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Infernal Conundrum: [Exalted/Worm] - Part 2: Hell is Other Exalts

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SaltyWaffles said:
Thanks for the reminder. But see what I said above; there's some confusion about the kind of selection we're supposed to be making relative to the situation we're in.
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As I said, it's a priority vote. You're voting on her priorities.

Your time concerns are irrelevant to the vote. This has nothing to do with that. It's establishing prioritization of activities and tone for the early parts of if not all of the next arc.

Things that she gets a good opportunity to do might happen earlier than things she prioritized over them because of time constraints or opportunities. The reverse might happen. This is just settling whether, for example, she'd be more likely to put off even attempting to see Emma versus whether she'd be bound and determined to demand answers from her.
 
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Being as it's been almost two days, I think you can call it.

May have a person or two show up a week late, but that'll probably happen no matter how much time you give.
 
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Fair enough. Still struggling with the Emmalude at the moment. Not happy /convinced that I've got a good enough grasp on her voice. Same with canon!Amy, who IC!Amy is relatively indistinguishable from at present.

Plus there's still a big decision to make regarding her that I haven't made my mind up on.
 
Madison dead (but a Luna can take her shape), Sophia missing and probably dead (but everyone has to assume she's escaped and looking for revenge), Emma hospitalised while trying to rescue Taylor. Bravo! I don't think I've seen the Trio taken in this direction before.
 
Sorry, was busy with DragonCon when voting options came up.

[1] Quality Family Time
[2] Thanking the Thinker
[3] Probing the Wards
- Should probably meet them before inviting New Wave over
[4] New Friends (Amy)
- Because we both need it, and it'd probably be good to have her out from the shadow of Vicky
[5] New Friends (Victoria)
- I actually like the Vicky here, so I definitely want more of her.
[6] Former Friend and Enemy
[7] Gratitude
[8] Highly Rated
-[8] Clear as Malfean Crystal: Just tell them everything to the best of your abilities and trust them to make the right decision. Pattern trump, yep. Drawing from a non-parallel universal Hell-dimension. Literal demon in your head. Miiight be turning into something of a somewhat...transhuman variety. Eventually. Within the next 150 years or so. Is the most honest response. Again, both for good and for ill.
- Agreeing with FunkyEntropy on this. If we can win their trust, then Uncertainty's knowledge will be invaluable if that really was a Lunar. Besides, this is the one crossover quest where other Exalts (that we don't make ourselves) will be coming into play, so we're going to be involved with them one way or another.
[9] The Problem of Presentation
-[x] Stunt: Taylor plopped onto the bench, and leaned back against the wall. She may have had superhuman stamina, but that just meant Ms Militia and Armsmaster could pusher her 'harder.' She quickly took a drink of water, and turned to her two trainers. "Uh... can I ask you a question?"
[10] Calibrations
 
noliar said:
Madison dead (but a Luna can take her shape), Sophia missing and probably dead (but everyone has to assume she's escaped and looking for revenge), Emma hospitalised while trying to rescue Taylor. Bravo! I don't think I've seen the Trio taken in this direction before.
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If someone would tally the votes, I'd appreciate it.
 
Vote Tally : Infernal Conundrum: [Exalted/Worm] - Thread 1: One Hell of a Wakeup Call | Page 192 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.4

Options:
Calibrations
Clear as Malfean Crystal
Clear as Malfean Crystal: Just tell them everything to the best of your abilities and trust them to make the right decision. Pattern trump, yep. Drawing from a non-parallel universal Hell-dimension. Literal demon in your head. Miiight be turning into something of a somewhat...transhuman variety. Eventually. Within the next 150 years or so. Is the most honest response. Again, both for good and for ill.
Former Friend and Enemy
Gratitude
Highly Rated
Mostly Translucent
Mostly Translucent: You could just explain your powers accurately...just not the source of most of them. Pocket universe whose physics affect you? Yep. Powers work in a pattern drawn from there? Yep. The fact that the patterns you're drawing off of are sentient entities in their own right and are the inmates of their universe's Turned-to-Eleven version of the Birdcage? Maybe not need-to-know. Allows the PRT and Protectorate to better plan around your current and future capabilities. This is potentially both a good and a bad thing.
New Friends (Amy)
New Friends (Both)
New Friends (Victoria)
Probing the Wards
Quality Family Time
Research
Semi Transparent
Thanking the Thinker
The Problem of Presentation

Winner: New Friends (Amy)
[1] I'llNameThisL8r
[1] Monotov
[1] Peter87
[1] sainen
[2] Ashmaker
[2] landcollector
[2] SaltyWaffles
[4] silentspirals
[4] Vesperian
[5] the DragonBard
[-] Finagle007
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] Jinnt
[-] Skitzyfrenic
[-] veekie

First Runner Up: Thanking the Thinker
[1] Ashmaker
[1] landcollector
[1] SaltyWaffles
[2] Jinnt
[2] silentspirals
[2] the DragonBard
[2] Vesperian
[5] Finagle007
[5] Skitzyfrenic
[5] veekie
[6] I'llNameThisL8r
[6] Monotov
[6] Peter87
[6] sainen
[-] FunkyEntropy

Second Runner Up: Probing the Wards
[2] FunkyEntropy
[2] I'llNameThisL8r
[2] Monotov
[2] Peter87
[3] landcollector
[3] SaltyWaffles
[3] Vesperian
[5] Ashmaker
[5] sainen
[5] silentspirals
[6] veekie
[7] the DragonBard
[-] Finagle007
[-] Jinnt
[-] Skitzyfrenic

Third Runner Up: Quality Family Time
[1] FunkyEntropy
[1] silentspirals
[1] Vesperian
[3] Ashmaker
[3] the DragonBard
[3] veekie
[4] Finagle007
[4] Jinnt
[5] I'llNameThisL8r
[5] Monotov
[5] Peter87
[6] landcollector
[6] SaltyWaffles
[9] sainen
[-] Skitzyfrenic

Honorable Mention: New Friends (Victoria)
[2] Skitzyfrenic
[3] I'llNameThisL8r
[3] Monotov
[3] Peter87
[3] sainen
[4] Ashmaker
[4] landcollector
[4] SaltyWaffles
[5] Vesperian
[6] the DragonBard
[7] silentspirals
[-] Finagle007
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] Jinnt
[-] veekie

Honorable Mention: Former Friend and Enemy
[1] Jinnt
[1] the DragonBard
[3] silentspirals
[4] FunkyEntropy
[5] SaltyWaffles
[6] Ashmaker
[6] Vesperian
[7] veekie
[-] Finagle007
[-] I'llNameThisL8r
[-] landcollector
[-] Monotov
[-] Peter87
[-] sainen
[-] Skitzyfrenic

Honorable Mention: New Friends (Both)
[1] Finagle007
[2] sainen
[3] Jinnt
[4] the DragonBard
[5] FunkyEntropy
[8] veekie
[-] Ashmaker
[-] I'llNameThisL8r
[-] landcollector
[-] Monotov
[-] Peter87
[-] SaltyWaffles
[-] silentspirals
[-] Skitzyfrenic
[-] Vesperian

Honorable Mention: Gratitude
[2] Finagle007
[3] Skitzyfrenic
[4] I'llNameThisL8r
[4] Monotov
[4] Peter87
[4] sainen
[4] veekie
[5] landcollector
[6] Jinnt
[7] Ashmaker
[7] Vesperian
[8] the DragonBard
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] SaltyWaffles
[-] silentspirals

Honorable Mention: Semi Transparent
[1] Skitzyfrenic
[-] Ashmaker
[-] Finagle007
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] I'llNameThisL8r
[-] Jinnt
[-] landcollector
[-] Monotov
[-] Peter87
[-] sainen
[-] SaltyWaffles
[-] silentspirals
[-] the DragonBard
[-] veekie
[-] Vesperian

Honorable Mention: Calibrations
[1] veekie
[3] FunkyEntropy
[6] silentspirals
[7] I'llNameThisL8r
[7] Monotov
[7] Peter87
[7] sainen
[8] landcollector
[8] SaltyWaffles
[9] Ashmaker
[-] Finagle007
[-] Jinnt
[-] Skitzyfrenic
[-] the DragonBard
[-] Vesperian

Honorable Mention: Clear as Malfean Crystal
[3] Finagle007
[-] Ashmaker
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] I'llNameThisL8r
[-] Jinnt
[-] landcollector
[-] Monotov
[-] Peter87
[-] sainen
[-] SaltyWaffles
[-] silentspirals
[-] Skitzyfrenic
[-] the DragonBard
[-] veekie
[-] Vesperian

Honorable Mention: Highly Rated
[2] veekie
[3] Finagle007
[5] Jinnt
[7] landcollector
[7] SaltyWaffles
[8] Ashmaker
[8] I'llNameThisL8r
[8] Monotov
[8] Peter87
[8] sainen
[8] silentspirals
[8] the DragonBard
[8] Vesperian
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] Skitzyfrenic

Honorable Mention: Mostly Translucent: You could just explain your 『i』powers『/i』 accurately...just not the source of most of them. Pocket universe whose physics affect you? Yep. Powers work in a pattern drawn from there? Yep. The fact that the 『i』patterns『/i』 you're drawing off of are sentient entities in their own right and are the inmates of their universe's Turned-to-Eleven version of the 『i』Birdcage『/i』? Maybe not need-to-know. Allows the PRT and Protectorate to better plan around your current 『i』and future『/i』 capabilities. This is potentially both a good and a bad thing.
[5] Jinnt
[7] landcollector
[8] Ashmaker
[8] I'llNameThisL8r
[8] Monotov
[8] Peter87
[-] Finagle007
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] sainen
[-] SaltyWaffles
[-] silentspirals
[-] Skitzyfrenic
[-] the DragonBard
[-] veekie
[-] Vesperian

Honorable Mention: Research
[4] Skitzyfrenic
[9] silentspirals
[9] the DragonBard
[-] Ashmaker
[-] Finagle007
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] I'llNameThisL8r
[-] Jinnt
[-] landcollector
[-] Monotov
[-] Peter87
[-] sainen
[-] SaltyWaffles
[-] veekie
[-] Vesperian

Honorable Mention: Mostly Translucent
[7] SaltyWaffles
[-] Ashmaker
[-] Finagle007
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] I'llNameThisL8r
[-] Jinnt
[-] landcollector
[-] Monotov
[-] Peter87
[-] sainen
[-] silentspirals
[-] Skitzyfrenic
[-] the DragonBard
[-] veekie
[-] Vesperian

Honorable Mention: Clear as Malfean Crystal: Just tell them everything to the best of your abilities and trust them to make the right decision. Pattern trump, yep. Drawing from a non-parallel universal Hell-dimension. Literal demon in your head. Miiight be turning into something of a somewhat...transhuman variety. Eventually. Within the next 150 years or so. Is the most 『i』honest『/i』 response. Again, both for good and for ill.
[8] Vesperian
[-] Ashmaker
[-] Finagle007
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] I'llNameThisL8r
[-] Jinnt
[-] landcollector
[-] Monotov
[-] Peter87
[-] sainen
[-] SaltyWaffles
[-] silentspirals
[-] Skitzyfrenic
[-] the DragonBard
[-] veekie

Honorable Mention: The Problem of Presentation
[9] I'llNameThisL8r
[9] landcollector
[9] Monotov
[9] Peter87
[9] SaltyWaffles
[9] Vesperian
[-] Ashmaker
[-] Finagle007
[-] FunkyEntropy
[-] Jinnt
[-] sainen
[-] silentspirals
[-] Skitzyfrenic
[-] the DragonBard
[-] veekie


Total No. of Voters: 15


-[x] Stunt: Taylor plopped onto the bench, and leaned back against the wall. She may have had superhuman stamina, but that just meant Ms Militia and Armsmaster could pusher her 'harder.' She quickly took a drink of water, and turned to her two trainers. "Uh... can I ask you a question?"
No. of Votes: 3
the DragonBard
silentspirals
Vesperian

-[X] Mostly Translucent
No. of Votes: 3
the DragonBard
silentspirals
veekie

-[x] Semi-Transparent
No. of Votes: 1
sainen

-[x] Stunt: Amy and Vicky sat across from Taylor in her room, as the three ate a light meal. "So... how did you choose your cape names, and costumes?" Taylor asked, wincing at how blunt she'd been. "Sorry, that came out wrong. What I meant was, I was never really good at that kind of stuff, and now I've got to figure out what my cape persona is going to be, and from what the Wards, and Ms Militia and Armsmaster said, I don't want to give the PR dept a free reign with it, so I need some ideas before I go in there. So please... " Taylor clasped her hands together and gave them the puppy dog eyes, all three of them. "Help me."
No. of Votes: 1
the DragonBard

-[X] Fighting teleporters/ replicators/ masters
No. of Votes: 1
silentspirals

-[X] Costume etiquette/ unwritten rules
No. of Votes: 1
silentspirals

-[X] Government/ general public's approach with very powerful capes
No. of Votes: 1
silentspirals

-[X] Stunt: "Do you think I should be a spider?" Taylor ventured, turning to her father. Danny's startled flinch and not-quite-reassuring hum prompted a hurried explanation from her.
No. of Votes: 1
silentspirals

Total No. of Voters: 5

Going to have to do the subvotes manually.
Because it's spectacularly mangled to put a straight vote as a subvote for a ranked vote.
 
Going to have to read over and ponder, given the tendency of Yozi homebrew to alter their themes or associations.

Edit 1: and that is definitely in play here. Not sure if I like the Urge or Torment. Torment is too Szorenic or Ophidian. It has the transformational elements, but Oramus is liminal, not oppositional. He defines things by his position in the interstices rather than by opposing them himself, as TED does, but he doesn't define himself by opposing things either, as Szoreny does. Oramus himself defies all definition. He is outside of all sets in a sense, the exception to all rules, as he forms the defining line between them all. He's the boundary between antipodes, not one of them himself.
 
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It's interesting so far, but, again, unsure if I like the charm set as an Oramus charm set or not.

Then again some of that comes from my past conception of Oramus as a sort of nexus of potentialities and impossibilities. Looking at his souls, you can infer an interest in things which are unique, exceptional, improbable, abnormal. Hence the change-rain. He not so much h transgresses as transcends: he's the all-exception because he predates any and all rules that could be. Including the rules of logical consistency.

When Cytherea invented wakefulness and was the first to come awake, Oramus was already there, waiting for her to wake up. He embodies change not out of a defiance of order for the sake of opposition, but because he defies all definition save that which he provides (within vs beyond / is vs is not), and in his presence things change in accordance with that.

He is also tied to the unsettling and things that (like him) defy easy definition. Just look at the Skittering Forest, which looks like a forest, but is in fact nothing but a vast collection of horrifying bugs that look like what they are not (a forest).

And ultimately I guess that's a big part of what bothers me about every Oramus charm set I've ever seen. It...I've never found one that felt like it properly conveyed that sense of him being definitive, yet undefined.


Edit: in terms of this charm set in specific so far:

Trying too hard to shoehorn Lovecraftian elder gods into Oramus or vice versa. Need to double check but I don't remember the gorse and heather thing being Oramus' shindig. The enlightening into madness bits? That's stepping on all the toes Adorjan doesn't have. That's her schtick, that and murder and freedom. Enlightened madness puts the giggle in GIGGLE-MURDER-ZOOM-ZOOM.

I like the movement charm. A lot, actually. That felt pitch-perfect for Oramus and might be the first Oramus charm I've seen I was 100% happy with. That or the mythos exultant charm. Still not 100% happy with the excellency for reasons I went into above.

I like Horror Beyond Whimsy and Anciebt and Firstborn for the reasons I went over there as well.

I would've added something (maybe a permanent upgrade?) to the shaping defense that conducted a retribution all shaping of the offender in a manner that renders them in some way unique to some set to which they belong. Oramus is, after all, the All-Outlier, he's the anomaly inherent in every data set which nonetheless does not invalidate the set itself.
 
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Conjured Blade said:
Maybe Oramus is undefinable on a meta level?
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I thought that was supposed to be Cyntherea's shtick? (Partially in that we know nothing of use about her)
Oramus is a definer who is not defined, I guess. I see him as an existence that isn't strictly like the other Primordials. He has tones that make him seem similar to how Shinma are described, and is something between a Shinma and a Primordial.
 
Monotov said:
I thought that was supposed to be Cyntherea's shtick? (Partially in that we know nothing of use about her)
Oramus is a definer who is not defined, I guess. I see him as an existence that isn't strictly like the other Primordials. He has tones that make him seem similar to how Shinma are described, and is something between a Shinma and a Primordial.
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So a manifestation of Tarski's undefinability theorem perhaps?
 
Anyway: short version, no. We won't be using these. Wouldn't mind it as a sort of homebrewed custom Yozi, but it doesn't fit Oramus as he exists in official Exalted materials, and it doesn't fit him as he exists this story.

For all that so like parts of it, it has the same problem of trying too hard to turn a Yozi into something from an external media source that gives me pause with Revlid's SWLIHN charms, but without the Revlid set's attempts to make the changes sufficiently copacetic with said themes.

If I was going to pick a Yozi theme retcon it'd be the GoD-style Ebon Dragon.

Then again that also plays into the fact that I tend to run TED as having originally been Oramus' shadow, the reflection the existent Dragon Beyond the World cast into the Without.

The reason he fucks everything up is that he was never actually supposed to exist. He never belonged in Creation, in Yu Shan, or in Zen Mu before them both.

(That aside I don't run Oramus himself as coherent enough to open his charm set, much less cogent enough to assign Urges.)
 
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Thief of Words said:
Anyway: short version, no. We won't be using these. Wouldn't mind it as a sort of homebrewed custom Yozi, but it doesn't fit Oramus as he exists in official Exalted materials, and it doesn't fit him as he exists this story.

For all that so like parts of it, it has the same problem of trying too hard to turn a Yozi into something from an external media source that gives me pause with Revlid's SWLIHN charms, but without the Revlid set's attempts to make the changes sufficiently copacetic with said themes.

If I was going to pick a Yozi theme retcon it'd be the GoD-style Ebon Dragon.

Then again that also plays into the fact that I tend to run TED as having originally been Oramus' shadow, the reflection the existent Dragon Beyond the World cast into the Without.

The reason he fucks everything up is that he was never actually supposed to exist. He never belonged in Creation, in Yu Shan, or in Zen Mu before them both.

(That aside I don't run Oramus himself as coherent enough to open his charm set, much less cogent enough to assign Urges.)
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Refreshing to see a good defense of canon around here. Also I hadn't noticed the source with Revlid's SWLIHN charms, what was it?
 
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