You know the real person to blame for this is Dandeer, if she hadn't been talking shit Yanmar whouldnt have shown up, and cause us to reach a new level while fighting, and cause us to break the seal, and cause our people to die.
To be fair, he didn't say we failed. He just revealed that some character in the story doesn't approve of our actions/opinions and makes that fairly clear, while also making sure we know that his words aren't that of the character.
This can mean anything from someone disapproving of our actions in general, like someone going against us defending Dandeer or the consequences of that, like hurting the people around us in a fight. It doesn't necessarily mean that we actually screwed up.
Also, in hindsight, we should have challenged him to duel to make sure that people would move aside and wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
[X] Move in-between them.
-[X] Provide said reason (though likely the kind of reason he wanted).
--[X] Tell Yammar that sneaking in here uninvited and then threatening to murder people is not okay. He has a right to be angry of being accused for being responsible for Jaffur's sealing, and if the Faith agrees to let him stay he has a right to demand an explanation and take part in the debate, but if he threatens anyone again, tries to murder Dandeer or if we sense he's even preparing to attack with your ki, we're throwing him out.
--[X] If we sense Yammar preparing to attack, stop him.
A Regular Preacher Edwards
"I have a reason," you say.
His eyes turn to you. "Really? Do share."
"You're not supposed to be here. This is for the Faith. Not you. Sneaking in and threatening to murder people isn't right. You can be angry that she's saying Jaffur's Sealing is your fault, and if they let you stay you can argue with her about it. That's fine."
Throughout this, he grows more and more exasperated, and as you finish lets out a long sigh, rolling his eyes. "Girl, I'm part of the Faith. I have every right to be here. I was invited specifically. The fact that I chose to suppress my energy to avoid causing a scene was courtesy on my part. I didn't sneak in, and my participation is not up for discussion." He gives you a deep frown. "But by all mean, continue your fascinating rebuke. Go on. I'm listening." He crosses his arms.?
You blink, your momentum thoroughly cut out from under you. "...oh. Well you're still wrong coming in and threatening to kill people!"
"Oh please, I've killed dozens of people, some younger than you. Next."
You grit your teeth and suppress the surge of anger that provokes. "Well you don't get to today!"
Silence.
"...really?" He uncrosses his arms, focusing intently on you. "Do tell."
"Today is for talking," you say, forging ahead. "You can stay and talk about the problems we're talking about, but you can't threaten to kill people just because they say something you don't like! If you threaten anybody again, try to kill Lady Vegeta, or even feel like you're going to do something, I'm going to throw you out!"
In demonstration, you flare to your full power, casting golden light all around you from your aura.
Yammar stares back at you, impassive. And then, at last, he nods, dropping out of his transformation. "...better. You should have led with that." He turns away from Lady Vegeta completely and walks past you to the chairs set up on the platform. "Always bear in mind who you're speaking to, young Scion. Your second point was dead weight, and your first relied on the assumption that I'm not one of the Faithful. As you grow wiser, you'll learn that both are to be avoided. And while the victor in a contest between us would by no means be certain, the mere threat of force at our level is enough to deter quite a bit of poor behavior."
Not to mention the appearance of authority, he say in your mind. Somebody needed to take this rabble in hand. I'm not about to disrupt your control over them. I must grudgingly admit that it was well done.
You twitch at the unexpected voice and scowl at him as he takes his chair next to Grandma.
"Apra."
"Yammar."
You continue glaring. You hate him. He's insulting and just mean. But he's given you what you want. You turn back to Lady Vegeta. "What were you saying?"
She slowly tears her gaze away from Yammar and back to you, white-faced and trembling. "I...um. Yes. Yes, I...yes." She turns to the crowd. "I...I am not a criminal. I'm fixing my son from the damage cause by his father and grand-"
crunch
You whirl back around to Yammar and see that his foot has gone through the stage. He's giving Lady Vegeta a black look, and he's tense with rage.
He stays silent, though.
"I'm just fixing the damage that he's already suffered!" says Lady Vegeta, apparently deciding to let the question of blame go. "He's better as Jaron! I've taken away all the hurt and the pain, and now he can grow up as his own boy, into his own man! I've freed him! And none of you -- none of you who just sat and watched while things got worse and worse -- none of you have the right to judge me for that!" She crosses her arms.
Celeran steps forward once it becomes clear that she's finished. "Sit down."
She scowls at him, but grudgingly leaves the stage.
Celeran turns, taking in all of the crowd in a single sweep. "Does anybody wish to speak in support of Lady Vegeta?"
As it happens, they do. A slow trickle of the supporters she's gathered to her come to the stage and add their words to hers. But...not all of them. For whatever reason, some of them are drifting away from her, and only a fraction stand up in her defense. Apparently something has shaken their support of her.
Taken all together...only a few people come forward. Lady Dandeer's support is trembling.
When the last speaker sits down, Celeran steps forward once again. "Nobody else? Very well, then. Who would like to contest her claims?"
Yammar stands immediately.
You scowl at him as he steps forward, but he's following your instructions, so you say nothing. He settles down at the center of the stage and clears his throat. "I could begin by saying that our Super Saiyans are our demigods. I could argue that their status as Lady Vegeta's family is completely irrelevant to the spirit of the question she was asked, and I'd be right in saying that. I could say that the question of what this act means on a theological basis is an entirely separate issue from what it means for Dandeer's personal life and that she and the parade of her supporters who have taken the stage to make that point have been wasting our time and their chance at convincing us to withhold our judgment. I could also call criticizing somebody's right to be angry with you a rather poor means of convincing people that you're in the right, and call my daughter-in-law an absolute imbecile." His eyes glint. "Again, I'd be correct if I said that."
Dandeer comes to her feet in the crowd. "You don't-!"
"SILENCE!"
Thunder cracks as Yammar shouts Dandeer down. She quails, collapsing back into her chair.
"I believe the Scion has made her stance on interruptions perfectly clear," says Yammar, smirking.
...and just like that he's cut your ability to protest his blatant intimidation. What an asshole. You glare at him silently.
"I could say all of those things, and indeed I have," says Yammar, sounding bored. "But let's be honest here -- as I said, all of those points are quite irrelevant to the question of what the Sealing means for us in theological terms. And I'll tell you what it means -- it means that we can feel free to ignore the divine status of Super Saiyans. What my daughter-in-law has done is an utter violation, and it places herself squarely above those we deem demigods. She is attempting to usurp divinity and render the respect we pay the prominent figures of our Faith absolutely meaningless. What is the point of venerating the gods and demi-gods if we don't pay them the respect of not tearing them down? No, what she has done isn't therapy. It's not healing. It's not the act of a concerned mother. What she has done, as far as we are concerned, is heresy, plain and simple. She has raised her hands against the divine not once, but twice! She has thrown our society into chaos by striking at the very thing underpinning it! She has sinned!"
There's a dull roar of affirmation -- nobody interrupting, but the crowd starts making some noise.
"Have we forgotten what the system of Lords was put in place to defend against? Our annihilation is at stake! By her actions she risks not mere temporal instability, but the death of our entire society at the hands of that devil, the Enemy! She threatens our very souls! We are not the leaders of the galaxy! We are not the strongest power out there! There is greater -- greater than the gods! And thus we must be ordered, must be disciplined, must be hidden! We are not powerful enough to ignore the necessity for hiding; we are specks in the hands of an angry god! Somewhere out there the Enemy waits, and searches! They are infinite and beyond death, and they will find us if we slip! And she threatens us all with that living hell!"
Shouts of agreement begin to rise up from the audience. You begin to consider stepping in.
"This heresy is nothing so banal as a point of disagreement; it is a direct invitation to the apocalypse that our entire society has been built around! By her selfish recklessness Dandeer Vegeta threatens to tear us all down and see us destroyed! I feel no shame in calling that heresy. She treats our fear and our concern with contempt! And if she will not answer that charge -- if all she has to answer our outrage with is pathetic, puling whines over how very hard it is to be her -- I say that she has no right to call herself one of us! If she is so self-centered as to ignore and deny the impact her actions have had on us all, I for one demand that I no longer need pretend any fellowship with her at all!"
The shouting rises to a fever pitch, and you transform. Instantly, quiet is restored, and you keep your eyes on Yammar, ready to step in should he try anything.
But he doesn't even look at you. "As the High Priest says, he is not vested with the power of excommunication. We are. And it sickens me to need to call this thing that walks like a woman my sister in Faith any longer. I call for a vote of excommunication. I call for us to cast her out."
And behind you, Grandma stands. "I second this call."
Celeran steps forward once again. "Then I respect our Matriarch and Patriarch's call for consensus, and bring this to a vote. I call for all those who stand against this motion to step forward."
Of those still standing around Lady Vegeta, only a bare few step forward. The rest stay in their seats, apparently thoroughly cowed by Yammar's speech. The vast majority of those gathered eye them with hostility and contempt.
Celeran nods, tension in his body as he strangles whatever he's feeling to keep it off his face. "Those in favor."
* * *
Last chance to influence things. What do you do?
[ ] Nothing. You said you would mediate, and they have followed the rules. If this is their decision, it's their decision.
[ ] Jump in at the last minute to oppose this. You're not of the Faith, but you bet they'll listen anyway.
[ ] Speak in support of the motion. You're not of the Faith, but they're not going to care considering the avalanche of support the motion is about to receive.
[ ] Leave immediately.
[ ] Write-in.
TESTING THIS OUT: TWO-HOUR MORATORIUM ON VOTES. ANY VOTES POSTED BEFORE 20:30 GMT WILL NOT BE COUNTED.
THIS VOTE IS STILL OPEN.
* * *
Man, y'all panicked. Nothing failed, it's just that Yammar is a critical asshole who likes to be as abrasive as possible when he critiques somebody's actions. He actually likes you a little bit. :lol
To be clear, this is the last major vote of the Council. Beyond this there might be a vote to decide some last-minute socialization as things break up, depending on fatigue, but no more major issues that you need to weigh in on. This is the big one. After this it's on with the rest of the year, and into the search for the Senzus. Speak now or forever hold your peace.
Enjoy! Cookie to the first person who gets the reference in the update title.
[X] Nothing. You said you would mediate, and they have followed the rules. If this is their decision, it's their decision.
I don't think what we'd gain by either opposing or speaking in support of the motion is worth what we'd lose by doing either, and it's not really our business either way.
Edit: Also nice to see he doesn't hate us or anything, even if he is apparently insane.
And I still take so much issue with Dandeer insisting she "fixed" him, leaving aside the whole issue of if he needed fixing, there's no doubt in my mind she shouldn't have been the one to do it.
Thats the equivalent of someone suffering from mental issues in the real world and instead of talking to a psychiatrist the mother just gagged the person and locked them in the house.
Man, y'all panicked. Nothing failed, it's just that Yammar is a critical asshole who likes to be as abrasive as possible when he critiques somebody's actions. He actually likes you a little bit. :lol
Poptart, don't suppose you're talking about the preacher John Edwards? From Wikipedia: This is a typical sermon of the Great Awakening, emphasizing the belief that Hell is a real place. Edwards hoped that the imagery and language of his sermon would awaken audiences to the horrific reality that he believed awaited them should they continue life without devotion to Christ.[4] The underlying point is that God has given humanity a chance to rectify their sins. Edwards says that it is the will of God that keeps wicked men from the depths of Hell. This act of restraint has given humanity a chance to mend their ways and return to Christ.
Life without devotion to the Saiyans/Christ leads to hell on Earth. Restraint is also key.
[X] Nothing. You said you would mediate, and they have followed the rules. If this is their decision, it's their decision.
Nah, you amped it up to a regular success from a slim success. You had him standing down before the cookie, but now he actually respects your spine a bit.
Poptart, don't suppose you're talking about the preacher John Edwards? From Wikipedia: This is a typical sermon of the Great Awakening, emphasizing the belief that Hell is a real place. Edwards hoped that the imagery and language of his sermon would awaken audiences to the horrific reality that he believed awaited them should they continue life without devotion to Christ.[4] The underlying point is that God has given humanity a chance to rectify their sins. Edwards says that it is the will of God that keeps wicked men from the depths of Hell. This act of restraint has given humanity a chance to mend their ways and return to Christ.
Life without devotion to the Saiyans/Christ leads to hell on Earth. Restraint is also key.
[X] Nothing. You said you would mediate, and they have followed the rules. If this is their decision, it's their decision.
Ding ding, and Karnax gets a cookie. Yup! I've been waiting for that; the Council is based on Catholic practices, but the Cult is a lot more Protestant-flavored in terms of structure and culture. I've been looking forward to having somebody cut loose with a good old Puritan "YOU'RE ALL GOING TO BURN IN HELL" spectacle. Ah, and people wonder why Americans are so f*cked up.
3:30 my time zone, actually. I just use a 24-hour clock reading and Greenwich Mean Time for the non-USA readers, since Americans will understand 24-hour clocks as military time anyway and GMT is recognized as something of a standard.
Nah, you amped it up to a regular success from a slim success. You had him standing down before the cookie, but now he actually respects your spine a bit.
Ding ding, and Karnax gets a cookie. Yup! I've been waiting for that; the Council is based on Catholic practices, but the Cult is a lot more Protestant-flavored in terms of structure and culture. I've been looking forward to having somebody cut loose with a good old Puritan "YOU'RE ALL GOING TO BURN IN HELL" spectacle. Ah, and people wonder why Americans are so f*cked up.
3:30 my time zone, actually. I just use a 24-hour clock reading and Greenwich Mean Time for the non-USA readers, since Americans will understand 24-hour clocks as military time anyway and GMT is recognized as something of a standard.
Ding ding, and Karnax gets a cookie. Yup! I've been waiting for that; the Council is based on Catholic practices, but the Cult is a lot more Protestant-flavored in terms of structure and culture. I've been looking forward to having somebody cut loose with a good old Puritan "YOU'RE ALL GOING TO BURN IN HELL" spectacle. Ah, and people wonder why Americans are so f*cked up.
Its less our Religion and more the sheer number of uneducated we have. Not to mention the bias (racism, sexism, etc.) still prevalent in the south and mid-west to a lesser degree.
And of course our political system is a circus act even before you realize its something closer to an oligarchy than an actual democracy or republic already.
God (Har) am I glad I live in Massachusetts. We have our own issues, but most of them crop up from being to ahead of their time or too extreme in general. Fanatical Feminists off the top of my head, though that's only in like one or two cities and even then its only a few people in them. I lived in one of those cities for a while.
Edit: Also nice to see he doesn't hate us or anything, even if he is apparently insane.
And I still take so much issue with Dandeer insisting she "fixed" him, leaving aside the whole issue of if he needed fixing, there's no doubt in my mind she shouldn't have been the one to do it.
Thats the equivalent of someone suffering from mental issues in the real world and instead of talking to a psychiatrist the mother just gagged the person and locked them in the house.
The best parallel in my mind is a mother who herself has many issues brought on by severe abused attempting to use a regimen of anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, and so on to medicate her (genuinely) troubled child to "health". She may think she's helping him, and perhaps for a time on the surface it may appear that way, but the long-term consequences are troublesome, to say the least.
Again, we know that Jaffur and Jaron are 2 personalities. She does not, and clearly operates under the idea/understanding/assumption that Jaron is simply Jaffur with the negative tendencies suppressed, as if on permanent medication.
I'm honestly inclined to do nothing. They've obeyed the rules. They're calling for a religious-only punishment. They're not attempting to kill her (we've made that clear). She brought this on herself, and didn't think through the consequences or her arguments enough.
Maybe if she'd responded with something like "In a year or two I'll Un-Seal Jaffur and have him evaluated" or the like (even if it was a lie), she'd have some "wiggle room". She did not.
But yeah I'm for not doing anything, Yanmar said he piece, we have very little to add from a theological standpoint, which is what matters here, and I dont want to support Dandeer anyway.
The literal worst thing that could come from her getting kicked out is her snapping, and then we have due cause to try and reverse the sealing, as she had obviously done it while not in her right mind.
