Dragon Ball: After the End
Figured as much... I didn't even think about it being useful to grandma until I was writing it though. *Shrug*
I'm picturing it as one of those split second things that happens right as we begin to raise our power. Not staring him down for seconds on end, but rather one of those eternity in a moment things that happens in movies and anime. Cliche I know, but you can't say it doesn't fit the situation either.
It shouldn't interfere with the plan. If it does then it already failed.
- Location
- Australia
Nonexistent? So Kakara knows this isn't her Seer hunch kicking in and is instead her normal hunch?
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yes. They are similar but different feelings, and she now knows enough to distinguish them. More to the point...at what point have I the QM said Kakara was feeling any particular hunch about the way this situation is running?
- Location
- Australia
Oh... Ok, lying. Don't feel good about us doing that, but the course is set I guess.
Ah, thought it was basically just the will of the players; the players knew about Golden Ape and that got transferred to Kakara. Thought it was a similar situation here since Kakara has no experience with this kind of situation but she knows what to do anyway. I think I just assumed too much.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Aha. No, this is just a case of Kakara being a very smart girl for her age with a lot of social intelligence.
- Location
- Australia
I notice this was added to the Traits list. @PoptartProdigy, can we develop this further with The Examined Life? If we can, would it let us break the Exceptional barrier?
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Hm. Knew I forgot something, there. That's not a trait you can develop at all, no. Just a note for your benefit.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
I suspect that breaking the exceptional barrier will require us to find a mentor or information source that hasn't lost any pre-fall information.
Point of the Compass
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Plan Demigoddess
-[X] Oppose the motion
-[X] Shut up the screams by turning super saiyan then moving to the stage to stand next to Celeran.
-[X] Address the problem: Nobility's hands-off approach is causing unrest. It is your duty to take a more active role in your society to help with this and the cult is an important part of it.
-[X] Offer to mediate until the current crisis is resolved. You are still learning but with advice from your elders (implying grandma and Celeran though not outright mentioning them) you will get through this situation, as saiyans
always have.
-[X] Leverage your position as the gold and that it happened in these times, as well as the feeling you had regarding training Oozaru. Leave open to interpretation the possibility of divine inspiration.
-[X] Act confident, with authority. Give the Vegetans something familiar to latch into.
-[X] Move on the discussion to the religious matters they are here to discuss. Act as observer and defer to those who know more of the subject.
-[X] Oppose the motion
-[X] Shut up the screams by turning super saiyan then moving to the stage to stand next to Celeran.
-[X] Address the problem: Nobility's hands-off approach is causing unrest. It is your duty to take a more active role in your society to help with this and the cult is an important part of it.
-[X] Offer to mediate until the current crisis is resolved. You are still learning but with advice from your elders (implying grandma and Celeran though not outright mentioning them) you will get through this situation, as saiyans
always have.
-[X] Leverage your position as the gold and that it happened in these times, as well as the feeling you had regarding training Oozaru. Leave open to interpretation the possibility of divine inspiration.
-[X] Act confident, with authority. Give the Vegetans something familiar to latch into.
-[X] Move on the discussion to the religious matters they are here to discuss. Act as observer and defer to those who know more of the subject.
As you grow older, you will some day come to understand that the way your mind slows down at crucial moments is unusual. The realization will come that not everybody sees the world through pine sap when the time comes to decide where they stand.
For now, you think it's normal, as thoughts chase each other through your head. You make the connection swiftly -- Celeran planned this out. The timing was just too good, and by the furious glances she's shooting at him, your Grandma realizes this as well. By the terrified look that you see Lady Vegeta shoot him, she realizes this as well. She must realize what a shaky spot she's in, and what will likely happen to her if he gets the power he seeks.
You have a brief inkling of blackmailing Celeran with your knowledge of his true loyalties and forcing him to oppose the motion. The thought flickers and dies. Too flimsy. If he called you on it, you'd have no choice but to escalate or be humiliated by him.
You consider letting him have this moment, as the momentum of the crowd says he inevitably will. You throw that idea aside. High Priest Celeran is, you know, a Peat. From Fennella, you know that he hasn't cast his House loyalties aside. You strongly consider outing him in front of the crowd as a puppet of his brother and a traitor to your Clan. That would ruin him, you know, and start the inevitable collapse of his House.
But you discard that thought. You have the word of an eleven-year-old girl for evidence, and as Dad has taught you, you need to always act with moderation and patience in matters like this. Action on Celeran's divided loyalties can wait for later, once you decide how to best address the issue.
Once I can figure out how I can do this without losing my only saiyan friend.
At last...you think of the crowd itself. The world gets even slower as your power level climbs.
Grandma cuts off in her shouting, snapping her head over to look at you with wide eyes as your ki skyrockets. In a rolling, building pace, your overwhelming presence sears out across the Hall, and voices still where it falls.
You come to your feet in a daze. Your hands curl into fists. The world turns gold.
You don't bother with anything other than your maximum. Your full presence rams into the skulls of everybody there, and as one they collapse to their knees, the argument silenced in a heartbeat. They bow their heads to you, and it looks like a forest falling. For a long moment, you simply stare out at them, the sizzle of your aura the only sound in the silence.
Then you turn, and advance on Celeran.
A bolt of pure terror lances through his presence, a terror you feel echoed in a small cluster of lesser presences around Fennella. The Peat House, you realize. Of course they would be here. Of course they would recognize your actions as a sign that they have at last pushed too far, and for too much. You ignore them, and Celeran as well, and step into the dead center of the stage. He's occupying it. He clears it out for you as you approach. You face the crowd without a glance at him.
You school your face into a calm mask. You can't do as Jaffur did -- that perfect, blank sternness that he wore at nearly all times is beyond you. But you can do calm, and shall. The Vegetans are at the heart of this, and so it is to them that you will play. If they want somebody like they're used to, you can provide. You will take charge of this mess. But...how? You're not sure. You're new to this...but you have to try.
"You're important," you say. Despite your presence, your words are soft and almost uncertain. You try to firm them. "You are. You feel scared and alone because you feel like you've been left behind. You feel..." You pause. "You feel like you can't trust anybody."
Like Jaffur.
"You feel like there's nobody who's going to listen to you. You feel like nobody is going to keep you safe -- not even from yourself. And you're scared. You're scared because you don't think anybody is coming to help you."
Like my friends.
"You feel alone." Your voice shakes -- just a bit, but you see heads lifting all across the Hall. "You feel alone. Like there's nobody out there with you. Like nobody wants to. Like you're not important."
Like me. Like I used to be.
"But you are important. Some people look at you and think you're weird. Some people think you're dangerous. Some people don't want to understand you. Any of you. They think that because you aren't most of us, they can act like you aren't any of us.
"But you're important."
Everybody is looking at you now. You swallow, and forge on, trying to bring the words you need to mind. "There are so many of you. I've never seen this many people in one place before. Even if you weren't who you are, that makes you important to me. But you are who you are. You're the Faith. Just because people don't understand doesn't mean you don't touch them."
You look around the Hall, trying to take in everybody and wondering how on Earth they're all hearing you, as quiet as you're being.
"I know you're scared because things are crazy and you don't think anybody is doing anything to stop it. You feel like you're being ignored, and what you believe in is being ignored too. And that's not right. Because I'm listening. I'm not the Lady Goku. I won't be for a long time! But I'm the Scion, and I know that I'm important to you. Especially you. I can't ignore that. I have a duty. I have a duty to my Clan, but I have a duty to you, too. Because I can see how you all look at me. I'm important to you. So I have to earn it. I need to be a part of things. I can't hide from you all anymore."
You take a breath, and look at the man who started all of this. He's crying.
"You said that you need somebody to make sure we don't fall apart," you say.
He nods jerkily.
"I can't be a leader like you were asking," you say. "I'm not ready for that. But I can keep us from trying to hurt each other. That's what I'm for. I'm not supposed to rule anybody yet. I won't even rule anybody when I'm Lady, because that's not how Goku works. But I'm supposed to help us talk to each other without fighting. I can do that. I will do that."
You take a deep breath. Confidence. Right. I need to be confident. You step forward towards the edge of the stage, raising your voice a bit. "We've been through worse than this. We're the Exiles. We survived the Death of Earth. We lived through the Dark Age. We made it through every fight since then. We'll make it through this. And I'll help. I'm not grown up yet, but I'll listen to you. I can help us talk to each other without wanting to fight. And I'm going to listen to my elders, because that's what they're for. We can do this. But until we do, I'll help."
You can see them looking at you with expressions you've never seen on anybody's faces before. You don't know what to make of them. "I'm smart. I'm smart, and I figure things out that nobody else does. I figured out the Golden Oozaru. I didn't even know I was looking for it. It just came to me. I figured it out now, when everything looks like it's falling apart. I can figure out this."
You feel faintly bad about that. You know they'll think of their gods when you say that, and you don't feel great about pulling on their faith, even if you don't agree with it. But you forge on. Helping them is more important. You stand up straight.
"I'm the Scion of Goku. Some day, I'll be the Lady Goku. Helping you all agree with each other without getting so mad you hurt each other is going to be my job. So let me help you now. Let me help you talk about what you came here to talk about without starting to hate each other. We don't have to fight. You're here to talk about how the faith needs to change, since the world is. That's good. Let's talk about that. But we can't tear our people apart because of it."
You end your speech and look out across them, feeling confident for the first time. You meet countless gazes without flinching. You aren't dictating; you aren't demanding. You're just saying what you know is true. There doesn't need to be a fight today. This can stop without tearing people apart. You know that.
And you think you managed to say it right, too.
You catch movement in the corner of your eye.
Celeran steps up to you, the only one in the entire Hall other than your Grandma who's still standing. He looks down into your eyes, and you stare back at him, waiting to see what he wants.
He looks like he's searching for something.
The moment between the two of you stretches, the priest and his demigod staring at each other, each looking for something. In a way, you guess, he's your priest, despite how weird that feels.
And then he finds what he's looking for. His eyes fill with something you've never seen from him.
Shame.
He slowly, gracefully, lowers himself to his knees, and bows his head to the floor at your feet. "My Lady Scion..." He takes a shuddering breath. "I have a confession to make."
You hear a sharp gasp from the Peats -- Head Peat, if he's the one who's the highest power level there.
"I made this happen," says Celeran, shame in his voice. "I conspired to raise myself up as a true authority above the people of the Faith. I saw the chaos of our people, and inaction of those meant to protect us from ourselves, and I concluded that I was the only one who could save us. In my hubris, I sought to set myself against those touched by the Mandate of Heaven. I forgot who you are. I forgot that for every evil, there is a good. To my shame, I forgot that the gods never leave us without somebody to protect us from those who fail. When our society crumbled around us, Lady Garla the First, Princess of All Saiyans, stepped forward to reform our society. When Lord Oni Goku's cruel reign threatened to consume all, there was Prince Carrick Vegeta to set himself against that monster. When I saw our only Lord and our Matriarch and Patriarch looking upon the chaos of our people and doing nothing, I thought I was the balance set against them. I was wrong. It was you."
He raises his head -- not to look in your eyes, but enough to bring his forehead off the floor. "Where I sought to steal power like a thief in the night, you have stepped forward and with simple words undone my schemes. Where I thought to become great by stealth, you simply are. My Lady Scion, I am sorry. You are the one who will step forward to save us from this madness. I see that now. I will not shame myself again by daring to suppose when or even how -- but I have, in my arrogance, forgotten that every Scion is ordained by those with the touch of True Sight upon them. You have been set to some day lead fully half of our people for a reason. I see that reason now. Your words are clear and earnestly meant. They burn with conviction. You shame me, Scion. And you don't even mean to. You will some day be a better and worthier leader than I ever could be. I beg you for your forgiveness..." He lowers his head back to the stage and deliberately drops his power level to near-zero. "...but if you wish it, I freely accept your punishment."
[ ] Accept his apology.
-[ ] Help him to his feet.
-[ ] Just return to your seat.
[ ] Refuse his apology.
-[ ] ...but offer no punishment.
--[ ] Help him to his feet.
--[ ] Just return to your seat.
-[ ] ...and give him a punishment.
--[ ] Strip him of his high rank.
--[ ] Remove him from the priesthood and return him to his House.
--[ ] Execute him. (x0.01 vote weighting)
[ ] Don't accept or refuse his apology.
-[ ] Just take your seat.
-[ ] Help him to his feet.
-[ ] Explain why.
-[ ] Leave immediately.
Write-ins welcome for any option or sub-option, particularly for votes that call for explanations or punishment sub-options. Choose all applicable, non-contradictory options.
* * *
For every character of significance, I figure out their levers. The more levers you hit, the easier dealing with them is.
Before now, you have never hit all of them in one fell swoop.
Part of the reason I asked for non-specific write-ins was because they all sounded like philosophy or ethics texts, and I already have a problem making Kakara sound like a kid. Problem: I still have that problem. I wrestled with this for a while before something clicked. I don't think it's perfect...but I had a genuinely fantastic time writing this update. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks for giving me such fantastic fodder for this update. Written to the sounds of the linked video up top.
This is a big moment for Kakara. You're on the verge of losing that "Mysterious" reputation...but a trait is on the edge of forming.
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- Location
- United Kingdom
That. Was . AWESOME! The music picked up right when Kakara raised her voice as well. 
Vote-wise, I'm tempted to refuse his apology, but offer no punishment. We should get him to somehow make up for his mistake. Like, we didn't shame him, he brought shame on himself, so it's his responsibility to fix (not sure if this is the right word) things, but then he shouldn't do it on his own either. No idea how to turn that into a vote yet.
Vote-wise, I'm tempted to refuse his apology, but offer no punishment. We should get him to somehow make up for his mistake. Like, we didn't shame him, he brought shame on himself, so it's his responsibility to fix (not sure if this is the right word) things, but then he shouldn't do it on his own either. No idea how to turn that into a vote yet.
- Location
- Australia
Holy god damn christ @PoptartProdigy. I haven't felt as much emotion from an update like that since Age of Strife. The music really sold it. You are an exceptional GM.
EDIT: I got up to get a drink of water and found that my legs were still literally shaky from what you wrote. Just...the amazingness of that update cannot be understated.
EDIT: I got up to get a drink of water and found that my legs were still literally shaky from what you wrote. Just...the amazingness of that update cannot be understated.
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Quest
The Great One
- Location
- Everywhere
Loved this post, Poptart. It was pretty good without music, but I reread it with the music and that was amazing. You chose the perfect mix.
Also:
Also:
We have been advised by the gods.And are we sure we're not receiving divine inspiration?
- Location
- Australia
Ok. I don't know what we should do yet, but there are a few guidelines I think we may want to follow.
Firstly, we can't just forgive Celeran and be done with it. We gained standing with the Vegetans with our manner, as we intended, but we stand to lose that if we just let Celeran off after what he's done and what he nearly did. This can't be another situation of Goku letting off Peat after they performed treason, especially since his authority would've covered Vegetans.
We can't strip him of his rank as High Priest. We're not part of the faith and as we said we're not a leader, we're just here to stop them from hurting each other. In this case, we can prod him into doing 'what must be done'. That can mean stepping down or awaiting judgement from the official priesthood, but not getting the opinion of the crowd as that'll just spark arguments anew.
He's a traitor and as Scion of Goku that makes his actions our business from a secular point of view. Since he confessed publicly fully of his own volition and it's our duty to deal with him, it gives us the possibility of keeping our relationship with Fennella.
Just sending him off to our father may send the wrong message. Celeran didn't intend it but he's just built us up as being the answer to their problems, one of their problems being our father. If we do send him to our father, it has to be part of a package of actions as a result of being adherent to the 'theme' of the package.
This isn't one of the guidelines above, but I think it's important nonetheless.
Firstly, we can't just forgive Celeran and be done with it. We gained standing with the Vegetans with our manner, as we intended, but we stand to lose that if we just let Celeran off after what he's done and what he nearly did. This can't be another situation of Goku letting off Peat after they performed treason, especially since his authority would've covered Vegetans.
We can't strip him of his rank as High Priest. We're not part of the faith and as we said we're not a leader, we're just here to stop them from hurting each other. In this case, we can prod him into doing 'what must be done'. That can mean stepping down or awaiting judgement from the official priesthood, but not getting the opinion of the crowd as that'll just spark arguments anew.
He's a traitor and as Scion of Goku that makes his actions our business from a secular point of view. Since he confessed publicly fully of his own volition and it's our duty to deal with him, it gives us the possibility of keeping our relationship with Fennella.
Just sending him off to our father may send the wrong message. Celeran didn't intend it but he's just built us up as being the answer to their problems, one of their problems being our father. If we do send him to our father, it has to be part of a package of actions as a result of being adherent to the 'theme' of the package.
This isn't one of the guidelines above, but I think it's important nonetheless.
Within the Hall, there are only two people who remain standing, neither of whose names are Dandeer. Dandeer, just as almost everybody else in the Hall, is currently bowing to us. Even if it's insincere, a way to retain the allies she's gained, it tells us that we have power over her, if only through her own allies at least.
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He hasn't confessed to being a "traitor", he's confessed to being power hungry, which isn't actually illegal. He's not saying what he did was legally wrong, and while he might see it as morally wrong/against the tenets of the Faith as he sook power that wasn't meant to be his, he didn't confess to doing anything actually evil either.
- Location
- Israel
[X] Accept his apology.
-[X] Help him to his feet.
-[X] Help him to his feet.
[X] Don't accept or refuse his apology.
-[X] Help him to his feet.
-[X] Explain why.
-[X] "Your apology is heartfelt, but it is misplaced, I cannot forgive or condemn you on behalf of the rest of the Faith. However, I ask that if you truly want redemption, then please work with me to help these people."
-[X] Help him to his feet.
-[X] Explain why.
-[X] "Your apology is heartfelt, but it is misplaced, I cannot forgive or condemn you on behalf of the rest of the Faith. However, I ask that if you truly want redemption, then please work with me to help these people."
- Location
- Australia
Using the faith as an umbrella to get away with treason doesn't fly in Saiyan society and what he tried to do was something that would challenge the power of the Lords (i.e. treason), so what he did is totally illegal.
We can't just forgive him and let him get away scot free. House Peat has been doing so for far too long and we don't want to lose the influence we've gained with Clan Vegeta by allowing them to do so yet again.
EDIT: Actually, House Peat is a pariah in all of Saiyan society, only holding influence within the Faith. Letting them get away makes us lose influence not only in Clan Vegeta, but also within our own clan as well.
Celeran has betrayed the Faith, the Clan, and since Vegetans are part of the Faith, all of Saiyan society. We can't keep him propped up in his position of power and giving him authority by asking him to help us will do that.
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Pre-edit: Huh, thought I'd posted this already. Guess not. And some new stuff has been posted in the meantime.
What he was doing was, by his admittance, for the benefit of the people. Whether or not that's true, that's the story he's telling, and from the looks of things, it's the truth, or most of it at least. Should that be punished?
Is that behaviour we should be discouraging?
Personally, I feel we aren't the one he should be apologising too, but the various followers of the Faith that he was seeking to gain control of.
What he was doing was, by his admittance, for the benefit of the people. Whether or not that's true, that's the story he's telling, and from the looks of things, it's the truth, or most of it at least. Should that be punished?
Huh, pretty close to what I was thinking about.
And he, by his own words:
He was trying to fix a situation that, by all indications, no one else would or could. And when he was shown to be wrong, he stepped up and confessed.
Is that behaviour we should be discouraging?
I'm going to agree on this, but I imagine our definition of "scot free" is going to be different.
Perhaps, but we seem to have a theme of "understanding" and "I'm willing to listen and help" going on right now.
[ ] Don't accept or refuse his apology.
-[ ] Kick him in the dick.
While I still feel we should have solved this with Metal-Cooler style, I find this resolution to be perfectly acceptable. Sadly, I feel it might be a bit misplaced to do it now and it threatens the whole messianic thing we have going on. Guess I'll have to toss my nonexistent hat in with this vote for now then.
[X] Don't accept or refuse his apology.
-[X] Help him to his feet.
-[X] Explain why.
-[X] "Your apology is heartfelt, but it is misplaced, I cannot forgive or condemn you on behalf of the rest of the Faith. However, I ask that if you truly want redemption, then please work with me to help these people."
-[ ] Kick him in the dick.
While I still feel we should have solved this with Metal-Cooler style, I find this resolution to be perfectly acceptable. Sadly, I feel it might be a bit misplaced to do it now and it threatens the whole messianic thing we have going on. Guess I'll have to toss my nonexistent hat in with this vote for now then.
[X] Don't accept or refuse his apology.
-[X] Help him to his feet.
-[X] Explain why.
-[X] "Your apology is heartfelt, but it is misplaced, I cannot forgive or condemn you on behalf of the rest of the Faith. However, I ask that if you truly want redemption, then please work with me to help these people."