One, does Lady Vegeta have any official/formal authority, or is she merely ruling with her husband's authority?
Two, have any of the humans who discovered the Saiyans ever become Sorcerers/Seers? What's the highest power level a Garenhuldish (is that the correct word?) human has ever gained?
One, does Lady Vegeta have any official/formal authority, or is she merely ruling with her husband's authority?
Two, have any of the humans who discovered the Saiyans ever become Sorcerers/Seers? What's the highest power level a Garenhuldish (is that the correct word?) human has ever gained?
None have, but then again, that's a big sampling bias. Highest power level tends to hit ten for particularly tough humans (remember, 12 is incidentally bulletproof).
The local humans don't really identify by planet, and thus don't think about what they'd call themselves. Saiyans call them Garenhulders, or Garenhuld Humans.
I just find it hard to believe that Roshi at the start of Dragonball was bulletproof. I'd also bet that Yamcha, Tien, etc would all die if shot in the head, even as far along as the Cell Sage (unless they were aware of an incoming gunshot and use ki techniques).
Other than scaling from Goku, that guy who was killed by Tao Pai Pai (I think his name was Bora?) and then revived with the dragon balls was bulletproof (bullets literally bounced off his chest) and he was weaker than Roshi.
I just find it hard to believe that Roshi at the start of Dragonball was bulletproof. I'd also bet that Yamcha, Tien, etc would all die if shot in the head, even as far along as the Cell Sage (unless they were aware of an incoming gunshot and use ki techniques).
When Bulma and Goku met (Goku at power level 12 by official sources, which I have no reason to dispute), she shot him in the face and his reaction was basically, "Hey, that really hurt!"
EDIT: Actually, just watched the scene to make sure I didn't mess it up, and yeah: she shoots him, at point-blank range, three times consecutively, in the face. And he gets right back up and yells at her, rubbing at his cheek.
I had heard that goku was PL 10 at the point where bulma shot him. But power levels before saiyan saga and after Freezer don't really make that much sense or even matter.
Well it's supremely frustrating to read comments from someone who basically berates us half the time over our choices, but never actually makes a choice themselves.
But whatever, fine, I'll shut up now.
Aaaand more questions. Some of these are a bit more mechanical, though.
Is Telekinesis a Ki Talent that anyone can learn, or is it a special ability you're born with?
Are Mind Delve and Telepathy the same Ki Talent/Skill, or are they separate?
Is the Kikoho we could have learned at chargen the old Kikoho that Tenshinhan used against Goku or the Shin Kikoho he used against Cell and Buu?
Who are the most famous Lord/Lady Vegetas and Gokus? And are there any other really famous (amongst Saiyans) historical figures from after the arrival to Garenhuld?
Aaaand more questions. Some of these are a bit more mechanical, though.
Is Telekinesis a Ki Talent that anyone can learn, or is it a special ability you're born with?
Are Mind Delve and Telepathy the same Ki Talent/Skill, or are they separate?
Is the Kikoho we could have learned at chargen the old Kikoho that Tenshinhan used against Goku or the Shin Kikoho he used against Cell and Buu?
Who are the most famous Lord/Lady Vegetas and Gokus? And are there any other really famous (amongst Saiyans) historical figures from after the arrival to Garenhuld?
It's a ki talent that generally develops at a lagging pace compared to your general facility with ki. It can be specifically trained, if you wish.
They are separate.
That would be the old one, given the Shin Kikoho's status as an ultimate attack.
Son Mato is in retrospect recognized as the first Lord Goku, and among ancestor cultists in particular is recognized as a Moses-equivalent.
Lady Garla Vegeta is renowned as the one to formalize the Clan system. Her husband Celeran is respected as a powerful fighter who despite never transforming, was nonetheless an important factor in the war to consolidate that authority, and his sons with her went on to become the first opposing pairs of Lords.
Endivan Goku, your littlest brother's namesake, was a basic Saiyan warrior who rooted out a conspiracy to raise the entire Saiyan population to Super Saiyans and fought and subdued an entire House single-handedly while the Ladies of the time were occupied with covering up an intentional breach of the Masquerade the rebellious house had instigated to distract them. He is viewed as the warrior to truly codify the Gohan style into its modern form, and thus holds the esteem due a masterful fighter and a learned scholar of its techniques.
Carrick Vegeta was a Scion who died while stopping the Lord Oni Goku from breaking open the Masquerade in an attempt to have the Exiles recognized as a nation and eventually gain the support of the Garenhulders in returning to the stars. History is split on whether or not this was a good idea, but Lord Oni was by all accounts a thoroughly unpleasant individual, so Carrick is remembered as a hero for his efforts in stopping what would have doubtlessly been a brutal regime.
Bricca Talt was the last loyal Head of House Talt before their rebellion, and died in the service of Yammar Vegeta's father while putting down a minor rebellion. History would not remember her were it not for her intensive study of the Yamcha Style. It was saved from oblivion only by her mastery of it and her use of it to stand, alone and unsupported, against five other warriors for five minutes as help made its way to her. While she died in the attempt, she did so only after killing four of her opponents, all of whom were stronger than her. Her example saved the Yamcha Style from the centuries of contempt it had previously suffered, and her death planted the seeds of resentment in her son, fostering his later rebellion.
I just find it hard to believe that Roshi at the start of Dragonball was bulletproof. I'd also bet that Yamcha, Tien, etc would all die if shot in the head, even as far along as the Cell Sage (unless they were aware of an incoming gunshot and use ki techniques).
When Bulma and Goku met (Goku at power level 12 by official sources, which I have no reason to dispute), she shot him in the face and his reaction was basically, "Hey, that really hurt!"
EDIT: Actually, just watched the scene to make sure I didn't mess it up, and yeah: she shoots him, at point-blank range, three times consecutively, in the face. And he gets right back up and yells at her, rubbing at his cheek.
Said. To add to that, Roshi's training regime is brutal from Goku's perspective, nevermind that Roshi's response to learning the moon is responsible for Goku becoming a giant monster ape is to go 'guess there's no other choice' and while everyone is screaming at him about how 'you don't have to kill him, just cut off the tail', he's already proceeded to destroy the moon. This is the same Kamehameha that so many of our heroes take (in periods on the villain team or in tourneys or the like) and don't instantly die. They're tough.
If you can meaningfully injure Goku, you're probably bulletproof, and this was true from the very start.
Still ongoing. Those who have already voted have had their users and votes noted so that Vote Tally doesn't eat them when you cast your votes for this next one.
This is the second update today. The previous one is the conclusion of the Grandma meeting and is a smidgen important. Threadmark before this one, "Answers and Questions."
Winter Has Come
The end of your visit to Grandma came a few minutes after her last, sobering piece of advice to you. The discussion had lightened a bit, and she took the opportunity to spoil you some with cookies. You had to go fairly soon, though. Your head felt stuffed, with all you'd talked about. You need time to think.
* * *
Reading counts, you think, leafing through yet another book. You think when you read!
The book said, "To best understand the applications of the Kienzan is to acknowledge all aspects of its use, be they practical, theoretical, consequential (to, naturally, manifold degrees), philosophical, or even sociological (when used to a properly excessive degree, naturally). One must not merely be content with throwing the disk, for as the example of the ancestor Krillin shows such an approach leads to abysmal accuracy. To find true effectiveness-"
And your patience runs out right there. You slam the book down and promptly start hacking and coughing as it raises a cloud of dust left over from all the incredibly-sensible people who, unlike you, had the good sense to take one look at the book, "A Holistic Analysis of the Interpretation of the Turtle School Style of Fighting As Practiced by the Ancestor Krillin: VOL. 14," and keep right on walking. You bury your head into your hands and scream.
"Lady Scion!" hisses the librarian, zipping up to you and whapping the back of your head with her tail. "I would ask for silence, if you please!"
You give her a mutinous scowl. She didn't actually hurt you at all, but that was still annoying. "Sorry! Just bored of research," you grumble.
"Well, I'm sure there are plenty of interesting books elsewhere," she says, narrowing her eyes at you. "Perhaps the children's section."
You make a furious noise and turn back to your studying materials.
Despite your irritation, you find it interesting that she called you, "Lady Scion." That's...really formal. Like, Vegetan levels of formal. Gokun only use it with Scions they hold a great deal of respect for. You're not used to hearing it.
You shake your head and pick up another book on Krillin. Despite how boring some of the older reference texts can get, there's plenty to be learned from the lessons they hold. This one looks interesting, for instance.
"And in the thirteenth year of Holy Goku's life, the Martyr Krillin did set forth on his quest for-"
Oh god, ancestor cultist. Skipping.
Not that there's anything wrong with the Cult, necessarily. Probably. You haven't decided. But you haven't decided to have anything against them, yet. It's just that their books are usually big on parable and light on theory. Not what you need.
You switch to the next book, hoping for something well-written.
"First step: make sure you're four feet tall. Second step: get rid of your nose."
"Why is this even in a library?!"
You have acquired, through intensive and frankly mind-numbing study, a comprehensive summation of all presently known styles in the art of ki combat. All in all, a complete and well-researched product of diligence and-
No, no, no!
You growl, pushing away from the desk and banishing the books to the return pile with a careful pulse of ki. All of this work, all these countless hours of study, and you still are no closer to your true goal.
A month of research later, and you still have no idea how Jaffur arrived at his signature style.
You stalk out of the library, ensconced a mile underground below the Training Hall, and fire up your aura, burning for the surface.
You go over what you know about his form again. Strange aura effects, check. Clearly, indicative of something. Enhanced power output, check. Stupid, but check. Enhanced efficiency -- because at that level of power output he should have passed out instantly, but instead managed to keep up with you until you beat the ki out of him, during your first fight. Concentration of power, check -- that Apocalypse Beam probably would have gutted you, had it hit.
But you're not sure what he did to accomplish all that. Tenshinhan's form teaches the burning of actual life force to enhance techniques for its most powerful attacks, but nothing in particular about concentrating energy -- the Dodonpa has the aesthetics, but not the density. Piccolo's Makankosappo has plenty about that density, but nothing else. The efficiency, though, you found very little about -- it really just seems to come down to skill more than anything.
You take a calming breath as you make it to the surface and fly up to the Hall's ward ceiling. You settle into a meditative pose and start clearing the frustration away. After a year of acclimation training to the Super Saiyan form, this is second nature.
After a moment, you shrug and flare your aura. You stare into the dancing blue light, trying to figure out how Jaffur managed to do what he did. Nothing. You close your eyes and snarl in frustration.
See, you can feel the flow of your ki, bursting out of your body through every pore. Jaffur managed to wrap it in close, but you have no idea how. Ki is like a bonfire, it just spreads! See, doing differently would require...you have no idea what. Which is the root of your frustration. The best metaphor you can come up with is that it'd be like trying to make your ki like napalm rather than flame -- brighter and hotter, and clinging. Actually, come to think, that might be an interesting thought for later.
You open your eyes, sighing in frustration and looking at nothing in particular.
You freeze.
Like napalm, indeed. You slowly raise your hand, and gaze at the flickering haze of blue ki clinging to your hand. Like napalm. And like napalm, so very hard to keep under control-
fiz
Your aura unbinds, flares free, and then snaps out, bringing with it a crushing feeling of exhaustion. You sag and breathe heavily, utterly worn out. You had it there, just by accident -- only to lose it completely. You didn't have the skill to hold onto it. You can imagine the level of control Jaffur must have had over his ki if he was able to do that, and you aren't there yet.
You drift over to the Gate, breathing heavily, and go home.
You're so tired you don't even notice Lady Dandeer, watching from a window of her apartments, her face absolutely white with shock and horror.
Ahem. You have gained a comprehensive list of styles, and discovered one of the requirements to learning Jaffur's Style. Focused study later will allow you to learn more. Also, you have gained the notice and full attention of Lady Vegeta. When an option says "Hidden Effect..."
In general, all styles grant increased facility with their involved techniques. The following descriptions are fluffy ways for me to describe what bonuses they confer, mechanically.
Goku Style: The iconic style of your House, this style relies on overwhelming physical assaults and is heavily offensive in nature, falling back on mobility to evade attacks only when severely outmatched. Ki blasts are used, but generally not as a primary feature of combat. They're finishing attacks, not the main show, and outside a special few, practitioners of this form will have little facility here. Given its progenitor, it is not remotely suited to fighting with anybody else, having been created in expectation and even anticipation of fighting all enemies alone. Involved techniques: Hand-to-Hand [Dueling], Kaio-Ken, Kamehameha, Instant Transmission, Spirit Bomb (Lost Technique). Penalized techniques: Hand-to-Hand [Team Fighting], Ki Projection [All Save Signature Techniques].
Vegeta Style: The iconic style of House Vegeta, this form tends towards a different approach. Created by a warrior who commonly fought entire armies unaided or with limited backup, this form shines when put against multiple foes. As is only sensible for those kinds of conditions, ranged combat proved to be most efficient, and thus while the practitioners of this style can certainly fight up close, they have a lot of talent at range. It is overwhelmingly aggressive and unrestrained, and has virtually no response to being put on the back foot. This style emphasizes absorbing punishment over avoiding it, and thus is not for the weak of body or spirit. Involved techniques: Hand-to-Hand [Crowd Fighting], Galick Gun, Big Bang Attack, Final Flash, Ki Projection [Basic Attacks]. Penalized techniques: Flight, Ki Control, Hand-to-Hand [Team Fighting].
Krillin Style: A balanced form that plays well with others, this style is near-unique in that it seems to have been built in the expectation of being outmatched. Emphasizing evasion and targeting of vulnerabilities, this form has virtually no defense to direct confrontation. Given its creator, that's sensible. Practitioners of the above two forms tend to study this at least a bit so that they're not so helpless should they be confronted with a superior opponent, and so they don't commit the grand idiocy of being so overwhelmingly offensive that they prefer to allow themselves to be punched in the face if it allows them to do the same to their opponent. Involved techniques: Ki Control, Solar Flare, Kienzan, Flight, Hand-to-Hand [Team Fighting], Kamehameha. Penalized techniques: Hand-to-Hand [Dueling], Hand-to-Hand [Crowd Fighting].
Piccolo Style/Demon Style: The form of Piccolo, this emphasizes precise and clever strikes with great concentration of power, and a balance of offense and defense. It possesses powerful techniques at any range, but lacks specialization. Practicing this style demands an ability to control the field of battle as is most expedient at any given moment. Involved techniques: Makankosappo, Explosive Wave, Evil Explosion, Masenko, Light Grenade, Hellzone Grenade. Penalized techniques: None, but bonuses elsewhere are smaller than other schools.
Turtle Style: Roshi's style is largely an anachronism that was designed before the full potential of ki was realized by the Z Fighters, and you should not use it in a real fight. It is meant to be used by a fighter locked to the ground, against a fighter locked to the ground, and treats any and all external use of ki as a flagrant and extravagant expense to be saved only for the direst of eventualities. That said, as a foundation for other styles, it's fantastic. Its reliance on hand-to-hand means that practitioners are very good at it in absolutely all of its forms. Involved techniques: Hand-to-Hand [All, Extreme], Kamehameha. Penalized techniques: All Ki Talents (save Ki Control) and Ki Projection skills, and cripplingly so.
Trunks Style: While Trunks of our timeline contributed little to fighting given that he never actually refined his technique beyond what he had at eight years of age, his future counterpart contributed a brutally pragmatic and survivalist style to the Z Fighters' understanding of combat. This style assumes constant unfavorable numbers against overwhelmingly powerful opponents, demanding insane agility and swift exploitation of exposed openings, with none of the acknowledged theatricality of other styles. In addition, it is the only form developed in conjunction with a weapon. It shines against multiple opponents and when outmatched, and its use of a sword tends to take opponents off-guard. Involved techniques: Sword Use, Hand-to-Hand [Crowd Fighting], Flight (to an extreme), Burning Attack, Masenko, Heat Dome Attack, Final Flash. Penalized techniques: Hand-to-Hand [Team Fighting, or all when without a sword], Ki Sense.
Yamcha Style: This is nearly extinct, but to be honest, it's undervalued. While he eventually retired and was constantly outmatched in strength, many forget that Yamcha was a talented martial artist, who even after years of retirement and with a total lack of Saiyan biology was able to defend against Golden Freeza's invasion of Earth right along with the rest of the Z Fighters. As a derivation of the Turtle School it contains all that you would expect, along with a focus on flurry strikes and esoteric ki techniques that overwhelm the opponent's ability to keep up -- very much the school of death by a thousand cuts. Involved techniques: Hand-to-Hand [Dueling], Spirit Ball, Kamehameha, Flight, Wolf Fang Fist. Penalized Techniques: Ki Sense, Ki Projection (all save involved techniques).
Tenshinhan Style: This form is rarely-practiced, but deceptive for all that. Tenshinhan's form is refined and balanced, offering few concrete advantages, but unlocking the potential to pour the user's life force into an attack. Practitioners have no stylistic weaknesses, and gain a risky but powerful last resort option, in addition to a variety of strange techniques. Involved techniques: Solar Flare, Multi-Form, Four Witches Technique, Kikoho, Shin Kikoho.
Gohan Style: A blend of the Demon and Goku Styles, this form is more heavily geared towards hand-to-hand than the Piccolo Style and loses on some of its versatility and most of its precision, but lacks the near-total weakness of the Goku Style outside of zero range. In addition, it is less useless on the defensive than the Goku Style in exchange for tending to be less effective on the attack, and is in fact capable of, when necessary, dodging. That said, it retains a preference for the offensive in a fight. This is an excellent form for fighters with a hand-to-hand focus who don't wish to risk the notorious overspecialization of the Goku Style. Involved techniques: Kamehameha, Masenko, Hand-to-Hand [Dueling]. Penalized techniques: Hand-to-Hand [Team Fighting], all Ki Projection talents that involve the dense concentration of power.
Satan Style: NO. Involved techniques: Losing. Penalized techniques: Self-awareness.
Known Requirements
Ki Control [Exceptional].
Known Information
This form is, from all you've observed and deduced, highly demanding on another level from other forms. You are beginning to doubt that it has specific drawbacks, instead "merely" requiring an understanding of the use of ki that perhaps one in a thousand Saiyans ever achieve. Of course, you're well-aware that you've only scratched the surface, and are certain that there's more to be learned. There has to be another drawback somewhere, even if its just in the ludicrous requirements that learning it has...but where? Involved techniques: Focus Ray, Charon's Breath, Apocalypse Beam, Ki Control, ?. Penalized techniques: ?
* * *
The first snowfall dusts the ground outside your house, and inside, you sit across from your Dad.
The silence is stifling.
At length he sighs, tossing you a book. "This is a list of all the Houses in Clan Goku, along with brief histories on them all and an accounting of current living members. Read it. Memorize it. Tell me what your conclusions are about any five houses and the relations between them tomorrow." He gets up and starts to leave, looking very tired.
Your Grandma's words ring in your head, and you find yourself raising a hand. "Dad, wait."
He doesn't turn around, or speak. But he does halt instantly, and turn his head slightly.
You swallow. "I...I don't want to be stuck like this. I want to be able to talk."
His shoulders rise and fall, slightly, in a silent sigh. "What about, Kakara?"
"I...what? I just...I don't know, anything! All we do is fight anymore, and I'm sick of it. I don't want this to be what we do all the time." You pull your knees up and put your face down. "I just want my Dad back."
He's by your side in an instant, laying a hand on your shoulder. "Kakara, that's not what this is about. I'm still your Dad, I promise, that hasn't changed! Please, believe that! I'm here for you, I love you!"
A sob tears its way out of your throat, and all you can say is, "Then why?" The tears come loose in a great wave, and finally, finally, he pulls you in for a hug. You cling to him, crying helplessly.
"I made a mistake," he says, voice hoarse. "A terrible mistake, with you. And I'm so sorry, sweetheart. You're my world, and I didn't mean to hurt you. I just...I didn't know what to do, and I was stupid about it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
You feel something wet trickling into your hair, and can't find it in you to respond. Instead, the two of you simply hold each other and let the tears come, soaking up the first physical contact you've had since he accidentally grabbed your tail a few months ago.
Eventually you both subside, your tears ending as you fall into silence. Your fingers are wound into his shirt, and your eyes are drooping, energy sapped by the catharsis of the moment. You and he sit together, just resting in the quiet.
"I'm sorry, too," you say, as your grip on consciousness fades and you start to slip away. You're so tired.
"Thank you, Kakara," he says, a hand running through your hair. "But this one's on me. I'm sorry, princess. This was all my fault."
You make a quiet noise of protest -- because even if you're little, your willingness to leave things be certainly didn't help.
He shakes his head, though. "No. This wasn't your responsibility. I should have been better for you, and I'm sorry." He picks you up and starts carrying you upstairs to your room, recognizing that you're about to go. "Love you, Kakara."
You're not sure if you say it or not, but your last thought before you pass out is, I love you too, Daddy.
* * *
A week later, you sit next to your Dad as he presides over a dispute between what seems to be half of Clan Goku and your uncle Butarega, paying close attention to the group dynamics at play. You watch your Dad, stern and calm, patient as the rocks and just as unmovable once his decision is made.
Occasionally, he smiles at you.
It's not the end of the matters between you -- not even close. There's been too much between the two of you for a few sentences, a couple of apologies, and a bit of tears to wipe it all away. But it's the start of the end -- and at least now, you're pretty sure that things will stop getting worse.
And sure, actually fixing it will require you to put in time and effort to do that -- but that's what family is all about. You think you can get in line with it.
Kakara can now be counted upon to know basic background information of any given House in Clan Goku, and a vague idea of who they do and don't tend to get along with. Progress has been made on grinding Diplomacy to "Talented," but remains at "Competent" for now. Relationship with Berra Goku will no longer degrade by a step per year. You have, once again, piled up yet another bonus to the next mental health check you'll be making.
* * *
As the year comes to a close, you find yourself withdrawing from those around you a bit more than usual. It's the nearly-invisible tension that keeps you back, more than anything.
Despite the easing in your own household, in Saiyan society at large it's nearly impossible to forget that Jaffur is still out there, Sealed. And for you, it's absolutely impossible to forget that your Grandma is planning on burning Lady Vegeta to death in retaliation.
You need distance.
So you transform one day when there aren't any humans around to see, and fly to the moon.
With your aura trapping oxygen in with you, breathing is no problem. The aura protects you otherwise, as well. You settle down in the silence of vacuum and begin to think.
You've been wondering why the situation with Jaffur escalated as quickly as it did, lately. Everybody was talking, if tense, and then in the next moment blasts were flying and the situation had deteriorated completely. And you were helpless, caught up in the flow of events. So you've wondered what made everything fall apart so quickly.
Of course, in retrospect it's fairly obvious. Everybody was going in expecting a fight. Lady Vegeta was still twitchy from the night before. Dad went in with the same expectation, ready to force Jaffur to accept the Sealing. You knew you were walking into a bad situation, and once everything started you too lost sight of non-violent solutions, when you thought Dad was dead.
You all, in one way or another, assumed.
You don't like that. For somebody who claims not to like fighting, you've been doing an awful lot of it lately, to the point where you nearly (literally) took Sophie's head off when you first met because she startled you. And no, you don't like it, not remotely.
At the same time, though, this past year has been like a wonderful breath of fresh air. For the first time, your people accept you, which you've missed. They respect your strength and what they think you did with it.
And your discomfort with violence is running right up against the concentrated power of social acceptance and finding serious trouble. You want people to like you. You want to have people to talk to. You want to be a part of them, not apart from them. But you don't want to have to hurt people, because it feels bad! It feels horrible and mean, and you feel sick, and when you realized what you were about to do to Jaffur after you calmed down from your first transformation you were terrified of yourself, and it...it...
[Staying the Course (Willpower, DC 60): Pass]
...it feels wrong. You felt like a bad person afterwards. You never want to feel that. You never want to see that again.
You never want it to happen again.
But your people love fighting, and they'll fight you on this. You'll need to defend your beliefs -- and how you'll do that without resorting to violence is a question all of its own. But you know that this won't be easy. After your life, you couldn't not know.
Well.
You'll just have to win, then.
You rise to your feet, looking at the planet drifting down below.
You transform.
Your ki burns brightly, painting the white landscape around you a pale gold, and in the atmosphere trapped by your aura, you scream out in defiance. You might think that fighting is wrong, but you are strong and capable, and anybody who wants to tell you that you're wrong to think that is going to have to enforce that. You'll figure it out later how you'll defend your beliefs.
For now, as you light a burning beacon of epiphany and defiance for every Saiyan on Garenhuld to feel, you are content in your realization.
Where once your viewpoint was that of an immature child, it is now the product of a thinking being's careful reasoning and thought. You are still a child, and the applications of this philosophy will take a lot of nothing more than simple time to develop, but now and forever, you no longer dislike fighting because it makes you feel bad.
You now hate fighting, because it's wrong.
Trait Lost: Gentle.
Trait Gained: Pacifist.
* * *
As the year closes, you turn to that part of things you dearly wanted to put off.
It's time to meet with Lady Vegeta.
Now that you and Dad are talking again, he felt comfortable reminding you that you'd promised to go to this meeting, and despite really not wanting to, you also didn't want to reignite the arguments, and went along with it. Besides, you did plan this out, so you'll go.
And that's how you and Lady Vegeta wind up seated in the apartments of House Vegeta in the Training Hall, staring each other down in profound discomfort.
Oddly enough, you think she's even less at ease than you, and you're waiting to Instant Transmit to the other side of the planet at the first sign of a hand seal.
Eventually, she settles her shoulders and sighs. "Well, this is awkward." She stares at you. "I...wanted to talk to you about what happened the summer before last, Kakara. I wanted to ease things between us, since you seemed so unhappy at the time.
"And then I saw you managing to use Jaffur's form, a month ago."
You freeze. You hadn't realized that she was there.
She leans forward. "I didn't think I'd ever see that again, Kakara. And I would really like to know where you learned it. Did Jaffur teach you? How? When?"
You don't reply, and after a moment she subsides, rearranging her robes. "It doesn't matter. It must have been before he was Sealed, because he couldn't have gotten out, and you know better than to let him out, of course." She looks you dead in the eye. "Right?"
Whatever Lady Vegeta had in mind for this talk, she's clearly off-balance, and it is now a confrontation. Tread carefully; anything you say may have long-lasting impacts on your relationship with her and what she thinks of you. Given your respective stations, the impacts would likely be political as well.
How do you answer her?
[ ] Write-In
THIS VOTE IS NOW CLOSED.
* * *
Figuring out the mechanical effects of all the styles was a pain. Worth it, though!
Pacifist [Foundational Trait]: After hard experiences and a great deal of thought, you have refined your earlier opinions on fighting and violence. Where once you avoided them out of simple distaste, you now do so out of moral obligation. They aren't unpleasant, they're wrong. You still need to learn how to live this way in a society filled with hot-blooded fighters, but you have your beliefs. You gain combat traits, abilities, and skills more slowly, and may encounter barriers to improvement that cannot be surpassed without exceptional pressure. You experience moderate vote weighting at all times against courses of action that result in violence. You gain a small bonus to any check that de-escalates a situation or peacefully resolves it. This may be developed further...
[X] I spent a long time studying all the known styles, and by chance momentarily stumbled into the right mindset in that moment. His style seemed absurdly good and I wanted to know how he invented it.
Much as I think she's a villain, in some sense, I think full disclosure that we were trying to recreate his OP style is the least likely thing to go bad places.
[X] I spent a long time studying all the known styles, and by chance momentarily stumbled into the right mindset in that moment. His style seemed absurdly good and I wanted to know how he invented it.
[] I spent a long time studying all the known styles, and by chance momentarily stumbled into the right mindset in that moment. His style seemed absurdly good and I wanted to know how he invented it.
[X] I spent a long time studying all the known styles, and by chance momentarily stumbled into the right mindset in that moment. His style seemed absurdly good and I wanted to know how he invented it.
Not sure if she's going to believe it, but it is the truth.
