...I already said that that wouldn't work. Unless I'm misremembering, which is perfectly possible, I said it to you. You can't use a cookie to boost a skill for an entire year.
Yeah, turns out I misread. I thought you told us that we can do it and that you then proceeded to give us examples on how we can best do it, but that you also reminded us of the three cookie limit. I'm kind of ashamed that I took what you said and interpreted the exact opposite thing from it. Sorry about that. I have since reread what you wrote on the subject and have corrected my knowledge on the subject.
...
Hey, Poptart, if it's alright by you, can I put up my remaining cookie for public use? Just something that can be used if a majority agree to use it.
[X] Just enter.
[X] Yes, it'll be useful if you ever fight somebody at your power level. It's inappropriate in this setting, though, so you've left it at home.
[X] Yes.
Not everybody keeps up to date on the discussion (or, in fact, can) so as a general notice: If your post contains a yes or no question and nothing else, to save me some time on quoting and answering I'll rate that post "like" for yes, or "hugs" for no.
Relatedly, @Execute/Dumbo has volunteered their cookie for public usage. It's now marked on the sheet. If somebody thinks it should go to an upcoming check, they can vote on it and if they secure a plurality (more votes than "no,") for that voting cycle, the cookie is used. And speaking of...the next update will almost certainly contain a mess of social. Call your cookies now!
Start the Engine
You take a deep breath, straighten your gi (it's already spotless, you're just nervous), and step forward, through the wards.
The presences of those within pulse in shock as you come onto their mental radars. Grandma's pulses in a peculiar rhythm that you unconsciously echo, and in response, nearly everybody else's drops down low, leaving an echoing emptiness in your senses.
You swallow. Cultists are weird.
Grandma sends a very slow, measured pulse, up to the limit of her base power.
Come on in.
You blink as her voice echoes in your mind.
"Coming, Grandma," you say, hurrying forward. "Have you been training?" You know she has; her power level is back at the cap, less than a year after you last saw her. To be frank, it's impressive given how severely she'd degraded up until last year.
Of course. Now, come along. Celeran has been waiting for quite some time to meet you, and there are plenty of other people here who I'm sure would love to speak to you. She pauses. Also, there are a few that you might want to speak to. There are many here that disagree with the Sealing, and we can always use more allies.
You're not quite sure how to feel about that, but you don't dispute it, instead stepping out into the Hall.
The crowd is immense. The Cult comprises thousands of Saiyans, as any significant group in your society does, but to see them all gathered in one place is something special indeed. At the moment they would look more like a fair than a groundbreaking cultural-religious event, if it weren't for the focus everybody is displaying. At you.
...they're doing that weird bowing thing again.
You suppress the shudder this time. Cultists are weird!
It's called kowtowing, Kakara. I suggest you get used to it. That said...
Grandma, sitting up on a platform erected in the center of the Hall, breaks off her mental speech and nudges the man beside her. He immediately rises to his feet, relaxing you immensely, and then glides towards you through the air.
"We welcome you, Scion of Goku!" he says. No, not says. Proclaims. This is a voice for grand announcements, for declamations, for speeches. This is a voice that fills any space it's in with rich, smooth sound. A deep voice. A resonant voice.
A Peat's voice.
Celeran Peat. Technically, since his elevation to the High Priesthood, just Celeran. House Peat is one of the major Houses of Clan Goku, and has historically been fervently pro-Cult. High Priest Celeran is the third of his House to occupy his position. Your Dad took special care to address House Peat over the course of your education. It's why you realize that with a Peat in control of a gathering this volatile, you need to be careful.
Because House Peat has always opposed the Masquerade. They want it torn down, the Exiles recognized as a nation of Garenhuld, and an aggressive stance taken to regaining the old strength and returning to the stars. Three times, a Super Saiyan revolt has held at least one member of House Peat, and on one occasion, the heir to House Peat led the revolt. It's an open secret that the House makes no attempt to restrain their errant members, and as such they're pariahs in saiyan society as a general rule. It's the cause for quite a lot of lost respect from Clan Vegeta, but without proof, the Lords of Goku have no authority to punish the disobedience. But the Peats are outcasts...save in the Ancestor Cult, where they are hugely influential members.
As the High Priest comes back down to earth at your feet and immediately goes to a knee before you, you wonder what he could possibly have in mind for this meeting.
"Kakara the Mighty, Kakara the Gold!" he proclaims, his voice still filling the space. "My Lady Scion, your presence is an honor and a pleasure. We welcome you most sincerely."
"Um. Thank you." You shift. "Er...please stand up?"
He immediately gets to his feet. As if he was waiting for the request. You blink.
"As you command," he says, turning to the crowd. "Rise, children of the Faith! The Scion bids us to rise!"
Your eyes narrow as the Cult comes to its feet.
I see you've realized what's really going on here, comes Grandma's voice. Celeran couldn't reply to your message fast enough, if it got you in here. Be cautious, dear. He's not a bad man, I don't think, but he's a politician if ever there was one. He'll try to borrow some of your influence for himself if he can. Not that he's trying to take advantage of you. He truly does believe, more's the wonder. But he does have a vision in mind, and you and I are a part of it. If you find yourself in conversation with him, either don't commit to anything, or commit as hard as you can so that he has to go your way or else lose out on the opportunity.
You nod slowly in the last few seconds before the High Priest turns back to you, feeling desperately confused.
I know it's a lot to take in, she says, sounding sympathetic. To make it easier, just remember this: when in doubt, say nothing. It's not perfect, but unless something is about to happen, there's little that saying nothing can do to make a situation worse.
"Okay," you whisper as the High Priest turns back to you.
"We bid you welcome," he says again, giving you a short bow. "The Council won't start in earnest for some time yet, so please, feel free to get settled in however you please. Might I suggest my niece, Fennella?" He gestures to a girl, maybe a year or two older than you, sitting at the base of the podium with her hands folded in her lap. She's looking at someone in the crowd.
"She's about your age," he says. "I imagine that you could get along well with her, until the Council starts. When it does, of course please do take your seat next to your Matriarch grandmother as I mentioned in my letter."
* * *
This was, unbelievably, one of the options for not drawing attention to yourself. If you'd come in transformed they'd still be on the ground and you'd need to tell them to rise personally. But at least they could pretend you'd simply forgotten to turn it off. If you'd entered and then transformed they'd be on the ground and terrified, because doing so would have made it absolutely crystal clear that you were making a statement and they'd be trying to figure out who pissed you off.
That said, masking your presence entirely would have had the effect of the gathering as a whole only very slowly realizing that they had what they considered to be a demi-god in their midst -- or not realizing at all until Celeran announced with regret that it seemed you weren't coming after all...and you then stepped forward out of the crowd. Basically, if you wanted to double down on the "Mysterious" reputation for all it's worth, that was your option.
You have arrived at the Second Garenhuld Ancestral Council. You have time to go around and do some things while the various elders, guests, officials, and priests get organized and ready to start the proceedings in earnest. Where would you like to go first? (In short: Fennella, Grandma, Celeran, Lady Vegeta, Just Wander, A Quiet Corner, Leaving, or Write-In)
[ ] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[ ] Describe your demeanor as you introduce yourself, and anything you want to talk about. "Whatever she wants to discuss," is perfectly fine.
[ ] To your Grandma. She's familiar, both of your respective stations will give you some much-needed distance from the crowd, and honestly, this is more her battlefield than yours. (Cedes, reversibly, control of your actions to Apra's discretion and agenda)
[ ] To Lady Vegeta. You sense her nearby, and want to speak to her.
-[ ] Write in why, and then describe your demeanor in going about it.
[ ] Stick with High Priest Celeran. That'll take him off-guard. There's no way he's prepared for that! (WARNING: Statement may contain lies)
-[ ] How do you do so, and what do you talk about?
[ ] Wander the crowd.
-[ ] Looking for anything in particular?
[ ] To your chair, where you will sit in silence until the Council actually begins. (Skip to Council portion)
[ ] Leave immediately. Explain to your poor, confused QM why in exact detail. (Plunge the Council into chaos as everybody tries to figure out how they offended you so grievously. Actually potentially a powerful statement if done at the right moment, come to think)
[ ] Write-In. If going to somebody or something in particular, give me
-[ ] a write-in describing your demeanor and aims.
Yeah, turns out I misread. I thought you told us that we can do it and that you then proceeded to give us examples on how we can best do it, but that you also reminded us of the three cookie limit. I'm kind of ashamed that I took what you said and interpreted the exact opposite thing from it. Sorry about that. I have since reread what you wrote on the subject and have corrected my knowledge on the subject.
[X] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[X] Friendly, interested in meeting a new person. Talk about whatever she wants to discuss but switch to food if the conversation goes into something weird like politics.
-[X] Grab a couple of snacks from somewhere and share one with her.
Kakara likes talking to people but doesn't get a chance to do it often, at least when it comes to Saiyans. This gives her a chance to do that and to make a new friend. The Socialiser trait also says we like to seek out others when we get the chance so it's in character.
@PoptartProdigy, is this an opportunity to mimic Telepathy? You said we could mimic through play but I'm not sure how exactly that happens.
EDIT: Votes from the future!
[X] Do not use a cookie to boost Communications for this scene.
[X] Use Multiform to wander the crowd, doing nothing in particular and just taking in the moment. Be generally nice and sociable.
[X] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[X] Adorkable. Wanting to make a new friend, not quite sure how to go about it.
[X] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[X] Friendly, interested in meeting a new person. Talk about whatever she wants to discuss but switch to food if the conversation goes into something weird like politics.
Kakara likes talking to people but doesn't get a chance to do it often, at least when it comes to Saiyans. This gives her a chance to do that and to make a new friend. The Socialiser trait also says we like to seek out others when we get the chance so it's in character.
@PoptartProdigy, is this an opportunity to mimic Telepathy? You said we could mimic through play but I'm not sure how exactly that happens.
Next time you want to try it, go for it. This one'll be harder than the others since just hearing somebody's voice in your head doesn't give you much to go on other than "think in their direction," which is...yeah. In general, mimicking is easier (i.e., not essentially an untrained check with no modifiers) with physical techniques, where you can observe the person's body language for hints as to what's involved.
This was, unbelievably, one of the options for not drawing attention to yourself. If you'd come in transformed they'd still be on the ground and you'd need to tell them to rise personally. But at least they could pretend you'd simply forgotten to turn it off. If you'd entered and then transformed they'd be on the ground and terrified, because doing so would have made it absolutely crystal clear that you were making a statement and they'd be trying to figure out who pissed you off.
That said, masking your presence entirely would have had the effect of the gathering as a whole only very slowly realizing that they had what they considered to be a demi-god in their midst -- or not realizing at all until Celeran announced with regret that it seemed you weren't coming after all...and you then stepped forward out of the crowd. Basically, if you wanted to double down on the "Mysterious" reputation for all it's worth, that was your option.
What would the, "Enter as a Golden Great Ape," option have been? "Oddball" doesn't quite seem to cover it.
Also, are there any Senzu in the gathering? This seems like one of the few events important enough to draw a few out. What is their relationship with the cult?
Next time you want to try it, go for it. This one'll be harder than the others since just hearing somebody's voice in your head doesn't give you much to go on other than "think in their direction," which is...yeah. In general, mimicking is easier (i.e., not essentially an untrained check with no modifiers) with physical techniques, where you can observe the person's body language for hints as to what's involved.
What about ki sense? Battle precog relies on sensing ki inside the body and anticipating how they'll move by seeing how the ki inside them moves. Does that not cross over into non-physical techniques or do we just not have high enough Ki Sense?
What would the, "Enter as a Golden Great Ape," option have been? "Oddball" doesn't quite seem to cover it.
Also, are there any Senzu in the gathering? This seems like one of the few events important enough to draw a few out. What is their relationship with the cult?
The Senzus, and in fact Clan Vegeta as a general rule, have not yet entered your education. Stuff outside the immediate scope of lists of all the Houses, basic agendas, and detailed rundowns on, "who are the most important people in Clan Goku?" are some of the things that will be covered in "A Scions's Duties II" later this year. But no, if the Senzus were out in public the whole of Garenhuld would know about it, within the frame of reference of the Exiles, at least. They're not officially outlaws. Officially. But they are the biggest piece of news on Garenhuld wherever they go.
Entering as a Golden Oozaru...honestly, I would have let you try, but that would have been too much. Entering and then going SSJ? From your resting power level of ~19 million to 1.125 billion, instantly? Shocking, obvious, massive, and clear. Going Oozaru on top of that...it simply takes longer, and gives people time to get over their shock and start thinking. At which point...you just look a little bit silly, given that you wouldn't then proceed to slaughter them all. They'd just be wondering why you bothered; you'd have to drop out of it if you wanted to do anything other than exude menace, anyway.
But going Oozaru and then entering...would be impossible. The passageway in isn't big enough.
What about ki sense? Battle precog relies on sensing ki inside the body and anticipating how they'll move by seeing how the ki inside them moves. Does that not cross over into non-physical techniques or do we just not have high enough Ki Sense?
Ki Sense in very self-contained, in that it really is just about sensing ki. You can apply that in interesting ways, such as the aforementioned precog, but it just doesn't apply to telepathy. Telepathy is its own, separate, Ki Talent, which you have never tried and thus have an unknown skill level in.
From the update "Legacy," you do know that Jaffur has some talent in Telepathy. Additionally, Grandma obviously does, and given his proficiency in Mind Delve, Dad's at least more likely to have studied it.
Ki Sense in very self-contained, in that it really is just about sensing ki. You can apply that in interesting ways, such as the aforementioned precog, but it just doesn't apply to telepathy. Telepathy is its own, separate, Ki Talent, which you have never tried and thus have an unknown skill level in.
[x] To your Grandma. She's familiar, both of your respective stations will give you some much-needed distance from the crowd, and honestly, this is more her battlefield than yours. (Cedes, reversibly, control of your actions to Apra's discretion and agenda)
Leaning towards this. Just because family. I also want to interact with her. I could be convinced otherwise.
Aha. Yes, it gives some small amount of insight. It's some kind of ki use, and a particularly stealthy one at that. You wouldn't have detected hers if it hadn't been directed at you. But it achieves that stealthiness by being oddly...inward. You don't have a great level of granularity on that insight. It's better than nothing, but you'd still be well-served by asking after its principles, unless you specifically wanted something to copy.
"Okay Kakara, what do we do if first contact happens with the wider galaxy?"
"It depends on a number of things."
Berra merely raises an eyebrow.
"First, if the contact is peaceful then the Masquerade continues as usual and we do nothing other than institute Power Level limits outside the Training Hall or similarly warded area."
Berra nods.
"If the contact is hostile, then it also depends on a bunch of things. If they aren't too strong, we'll let the human militaries handle it. The next step up is defeating them while masqued, which isn't great but at least hides our saiyanness."
"Anything else?"
Kakara sighs, "And if they're too strong we bust out Saiyan or Super Saiyan, kill every one of the invaders if at all possible, and enact Lord Oni's plan to coexist with the human nations of Garenhuld as our own nation."
Berra gives his daughter a hug. "That's my girl. You got it exactly right."
-
"I have good news Turles."
"Oh?"
"One of our probes has located a prime planet, filled to the brim with life."
"Hmm, and how close is it to the galactic trade routes? We don't need the Galaxy Patrol or Frigid to come down on us."
"Far off the beaten path sir. While there are trade routes around it, it is far from anywhere of interest, and has at least one entirely dead system between it and the nearest trade route in any given direction."
"Excellent. We need to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Might again soon if we wish to keep extending our lives even further. How long will it take to get there?"
"It shouldn't take more than a year if we go there directly. But you know that we can't do that."
"Yes. The Okkeen have us under contract for at least 2 more years, possibly longer if the war keeps going as poorly as it has. Still, at the end of that we can go to this world you've found. What's it called anyway?"
"Okay Kakara, what do we do if first contact happens with the wider galaxy?"
"It depends on a number of things."
Berra merely raises an eyebrow.
"First, if the contact is peaceful then the Masquerade continues as usual and we do nothing other than institute Power Level limits outside the Training Hall or similarly warded area."
Berra nods.
"If the contact is hostile, then it also depends on a bunch of things. If they aren't too strong, we'll let the human militaries handle it. The next step up is defeating them while masqued, which isn't great but at least hides our saiyanness."
"Anything else?"
Kakara sighs, "And if they're too strong we bust out Saiyan or Super Saiyan, kill every one of the invaders if at all possible, and enact Lord Oni's plan to coexist with the human nations of Garenhuld as our own nation."
Berra gives her daughter a hug. "That's my girl. You got it exactly right."
-
"I have good news Turles."
"Oh?"
"One of our probes has located a prime planet, filled to the brim with life."
"Hmm, and how close is it to the galactic trade routes? We don't need the Galaxy Patrol or Frigid to come down on us."
"Far off the beaten path sir. While there are trade routes around it, it is far from anywhere of interest, and has at least one entirely dead system between it and the nearest trade route in any given direction."
"Excellent. We need to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Might again soon if we wish to keep extending our lives even further. How long will it take to get there?"
"It shouldn't take more than a year if we go there directly. But you know that we can't do that."
"Yes. The Okkeen have us under contract for at least 2 more years, possibly longer if the war keeps going as poorly as it has. Still, at the end of that we can go to this world you've found. What's it called anyway?"
Nice. Non-canon, because even if I wasn't currently vacillating on Turles's canonicity, for spoilery reasons he'd be super dead by now anyway. But even so, very nice.
At this rate, I'm not going to have to build more of a rogue's gallery than I already have a rogue's gallery myself at all. Yes.
[x] To your Grandma. She's familiar, both of your respective stations will give you some much-needed distance from the crowd, and honestly, this is more her battlefield than yours. (Cedes, reversibly, control of your actions to Apra's discretion and agenda)
Leaning towards this. Just because family. I also want to interact with her. I could be convinced otherwise.
While we can reverse it, for the time that we're with her she'll be using it to advance her agenda and expand her influence. One of her agendas is burning Dandeer at the stake for heresy. I'd rather stay clear of her until we've formally, publicly, and unambiguously stated our opinion on heretic burning. Things may get complicated in ways we can't see otherwise.
I also honestly think we should start interacting with Saiyans who aren't our family. We've gotta start expanding our social circle, you know? Kakara's a social kid, let her hang out with other kids.
[X] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[X] Adorkable. Wanting to make a new friend, not quite sure how to go about it.
[X] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[X] Adorkable. Wanting to make a new friend, not quite sure how to go about it.
Don't we kinda know how to make friends, though? I mean yeah it was Sophie who approached us and got us into the group, but it was our friendliness that won them over. Socialiser also says we're slightly good at making friends, not slightly bad at it.
EDIT: Oh! We should bring a couple of snacks and share one with her. That should make her more immediately amicable to us.
[X] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[X] Curious. What is she looking at?
We are Scion. We are The Gold. Do you really think it would be best to look like we don't know what we are doing, when she is the daughter of a polititian that obviously wants to make connections?
While it might be a bit rude, this is also oddball behaviour.
Hm, good way to start a conversation, good reasoning, and in character. I like it.
[] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[] Curious. What is she looking at?
Don't we kinda know how to make friends, though? I mean yeah it was Sophie who approached us and got us into the group, but it was our friendliness that won them over. Socialiser also says we're slightly good at making friends, not slightly bad at it.
Actually, all socializer says is that we like talking to people, not that we're actually good at it (I mean, since our Communications skill is Talented, we are good at it too), and when Kakara first interacted with Sophie and the Misfits, she seemed pretty shy.
[X] To High Priest Celeran's niece Fennella. No harm in playing along for now. Or maybe he actually is just referring you to somebody about your age.
-[X] Friendly, interested in meeting a new person. Talk about whatever she wants to discuss but switch to food if the conversation goes into something weird like politics.
-[X] Grab a couple of snacks from somewhere and share one with her.
She is looking at someone in the crowd that we don't know. That smells like a plot hook. Aren't you curious? I know I am curious. Let us sate our curiosity!
