- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I was told I'd get cancer.
My mother was not terribly good at threats.
Dragon Ball: After the End
I was told I'd get cancer.
My mother was not terribly good at threats.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Now that there, is a question.
Not sure why. Unless Tenshinhan is still alive, it's not really relevant at all.
Is he still alive? There are bunch of possible ways for him to live to now, and a wish on the Dragon Balls arguably isn't even the least mundane.
- Location
- The Great Beyond
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Functioning afterlife means it kinda matters even if he's technically 100% dead.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
It's a spoiler because I've left the question of to what extent and in what way humans have sorcerous potential unstated up until now, and that would be a clue in that direction.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
... Uranai Baba means that of course they have some level of sorcerous potential? Unless you're going with her being a seer instead, which I guess could work, but I had always thought of her as a magic user.
- Location
- Somewhere I shouldn't be
[X] Train the Misfits in Turtle Style and test them all for sorcery
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yes, but the specifics remain unstated.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
True. On the "less mundane than dragon balls" list was "wetworks guy for the Kais" and "Time Patrol Shenanigans".
- Location
- The Great Beyond
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Well, my thinking is more in terms of "even if we take it as a given he will actually not rise from the dead, we still might talk to him."
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
I think we can call the vote @PoptartProdigy
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Beat me to it by twenty minutes.
I'm writing up an update for my other quest, and it's high time I stop distracting myself. Would you mind tallying? I'm pretty sure is "Things that are," but...
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Beat me to it by twenty minutes.
The only change from your last tally is KaintukeeBob voting for training our human friends in the Turtle Style and testing them for sorcery.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Then yeah, "...things that are," wins, and the vote is closed. Update tonight? Yeah, probably. Bye for now!
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
I will notice that Roshi isn't mentioned anywhere in the OP. I find that interesting on consideration. His version of immortality means that if he was off planet during the events said in the OP then he would still be alive and kicking, and since he wasn't mentioned in the OP he probably didn't go down fighting.
KnightDisciple
Love God. Do Right. Fear No Man.
- Location
- Midwest, USA
There are many things Roshi has. A friend who's a turtle. Clamydia. An awesome beard. An appreciation for the female form.
The fight that ended Earth? That was not a thing he had, my friend. That was not one of them.
Asked about this, PoptardProdigy said he died when the Earth blew up (not like him participating in the fight would have been meaningful, and he pretty much retired after Goku killed Demon King Piccolo).
Also, more questions. Were Tenshinhan or Maron in any way relevant to the rest of the Z fighters at the time of their deaths? And why did Uub ressurect Maron rather than the (presumeably) inmeasurable more powerful Piccolo. For that matter, how powerful do you have Piccolo at the time of his death? God-level?
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
"Relevant" is an interesting word. They showed up when there were problems and fought when they could. Were they productive? Not on the level that Gohan fought at, no.
Piccolo had too many rez's previously. No dice on the dragon balls for him; he'd been there and back once too often.
Also, Uub was sleeping with Maron, so there's that. That was a weird relationship, given the age difference (she was twenties, he was thirties). Pretty much started out of shared frustration at their helplessness in high-level fights and because twenty seconds ago I was staring at my screen, shrugged, and said, "Sure, why not?" Huh, so that's why Toriyama's lore is a mess. This is fun!
Piccolo was at low-god tier.
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What about compared to Trunks , Goten and Pan? And how powerful were Uub and Pan in this universe?
Was he or Gohan the most powerful member of the Z fighters before Gohan became a Super Saiyan God?
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Trunks and Goten were above Maron by quite a bit, but Uub was actually only just below them. Pan was an unholy powerhouse on-level with Piccolo and set to outstrip Gohan given maybe five years longer. Uub was industriously trying to figure out a way to ascend to godhood, and probably would have been more powerful than he was if he'd focused more on regular training. As it was, he focused so much on esoteric rituals and training regimens that it tangibly hurt his progress elsewhere, so he never outstripped Trunks and Goten. The fact that this still put him leagues ahead of Maron even when she trained her ass off was quite the source of friction. She viewed it as cheating, given his status as the reincarnation of Buu. He felt this was unfair, given that he by definition had no choice in the matter.
Gohan was definitely the strongest, although Piccolo was far more skilled.
It is cheating, damnit, just like Super Saiyan! What about Tenshinhan? And Trunks and Goten both archieved Super Saiyan 2, right? Oh, and did anyone other than Pan know kaioken (she was the one Goku taught it to, right)?
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Tenshinhan was too far past his prime to really grind his strength at all, and thus was about on-level with Maron. Which was fairly galling for the both of them.
Yes, they did.
Uub made the effort to learn from her, but ultimately was too focused on the god route. (Yes, she was.)
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Now knocking out the update. Will not be able to answer questions until it's done.
Actually, I thinks this is wrong (the age difference, not the fact that they were sleeping with each other). We see Marron during the Boo arc, and she looks about 2-4 years old. At the 28th budokai, ten years later where Goku fights Uub, she'd therefore be about 12-14 years old. Meanwhile, Uub looked..about ten (not really sure)? He shouldn't be ten years older than Marron, at least.
Edit:
Actually, now that I think properly about it, Uub has to be 2-4 younger than Marron, given that Marron was alive when Boo was killed and reincarnated into Uub.
Why was Uub so focused on the god route, anyways? Pan and Piccolo archieved god level strength through sheer training, didn't they?
..Poor humans, hopefully they've been able to make some actual progress in the afterlife.
Edit:
Didn't see your post about updating, sorry!
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Those Without and Within
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] ...things that are.
Those Without and Within
You drift on currents of motion.
The world is constantly changing, and thus to understand the world as it is, is to understand how it is changing. In knowing where it's going, you may learn where it is. And thus, to those who See, you learn not to aim for what is, but what will be, very soon. Not outright gazing into the future, but searching for the bow waves of events as they churn forward.
At least, that's what Sensei tells you. You're fairly certain that the present looks like an churning sea of really cloudy pee and vomit, and smells just as terrible. While you're submerged in it. Or maybe it's crude oil? Spoiled milk!
It's gross, and you're at a loss for words to describe it. So there.
You can sort of see how one could learn to pick out events as they're happening, but you haven't the faintest clue of how to start. What kind of stuff would even be important to you?
...big things? Maybe? Eeeeeeeeeeh...
...sure, why not.
You reach out and grab onto something cradled in the middle of a really big splash of whatever-the-ick-this-is, and it tugs you into its wake.
* * *
"GgggggoooooooooooooooodddddddddddDDDDAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"
You sigh in recognition. Oh, hello, Jaffur WAITAMINUTE-
You snap your eyes open, and sure enough, there the other Scion is, transformed and raging.
"Jaffur!" you yell, stepping forward.
He doesn't react and Oh, right.
You settle down and watch the vision.
Jaffur has stopped swearing into the sky and is now simply screaming in fury, his aura raging around him. You take the time to look around, because where even are you?
Jaffur is Sealed. So...this must be...inside his mind?
...Jaffur's mind is boring.
It's a blank white expanse occasionally broken up by blank white rocks that look more like weird sculptures than anything else. Did he like the stories about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber or something? This is a little overboard.
Jaffur finally runs out of scream. "Stupid fool," he mutters, falling to his knees. "Stupid fool." He looks up at the sky, for some reason. "Told you better than that. You should have known..."
You find yourself stepping away at the mutterings. That doesn't sound right.
"Stupid fool, stupid fool..."
Your shoulder brushes against a rock-
Jaffur's eyes snap over-
"Who's there?"
"Jaffur?"
His hand comes up full of ki-
You clutch at the rock in sudden fear and-
* * *
Gone.
* * *
Jaffur.Gone.
* * *
It is a quiet name, drifting through your mind.
You do not remember when your mother first told you that you were once, in the womb, a twin. Apparently, it happens often -- an embryo splits, briefly becoming twins, and then reforms.
Ever since, you have played a game of imagining your little -- naturally, as you would obviously have come first -- brother.
You named him Jaffur, though you're not sure why.
* * *
To be Jaffur Vegeta is to be many things.
Insane, indisputably so. And that is rather at the forefront of things at the moment.
You are more, however.
You are trapped, caged. Worse, you are aware. Typically, when the Masque is active, the Saiyan sleeps, and vice-versa. Not so here. It would have been easy, that way, and being Sealed is no easy thing.
* * *
Jaffur would look exactly the same as you, of course. Twins do that. But he would do all the things you couldn't do, because then it would be like one person doing all of the things.
You are, of course, only eight -- almost nine! Such sentences still make sense, at your age.
But when you think of Jaffur, you think of a strong, brave boy who never has to worry about bullies or Dad being gone for hours on end.
You think you'd be quite lucky, to be Jaffur.
* * *
This is, roughly, what it's like to be Jaffur Vegeta right now.
screamingragingcryingfrothingatthemouthillkillyouillkillthemillkillallofthemmotherwhyfatherwhywereyousoweakyouwereminetokillmineminemineandnowyouresealedtooillfindawayoutandburnyoualltoashyouredeaddeadDEAD
* * *
Jaffur would, before anything else, be somebody who would always listen to you and had a kind ear ready.
Of course, he would also stand ready to carry out your orders at all times. You were, after all, the older brother.
You had not decided whether or not the two of you would share a room. On the one hand, companionship! On the other...eh.
Goodness knew that Delilah was obnoxious enough when she had a nightmare, what would somebody who lived in your room be like?
* * *
Jaffur is, in all things, precise. Measured. He values speed and efficiency, because he likes it when things are tidy.
"I'LL RIP YOU APART AND PEE ON WHAT'S LEFT! I'LL SERVE YOU TO YOURSELF IN MAC AND CHEESE!"
And then, there is family.
* * *
It is, in truth, little different from having an imaginary friend. Somebody to think up and talk to when you really needed some support.
Somebody nobody else saw, or heard.
Somebody who you occasionally dreamed of.
* * *
Jaffur abruptly stops, looking at the person in his domain. "Who are you?"
The little human boy perks up. "Jaffur?"
Sanity returns, however briefly. "Seriously, who are you? How are you even in here?"
"I thought you didn't exist!"
Jaffur frowns. "Okay, are we talking past each other? I feel like we are."
The boy stands up from where he was sitting. "Whoa, you talk like you're crazy-smart. Y'know, we're eight. Nobody expects that from us." A smile spiders its way across the boy's face. "Then again, adults are terribly boring about things like vocabulary, aren't they?"
Jaffur slowly smirks back. "At their best," he says.
"Heh, I know, right?"
Jaffur shakes his head. "Seriously, though, who are you? I didn't think anybody could make it in here."
The boy's face falls. "Oh." Then he shakes his head. "I'm your older brother!" He holds out a hand. "Jaron."
Jaffur stiffens, everything focusing down to a few narrow points about how if he puts his foot on Jaron's chest and tugs he'll rip the boy's arm off and kill him and then be free free free-
-but if it were that easy, mother wouldn't deserve the title of Master Sorceress. No, this is just a dream. Just one of Jaron's dreams.
Jaffur sighs bitterly and turns away. "Go away, Jaron. This isn't a good time."
Jaron stares after his retreating brother for a moment and then darts forward, grabbing his arm. "Nah, it's a great time! C'mon, let's go play hide-and-seek!"
"I- wha- get off me!" splutters Jaffur, pulling free.
"Nah. Now, you've got to find me, okay! Count to twenty. No cheating!"
Jaffur stares at this madman who is apparently his Seal, aghast. Well, that's just lovely. He rolls his eyes. "You know what? Sure. Go ahead." He turns away. "One. Two. Three."
He can follow Jaron's scuffling with contemptuous ease. Not that he'll be bothering with this whole farce, but it's something.
And then, the scuffling stops. "O- oh. Hey, Thomas."
Jaffur glances over and- WHAT.
Jaron stands before a stereotypically-inflated boy their age with a leering smile that is literally wider than his face. Jaffur grunts in annoyance as the...thing...grunts something that presumably translates to language. Jaron stumbles back, caught in dream logic.
"N- no," he says, fetching up against a wall that rises behind his back. "Stay away, I don't have anything for you. Leave me alone." His breath comes faster and faster. "Please? Don't...Jaffur? Jaffur, HELP-!"
"Focus Ray."
A thin beam of golden light cores the sack of shit's skull, and Jaffur lowers his arm, scowling. He shakes his head as if trying to clear it. Then his eyes fall on Jaron and he growls, stalking over. "The hell was that?!" he demands, pulling the other boy around. "You brought a nightmare here? What's wrong with y- ack!"
Jaron flings his arms around Jaffur's neck. "Thank you!"
Jaffur shoves him away. "Get off me! What were you thinking, just standing there? Push back!"
"But he's bigger than me!" Jaron smiles. "Plus, I knew you'd come help me."
Jaffur gives him a bewildered glare. "That's no excuse! I live here, moron, I can't come with you back into the outside world! What are you going to do when the real version of that guy shows up?"
Jaron shrugs. "Run away?"
Jaffur seethes for a moment. "Never. Let me. Hear you say that again. What happens if he's faster? What if you're on ground that he knows and you don't? What happens when there's nowhere left to run?"
Jaron shrugs. "I...don't know."
Jaffur steps up close. "You. Fight. Back." He shakes his head, stepping away.
Jaron looks at him as he walks off. "I mean, you'll protect me when I'm here, right?"
"No!"
Jaron looks at the corpse, swiftly dissolving back into the substance of dreams. "Well...?"
"That was just reflex! Don't make anything of it."
Jaron watches, and shrugs. "Well, okay. I'm going to wake up now. Maybe I'll remember this when I do."
Jaffur snorts.
Jaron waves. "Well...bye! I'll see if I can remember about fighting back."
Jaffur doesn't answer.
Jaron shrugs and dissolves. Jaffur sighs, relaxing. Finally, some peace and-
You okay, sweetie?
His eyes snap open and he looks up at the sky.
As if projected on a great screen, Jaron's point of view is lit up on that sky. And he's looking up at his mother.
Jaffur hisses, his bones creaking where his fingers dig into them.
"I'm alright, Mom. Just had a dream."
What about?
"Something about Thomas. I had somebody there who helped save me! I was trapped and called out, and then there was this light like, 'WHOOOOOOOOSH!' and BANG! And Thomas was gone."
O- oh. That's a bit violent, don't you think?
"Maybe. I felt safe, though. It was nice."
Jaffur sits back as the conversation continues, thoroughly nonplussed. His grip loosens and his posture relaxes. His face even untwists from its usual scowl. With a certain amount of attention, one might observe the corners turning upward in a sad smile.
* * *
This is how it feels to be Jaffur Vegeta right now.
Wistful.
He settles in, and watches his brother talk about the hero who saved him.
* * *
Back.
* * *
You do not gasp your way back into the waking world. You simply...open your eyes.Back.
* * *
Jaffur. He's...alive? Buried. But...awake, somehow.
He knew you were there, for just a second, when you touched that rock -- and what was that, anyway?
And...Jaron.
Jaron Somerlad...is a real person.
You don't know what to think about this.
Downstairs, a bell tolls as the clock ticks over and the year turns.
You do not sleep that night.
* * *
Seers are weird.
I am crashing out, and the only reason I could write this much is because I wrote much of it shortly after the "Prelude" update and most of this was a matter of editing. The Year 2 turn options will be up tomorrow! Feel free to discuss among yourselves what you've learned just now and what in general you'd like to accomplish for the year. As a reminder, I'm still accepting ideas from write-ins, so if you really want something, bring it up in the discussion and I'll see about making it an option if it's not one already (if not, I'll tell you why).
I hope you enjoy this one!
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