Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

Dmol8 · Oct 27, 2023

DragonParadox said:
"Data Flows are in Alignment," comes the soft almost bell-like voice of One Who Ascends the Ladder of Perfection, most skilled fate weaver in the City of Law, machine spirit of its major defense grid. A rare thing for the guardian to bother with any singular act of forging, but much like Ancient Luc, if with less pathos, it has taken umbrage at the notions that the weapons it counts on in defense of the city could be could be sabotaged by any of a handful of strange magicians from the Beyond

The underlined part is doubled up and you forgot to put the punctuation at the end of the paragraph.

DragonParadox said:
A river a data flows though arcane circuitry designed to resonate in geomantic harmonies as infra-sounds start vibrating though the chill air, though seat of stone and into your very bones. It is nothing like calling on the knowlege within, alien and uncomfortable, but after a few moments you settle in and your hands begin to fly

In that moment you realize that you had been looking at this all wrong. There is no need to stop the saboteur cold, just make it impossible for him to copy his work over, as soon as the code is changed in a single weapon or other piece of technology the resonance would pass though all other devices in range alerting them that they should scramble their network protocols. A computer, a machine spirit of a kind that might have to legitimately work on the devices, say to repair them, would easily be able to decrypt the ad-hoc coding, but the wizard with only one human brain's worth of computing power would be utterly stumped

The underlined is knowledge not knowlege. Also a lack of punctuation at the end of both paragraphs.

In terms of gifts can we give Lydia something made of Opal? I'm asking because glass is associated with the release of death in certain Slavic myths, Fexts being the most famous ones on that note these days, and I'm wondering if giving Lydia a weapon or something else made from Opal would be helpful.

fictionfan · Oct 27, 2023

DragonParadox said:
Well I will say thins much, Molly is self-assured enough to summon Meave in order to give her a present and even Mab. She might hesitate a bit more at Mother Winter.

Who was the one that inflected Meave in a Canon? Would it happen to be the same red vampire we happen to have the head of? Because I hear that the head of a hated enemy that has done them wrong is always an appropriate gift in the winter court. Waste of a crafting material though.

DragonParadox · Oct 27, 2023

fictionfan said:
Who was the one that inflected Meave in a Canon? Would it happen to be the same red vampire we happen to have the head of? Because I hear that the head of a hated enemy that has done them wrong is always an appropriate gift in the winter court. Waste of a crafting material though.

Bianca though that is not useful for head getting purposes, she is dead, Harry killed her and sparked the war.

Anaja · Oct 27, 2023

fictionfan said:
Who was the one that inflected Meave in a Canon?

Bianca, and she's already dead. Harry took care of that back when he sparked the war between the White Council and Red Court.

There might have been some involvement from higher up in the Red Court hierarchy, but the only other specific person I remember Bianca being explicitly connected with was Mavra, a Black Court vampire.

Edit:

Yog · Oct 27, 2023

BronzeTongue said:
If we do that it should be something super weird for our own amusement.

Wine brewed entirely in the perpetual cold and dark of the wastes from plants with no analog off of our world or something. Maybe fivefold distilled brandy based on Nohongata? Something that'd burn the eyebrows off of a mortal.

Or since it's technically a root vegetable some sort of waste-vodka equivalent?

Hmm, ok. Adding this for now. This shouldn't obligate them too much. I was thinking about making Elsa-style ice dress for either Maeve or Mab from the exotic ices of our court (or maybe a matching set?), but that's a bit too much, isn't it.

Anaja said:
That's a shame. I think that would go over well.

Ok, fine. Let's do this.

Artemis1992 said:
Spa-weekend in the City of Fountains maybe?

Ok, that works. Adding it in.

Artemis1992 said:
I really doubt that helps much in our world, the basic conditions are just too different.

It's more about expanding one's horizons. Murphy is searching for a way to do her job well. We have a solution. Not a solution that might work for her, but an entire corpus of laws and legal and philosophical research that is dealing with the same problem. That's bound to be interesting, I think.

Artemis1992 said:
Didn't we say something about a car, eventually?

Eventually, yes. @DragonParadox does Daniel have his license already?

I am left with Thomas only as a problem.

DragonParadox · Oct 27, 2023

Yog said:
Eventually, yes. @DragonParadox does Daniel have his license already?

Yes, he does.

Yog · Oct 27, 2023

BronzeTongue said:
He has an old school ice box and a large fiction library. Dresden is super stubborn about his habits, so I'd be surprised if he substantially changed his lifestyle even if we got him some of those modern conveniences.

Tsotate said:
Instead of blowing things up harder, we could give him a slightly less work related blasting rod of blowing things up more Chicago-esque, as a proof of concept for how his magic doesn't need to have techbane.

Ok. I'll agree to this

DragonParadox said:
Yes, he does.

Ok, then we probably should fulfill that promise.

So: send Mab's and Maeve's presents via a winter fae courier, give Harry a techbane mitigating focus suited for delicate work, and get Daniel a car.

Yog · Oct 27, 2023

@DragonParadox does Molly knows about Thomas's issues with tactile contact with his girlfriend? What does she know about Thomas in general? His hobbies, likes, etc?

Azais · Oct 27, 2023

[X] Yog

Goldfish · Oct 27, 2023

Yog said:
--[X] Murphy: A set of law textbooks and treatises from the courts regarding how mortal-spirit crime can handled

What about a set of really good concealed body armor? Something like Molly crafted for herself, which she could easily wear under her clothing. It's a practical gift she could get a lot of use out of.

Yzarc · Oct 27, 2023

Adhoc vote count started by Yzarc on Oct 27, 2023 at 5:01 AM, finished with 56 posts and 3 votes.

3 people have voted
[X] Plan - It's a time for merriment v.0
-[X] Harry's household
--[X] Harry: A custom focus designed to mitigate techbane and suited for more delicate work
--[X] Bob: Magically-resistant computer with high-speed internet access paid for a year and a day for Bob
--[X] Mouse: A seta-style remote drone adapted not to require implants (a wearable harness, if possible, controller if not) for Mouse, plus a day at a spa in the Courts where he'll be treated as a sophont
-[X] Carpenter household
--[X] Michael: Enchanted wood working tools for MIchael (whatever the rating of a Prodigy we can make without too much hassle)
--[X] Charity: A variable hammer that can change from a warhammer to a variety of craftmsan's tool. A swiss hammer, as it was.
--[X] Daniel: A car. He has his license now, and you kinda-sorta promised
--[X] Matthew: Glasses that make it easier to read Japanese, but flash menacingly when he pushes them up. Because weeb.
--[X] Leech: Improbably Useful multi-tool
--[X] Amanda, Hope, & Harry: Commercial high quality toys from the courts for the youngest children
--[X] Amoracchius An intricate and ultra-comfortable sword stand for Amoracchius
-[X] Friends and allies
--[X] Lydia: Morphing shoes that can go from sneakers to elegant high heels while always providing perfect support
--[X] Rosie: a custom bed and pillow for Rosie
--[X] Porter: A collector-grade toy railroad for Porter to amuse himself with until you can make him a full train body
--[X] Isabela: A spa day in the city of Fountains
--[X] Thomas:
--[X] Izzy and Alec: comic books from the courts.
--[X] Murphy: A set of law textbooks and treatises from the courts regarding how mortal-spirit crime can handled
--[X] Jade dogs: A Christmas feast for Jade Dogs, made with full exalted effort (WHWH, CCC, excellencies, etc)
--[X] General acquaintances: Christmas cards for people we encountered and made connections with, like Matthews.
--[X] Mab and Maeve: a bottle of wine (or some other exotic alcohol as appropriate) from your courts, sent through a winter fae courier, like a Malk
--[X] Odin: a set of hand-made decorations for Santa's sleigh
- Yog
- Goldfish
- Azais

Goldfish · Oct 27, 2023

[X] Yog

BronzeTongue · Oct 27, 2023

Tsotate said:
Instead of blowing things up harder, we could give him a slightly less work related blasting rod of blowing things up more Chicago-esque, as a proof of concept for how his magic doesn't need to have techbane.

We don't know if that's possible or if the dot rating for it will be high enough to complicate things.

A regular super focus would be a 1 dot tool raised to 2 dots so he can use it, which makes it relatively quick and easy to make.

Edit:

[X] Yog

Yog · Oct 27, 2023

BronzeTongue said:
We don't know if that's possible or if the dot rating for it will be high enough to complicate things.

A regular super focus would be a 1 dot tool raised to 2 dots so he can use it, which makes it relatively quick and easy to make.

In regards to this, let's get a ruling. @DragonParadox, if you don't mind, could you weigh in on the currently proposed list and perhaps veto some of the stuff as too expensive / time consuming?

mastigos · Oct 27, 2023

DragonParadox said:
In that moment you realize that you had been looking at this all wrong. There is no need to stop the saboteur cold, just make it impossible for him to copy his work over, as soon as the code is changed in a single weapon or other piece of technology the resonance would pass though all other devices in range alerting them that they should scramble their network protocols. A computer, a machine spirit of a kind that might have to legitimately work on the devices, say to repair them, would easily be able to decrypt the ad-hoc coding, but the wizard with only one human brain's worth of computing power would be utterly stumped

Looking it over I notice more potential Outside Context holes in this defense

If the wizard does the multitargeting first and then changes them all at once.
If a given weapon is within sympathetic spellcasting range of the other weapons but NOT in signal range

DragonParadox · Oct 27, 2023

Yog said:
In regards to this, let's get a ruling. @DragonParadox, if you don't mind, could you weigh in on the currently proposed list and perhaps veto some of the stuff as too expensive / time consuming?

A focus that is better than what Harry has would take actual design work and cost AP. Everything on the list is fine.

mastigos said:
Looking it over I notice more potential Outside Context holes in this defense

If the wizard does the multitargeting first and then changes them all at once.

If a given weapon is within sympathetic spellcasting range of the other weapons but NOT in signal range

Multi-targeting dozens of devices might be doable if you are very good, Senior council good, but not hundreds or thousands
Doable, but again not the kind of thing that can be done in mass, the problem you were fixing was more one of scale of damage to effort of saboteur

Yog · Oct 27, 2023

DragonParadox said:
A focus that is better than what Harry has would take actual design work and cost AP. Everything on the list is fine.

Ok then, I'll switch back to court home appliances. What do we know about Thomas in regards to what presents he might like? That's the last person on my list still ungifted.

DragonParadox · Oct 27, 2023

Yog said:
Ok then, I'll switch back to court home appliances. What do we know about Thomas in regards to what presents he might like? That's the last person on my list still ungifted.

Not that much, Molly has not really hung out with him. Maybe the offer of a holiday in a place his family definitely will not be able to intrude like Sanctuary/The Five Cities?

uju32 · Oct 27, 2023

DragonParadox said:
[] Write in suggestions for presents
OOC: This is brainstorming for the actual purchasing vote next update so don't worry if you cannot think of one for everyone. I have some thoughts of my own that will be in that list, but I'd like to see what you guys have in mind first.

SUGGESTIONS
Michael and Harry: Both men spend a lot of time on their feet: Boots and socks. Quality boots/shoes and socks.
Charity: Sweater. Spidersilk kimono/kaftan/dressing gown (she's wearing one at home in Proven Guilty). Brass Court Roombas to help with the house cleaning. No magic, no spirits, just craftsmanship
Leech: Science nerd so: Brass Courts nature documentaries. BBC nature documentaries(Blue Planet, Planet Earth 1). Telescope
Mathew: Weeb. Manga or anime collection in the original Japanese; for example, the first 24 tankobon of Bleach would be out on the shelves as of October 2006. As would the complete Part 1 of Naruto, comprising 27 volumes in Japanese.
Daniel+Michael: Playstation 3(s) and launch titles(released Holidays 2006)
Hank, Amanda and Hope: Hank is 4-ish, Hope is 6-7, Amanda is 9. They arent especially demanding. LEGO kits, Barbies, new clothes, that kinda thing.

Bob: Romance novels, from the Brass Courts or from Earth. He's canonically a fan of bodice rippers, and those from an entirely different civilization would presumably be a treat...assuming he can read the language
Mouse: Custom dog bed for a Big Boy. He needs a couple other quality of life things, but those arent Christmas gift things

Rosie: Options are a watch, or a new Ipod with some tunes.
Alec & Izzy: Alec likes his food, and Izzy already grabbed a smartwatch. Im stumped about what we can gift without drawing too much attention to them
Isabella: Concert tickets. Brass Court silk dress. Mechanical watch.
Olivia: Dance show tickets
Lydia: Rich girl, clothes snob. Shoes. Spidersilk shawl or clothes. Books.

Jade Dogs: Quality winter gear + funding bonus for them to spend as they choose
Thomas and Murphy: Case of human-safe brandy/wine/scotch/alcohol from the Brass Courts.
Porter: Model train. Semi-precious minerals, rocks and metals not native to Chicago for the earth elemental
Brother Dev: Sweater or jacket or robes from the Brass Court. And/or a book on philosophy.

Mab/Maeve/Lily: Wine. Custom art. Spidersilk shawl.
Odin/Gard: Drinking horn. Mechanical timepiece.

Too many people in Cauldron for Molly to realistically address.
And they arent all that close anyway, not personally.

DragonParadox said:
Yes, he does.

Yog said:
Ok, then we probably should fulfill that promise.
So: send Mab's and Maeve's presents via a winter fae courier, give Harry a techbane mitigating focus suited for delicate work, and get Daniel a car.

I would disagree.

You do not spend multiple tens of thousands of dollars on a Christmas gift for one kid, and then spend an orders of magnitude less on the others. I suspect some of you havent had to navigate siblings, children, or nieces/nephews, and it shows

.
Christmas gifts, you dont want to go too far over the top anyway. Especially in a large family.

And Daniel's car is a separate thing from whatever gifts we are handing out.

Keep that apart and deal with it in the new year, same time we do something about getting Rosie a car as well. Get his input on what car he actually wants, instead of simply springing a surprise on him.
And talk to our parents beforehand, because fuel and insurance.

Goldfish · Oct 27, 2023

uju32 said:
Too many people in Cauldron for Molly to realistically address.
And they arent all that close anyway, not personally.

What if we just hosted a really nice holiday party for the entire group? It's kinda late in the month to be booking a large, high quality venue, but money talks.

uju32 · Oct 27, 2023

Goldfish said:
What if we just hosted a really nice holiday party for the entire group? It's kinda late in the month to be booking a large, high quality venue, but money talks.

Both too late to plan for Christmas since everyone will have been making plans for the last three months, AND insufficient security.

Anyone sitting outside the premises would be able to draw up a reasonably accurate members list just by watching people come and go, and we dont currently have enough military force in the city itself to be a deterrent.
Especially with the ongoing Vampire War.

Next year.

Yog · Oct 27, 2023

uju32 said:
I would disagree.

You do not spend multiple tens of thousands of dollars on a Christmas gift for one kid, and then spend an orders of magnitude less on the others. I suspect some of you havent had to navigate siblings, children, or nieces/nephews, and it shows .
Christmas gifts, you dont want to go too far over the top anyway. Especially in a large family.

And Daniel's car is a separate thing from whatever gifts we are handing out.

Keep that apart and deal with it in the new year, same time we do something about getting Rosie a car as well. Get his input on what car he actually wants, instead of simply springing a surprise on him.
And talk to our parents beforehand, because fuel and insurance.

Ok, sure. Switched back to martial arts focused entertainment from the courts.

uju32 said:
Spidersilk shawl.

For Mab and Maeve we could weave a dress out of ice. Minor enchantment to prevent it from melting easily, and their own power would keep it unmelted.

uju32 said:
Thomas and Murphy: Case of human-safe brandy/wine/scotch/alcohol from the Brass Courts.

Thanks, I'll go with wine for Thomas.

uju32 said:
Olivia: Dance show tickets

Forgot about her (this seems appropriate). Adding her in.

uju32 said:
Too many people in Cauldron for Molly to realistically address.
And they arent all that close anyway, not personally.

Maybe also a feast like for Jade Dogs? I mean, they are sorta kinda her people, at least as far as supernatural powers are concerned.

BronzeTongue · Oct 27, 2023

uju32 said:
presumably be a treat...assuming he can read the language

He's a knowledge spirit, getting him romance novels in a language he can't read is probably the best and worst present we could get him. He'd probably find it impossible to not at least try the impossible translation, and end up chewing on it like his own everlasting gobstopper. Give him a week then stop by with the barest of hints to get him started, see how long we can string it out.

uju32 said:
Rosie: Options are a watch, or a new Ipod with some tunes

We should also use this as an opportunity for low social friction baby equipment delivery.

In addition to whatever we give her, provide some basics as a gift to the baby; clothes, a crib, something like that. We're going to do that stuff anyway, and it's easier to give people things on holidays.

uju32 said:
Alec & Izzy: Alec likes his food, and Izzy already grabbed a smartwatch. Im stumped about what we can gift without drawing too much attention to them

We haven't really covered the supernatural with them on a general level right? We could have clippy compile something like Harry's pamphlets to make sure they actually know what's going on.

uju32 said:
Mab/Maeve/Lily: Wine. Custom art. Spidersilk shawl.

I think wastehut vodka would be more appropriate than wine for the winter fey; something that lives and dies in cold and darkness is right up their alley.

I have another fun idea for Lily; we don't have a lot of good summer symbolism in our hell, but we do have that ring of lightning.

If I recall correctly the courts power themselves in part using guided lightning strikes, and a number of trees that use lightning as part of their metabolism and even store electricity in their weird battery-fruit.

Electra wine is made using electrodynamic fermentation to modify the development process of the wine. It doesn't seem like too far of a leap to add a beverage to our hell where this happens naturally due to some crazy bastard fermenting battery-fruit or as a deliberate process performed using traditional power sources.

That's the closest thing we've got to bottling some of the stuff that keeps our hell warm enough to be livable, which seems like it'd entertain the fey.

DragonParadox · Oct 27, 2023

Vote closed, writing has begun, suggestions will be incorporated

Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Oct 27, 2023 at 9:45 AM, finished with 69 posts and 4 votes.

4 people have voted
[X] Plan - It's a time for merriment v.0
-[X] Harry's household
--[X] Harry: Magic-resistant home appliances from the courts, and some tomes on magic fit for general consumption
--[X] Bob: Magically-resistant computer with high-speed internet access paid for a year and a day for Bob
--[X] Mouse: A seta-style remote drone adapted not to require implants (a wearable harness, if possible, controller if not) for Mouse, plus a day at a spa in the Courts where he'll be treated as a sophont
-[X] Carpenter household
--[X] Michael: Enchanted wood working tools for MIchael (whatever the rating of a Prodigy we can make without too much hassle)
--[X] Charity: A variable hammer that can change from a warhammer to a variety of craftmsan's tool. A swiss hammer, as it was.
--[X] Daniel: Martial arts media (movies, comics, novels etc) from the Courts.
--[X] Matthew: Glasses that make it easier to read Japanese, but flash menacingly when he pushes them up. Because weeb.
--[X] Leech: Improbably Useful multi-tool
--[X] Amanda, Hope, & Harry: Commercial high quality toys from the courts for the youngest children
--[X] Amoracchius An intricate and ultra-comfortable sword stand for Amoracchius
-[X] Friends and allies
--[X] Lydia: Morphing shoes that can go from sneakers to elegant high heels while always providing perfect support
--[X] Rosie: a custom bed and pillow for Rosie
--[X] Porter: A collector-grade toy railroad for Porter to amuse himself with until you can make him a full train body
--[X] Isabela: A spa day in the city of Fountains
--[X] Thomas: Wine from the courts
--[X] Izzy and Alec: comic books from the courts.
--[X] Olivia: dance show tickets
--[X] Murphy: A set of law textbooks and treatises from the courts regarding how mortal-spirit crime can handled
--[X] Jade dogs: A Christmas feast for Jade Dogs, made with full exalted effort (WHWH, CCC, excellencies, etc)
--[X] General acquaintances: Christmas cards for people we encountered and made connections with, like Matthews.
--[X] Mab and Maeve: a bottle of wine (or some other exotic alcohol as appropriate) from your courts, sent through a winter fae courier, like a Malk
--[X] Odin: a set of hand-made decorations for Santa's sleigh
- Yog
- Azais
- Goldfish
- BronzeTongue

BoredMan · Oct 27, 2023

Looking back over it I thought we'd be giving Lydia an essence battery for christmas.

Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

The Undead Unhinged Lunatic of the Web

Please sir, may I have some Meows?

Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination

The Spark of Madness

Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination

Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination

Maintaining the Agenda is our top priority