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Dragon Ball: After the End

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I just finished catching up.

I was gonna switch to Compromise.

Glad it won without my needing to.

Hugs and Teasing are a MUST.
 
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Proactivity Continues To Be a Group Sport
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    • [X] Plan Compromise
    [x] Keep the fight going for a bit, drawing her out step by step; before you settle this down you want to see exactly how much power Maya has socked away.
    -[x] But don't let her handle you your ass. Keep things more or less even, be it by power or skill.
    -[x] Then de-escalate.
    -[x] Hug her and tell her how much it means to you that she felt she could tell you about this.
    [x] Talk about this with Maya.
    -[x] Raw talent only takes you so far...
    --[x] ...We should talk to my dad about this, he's the one who trained me!
    ---[x] Phone Dad

    Proactivity Continues To Be a Group Sport
    ​
    You grit your teeth against the pressure that Maya is putting on your hands. "Yes," you say. "I do."

    WHUMP

    With a flash, you power up to four-fifty as well. Snow blasts away from the two of you in a wave, and in the confusion of the moment you roll out from under your friend and flash away to a safe distance.

    Maya stumbles at the sudden lack of pressure and whirls to face you. "You're strong!" she says, eyes wide.

    You give her a grin and stand. "Yup! So are you!"

    She smiles back. "Well, this isn't all I have! Ha!"

    Maya powers up again, her aura swirling, this time to six hundred and fifty. And despite the shout, she's not straining all too much. You think she has more.

    She charges, closing in a heartbeat and kicking up a wake of snow that swirls out in a great wave.

    You smirk and match her power level exactly, rolling out of the way.

    Maya lets out a nervous giggle as she stops herself cold. "Wow, Karen, is there anything you're not good at?" Her cheeks are flushed from the cold and the fight.

    "Plenty," you say, settling into a stance. "How about you?" You beckon in invitation.

    She charges again and engages you up close.

    You stay on the defensive, keeping up a constant retreat before Maya's assault. What blows you can, you dodge; what you need to, you turn aside. It only encourages Maya further, and her power level continues to rise, putting you more and more on the back foot. Still, you're pretty sure that you can handle it...until she vanishes halfway through a strike.

    You freeze, not having expected her to have improved that much.

    And then she pounds through the tree you have your back to and sends you skidding across the ground.

    You roll out of the slide without much trouble, though, and see Maya hasn't moved an inch. Instead, she clenches her fists, throws her head to the sky, and screams.

    BANG

    Her aura blasts away from her, clearing the trees for over a dozen yards in every direction. You weather the shock wave with ease, letting it blow over you. And when it finally settles, you finally get a glimpse of her true power level: nine hundred and twenty-seven.

    "This is what I've got," she says, nerves forgotten in the rush of ki. She grins at you.

    You slowly stand and walk over to her. Closing to within a foot of your friend, you look down at her.

    And then you reach forward and pull her into a hug.

    "...eep..."

    "Thank you for showing me this, Maya," you say, resting your cheek on the top of her head. "It means a lot that you trust me so much."

    "I- I- I- I- I-"

    You squeeze her again, breaking the loop she's put herself into. "It really does. Thanks."

    "...'course," she mumbles, squirming further into your arms. "Who else am I gonna tell?"

    "Well, I have one idea," you say, smiling down at her.

    She pulls back, frowning. "What do you mean?"

    "Well, you're really strong, but that's not everything," you say, smirking. "You have to learn how to get better, too! I did."

    Her frown deepens. "Well yeah, Karen. I told you that I've been practicing. I was a lot weaker when I started, I know about training."

    You blink. Did what you said sound a bit condescending? Maybe. But that's not what you meant. "I know that! But there's more to this stuff! And that's why I have an idea about who to tell about this!"

    If anything, she frowns even more. "What do you mean?"

    "We're not the only ones who can do this!" you say, smiling. "My Dad can do it too. He's the one who taught me! So we should talk to him about it. He'll know what to do." You pull out your phone and pull up your Dad's contact.

    "Wait, what? NO!"

    You blink at Maya's sudden shout and look up at her. "I- what? Maya, I-"

    "I don't wanna tell your Dad, Karen!" she says, looking miserable and nothing like the confident, cheerful girl from just moments before. "I wanted to tell YOU! I- I don't-" She turns away, hugging herself.

    Your finger still hovers over the contact as you stare, bewildered.


    Hm.

    [ ] Call Dad anyway. This is ki, which means it impacts the Exiles. This is your secret and your people at stake, and you decide who gets in on it.
    [ ] Convince Maya to let you call Dad. This really is for the best!
    -[ ] Write-in how.
    [ ] Ask Maya what's wrong.
    -[ ] In fact, hug her again. Couldn't hurt.
    [ ] Wait.
    [ ] Write-in.

    THIS VOTE IS NOW CLOSED.

    She did not take that well.

    She did not. As you all can tell, Maya objects to sharing the secret. What do?

    This update is a lot shorter because less happened before we needed to break for a vote again. Given that the "talking" part of the vote was pretty much, "immediately transition towards calling Dad," there wasn't much time I needed to spend there. The next update will likely be similarly short, but surprises happen, I suppose.

    VOTING WILL OPEN TWO HOURS AFTER THIS POST GOES UP.​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • I should feel good that I was proven right, but I just feel bitter.

    I think we should do this:
    [] "Ok, that's fine. If you wanna keep it secret then it stays secret. So what do you want to do now?"

    Let's her know we don't mind keeping a secret and backs out of this whole mess.
     
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    Mmph. Seems to me like she just doesn't trust adults now, based on her previous interactions with her parents, and she doesn't want her only freedom to be smothered?
     
    Daecl said:
    Mmph. Seems to me like she just doesn't trust adults now, based on her previous interactions with her parents, and she doesn't want her only freedom to be smothered?
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    Or maybe she just wants to keep it a secret except from us who is her trusted friend also has powers. Not everything has layers upon layers of complexity and intrigue behind it.
     
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    [X] Ask Maya what's wrong.
    -[X] In fact, hug her again. Couldn't hurt.

    Just accepting this doesn't feel right, and all things considered seems likely to blow up in our faces. But neither should we immediately press the issue. We need to seek to understand, and to do that we need to ask questions.
     
    Daecl said:
    Mmph. Seems to me like she just doesn't trust adults now, based on her previous interactions with her parents, and she doesn't want her only freedom to be smothered?
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    Think of the average Garenhilder, a world without hopes and dreams.

    I wouldn't want them crippling my chance to fly either
     
    KnightDisciple said:
    Just accepting this doesn't feel right, and all things considered seems likely to blow up in our faces. But neither should we immediately press the issue. We need to seek to understand, and to do that we need to ask questions.
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    There's nothing to understand! There is no issue! It's just something Maya wants to be kept between us and her. There's nothing wrong or strange about that. In the end, all this changes is that we have a new activity to do with one of our friends. That's all it should be. I don't get why everyone is so ravenously eager to make the revelation as complicated as possible.
     
    [X] Ask Maya what's wrong.
    -[X] In fact, hug her again.
    -[X] If she has a strong reason to refuse...you could teach her some of what you learn instead? But it'd have to be a secret too, you would get into huge trouble.
     
    Andres110 said:
    There's nothing to understand! There is no issue! It's just something Maya wants to be kept between us and her. There's nothing wrong or strange about that. In the end, all this changes is that we have a new activity to do with one of our friends. That's all it should be.
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    Her reaction shows a distress that at least suggests something beyond a childish "I only wanna tell Kakara!" desire.

    The fact that you're so confident and insistent there can't possibly be something deeper going on here is a bit frustrating. I'm not trying to suggest there's some vast conspiracy, but I don't see the harm in trying to better understand what's going on.

    And my gut says that this isn't something that will stay secret from the rest of the Misfits forever. And when it spreads, questions will be asked, and the balancing act for the Masque gets more difficult. I supported speaking to our father out of a desire to try and head off potential issues at the pass.

    You're free to vote as you see best but I'd appreciate it if you didn't make absolute declarations about the scope and nature of the thoughts and intent and the like of non-Kakara characters, as if you had insight into the NPCs and GM that the rest of us do not.
     
    [X] Ask Maya what's wrong.
    -[X] In fact, hug her again.
    -[X] If she has a strong reason to refuse...you could teach her some of what you learn instead? But it'd have to be a secret too, you would get into huge trouble.

    yah, we need to know why she reacted
     
    [X] Ask Maya what's wrong.
    -[X] In fact, hug her again.
    -[X] If she has a strong reason to refuse...you could teach her some of what you learn instead? But it'd have to be a secret too, you would get into huge trouble.
     
    veekie said:
    If she has a strong reason to refuse...
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    She doesn't need a "strong reason". She showed us a secret in confidence that it would stay a secret. That's enough for her to refuse.

    KnightDisciple said:
    Her reaction shows a distress that at least suggests something beyond a childish "I only wanna tell Kakara!" desire.
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    No it doesn't. It's a completely normal reaction to that.

    KnightDisciple said:
    I'm not trying to suggest there's some vast conspiracy, but I don't see the harm in trying to better understand what's going on.
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    In that case, we should go like this: "If you want to keep it a secret between you and me, that's fine. I don't have a problem with that. Can I ask why though?" The way you're voting doesn't give her the assurance that no matter what we won't break her trust.

    KnightDisciple said:
    I supported speaking to our father out of a desire to try and head off potential issues at the pass.
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    In that case you are completely and utterly wrong about what the result would be. Telling our father about this will only create more issues. He'll want to do something about or with the situation and whatever he decides will in all likelihood affect the Masquerade, Maya, or both. That course of action causes nothing but complications. Comparatively, keeping it from the Misfits is a lot easier (evidenced by Maya doing so for how many years). The Misfits will also keep it a secret as well because they're her friends and wouldn't just rat her out like that if they found out. *HINT HINT*

    KnightDisciple said:
    You're free to vote as you see best but I'd appreciate it if you didn't make absolute declarations about the scope and nature of the thoughts and intent and the like of non-Kakara characters, as if you had insight into the NPCs and GM that the rest of us do not.
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    Then I will ask you to stop assuming things about the characters as well, including the possibility that Maya's desire to keep things a secret is because of some far more important reason than just a shy girl wanting to keep her secret secret.
     
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    Lailoken said:
    Show. Her. Flying.

    Give her a carrot to be excited about. A REASON to want to tell. Something she WANTS to be taught.
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    Why do we want her to tell though? It will just cause complications.

    Your plan will also have an unintended consequence, namely that Maya will feel angry at us for keeping the ability from her just because she wants to keep it a secret.
     
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    Andres110 said:
    Why do we want her to tell though? It will just cause complications.

    Your plan will also have an unintended consequence, namely that Maya will feel angry at us for keeping the ability from her just because she wants to keep it a secret.
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    "Are you sure? He's the one who taught me to do THIS! He could teach you too, and lots more."
     
    Oh bloody hell it is a crush.

    [ ] Ask Maya what's wrong.
    -[ ] In fact, hug her again. Couldn't hurt.
    --[ ] We thought she was keeping it a secret because no-one else could do this, and told us because we can... so we figured she'd be happy to tell Dad since he can do it too.
    ---[ ] If she insists, then we won't insist...
    ----[ ] ...But now we're worried about having told her that Dad can do it too without him knowing. It's a secret to everyone!

    I think we should subtly try to convince her - play up the fact that we genuinely thought this was what she would want, and that it's a good idea. But if she insists... well, leave it open until she's said why she wants to keep it a secret. But I'm leaning towards not telling him, if she doesn't agree.
     
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    [X] Call Dad anyway. This is ki, which means it impacts the Exiles. This is your secret and your people at stake, and you decide who gets in on it.
     
    Deathbybunnies said:
    ----[ ] ...But now we're worried about having told her that Dad can do it too without him knowing.
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    Why would we be worried? She can keep a secret, so why would we be scared that she knows about Dad?

    EDIT: Ah, because we accidentally ratted him out as well. Might want to specify that.

    Deathbybunnies said:
    I think we should subtly try to convince her - play up the fact that we genuinely thought this was what she would want, and that it's a good idea.
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    Why do we want to convince her? There is no reason to make this any more complex than it needs to be, especially so soon after Maya's revelation.
     
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