness is a false dichotomy. We are a Solar; we can have our cake and eat it too. Those who stand between us and cake will taste the edge of our Ambition.
 
Guile said:
'Fuck everything over'? We're still a Solar willing to hang around and direct our incandescent might at Zao's enemies.

Zao can just deal.
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Then we should have actually said that!
Seriously people, you should only go for compromise and discussion options when you are willing to abide by them!

This obsessive need to come away from confrontations with everyone in agreement, only to result in us going back on our word and never actually giving a shit about what we're agreeing to is an incredibly disgusting tendency in quests.

If you're not going to listen to Zao on matters regarding marriage or Moon, stop pretending as if you are whenever he's frowning at you.
 
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