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Dragon Ball: After the End

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Simon_Jester said:
I don't know what to make of the FACE votes. Part of the problem is that people will ask questions about the Masquerade, and I'm not really sure how Berra plans to pitch it. The ki-using Garenhulder Exiles are clearly a hereditary breed of superbeings, even if theoretically most people can learn to use their powers. Depending on how we're pitching this, different FACE votes might make sense.

Honestly I could go with either of the first two ROLE votes; Kakara's diplomancer build means that her active participation is almost certain to be an asset, though to be fair Garenhulder politicians are far more likely than most to be able to match her in that field.

One note: Garenhuld is not that far historically from the days of feudal aristocracy, because the saiyans indirectly catalyzed the Industrial Revolution hard. This may have interesting implications for their view of "Brandon Marsden" as a hereditary aristocrat or monarch. Though whether the views are good or bad may vary depending on political details of Garenhulder history.

That said...

Mr. Carpenter:

[TWITCH]

...

[Mr. Carpenter is the science teacher from In The Shadow of Her Wings, and he damn well keeps teaching things right up until the last day of the school year. Infamous for it.

If Jaron or Maya had accidentally knocked down the school building during the battle with the aliens, and nobody remembered to close school the next day...

Well, Kakara probably thinks that Mr. Carpenter would have shown up to work the next day, with a lesson plan that would theoretically work without desks and a blackboard. And settled down to teach in the middle of the rubble pile, in case any students showed up.

Is she right to think so? Well, maybe not. But Kakara is a good judge of human nature.]
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This comment was a while ago in the thread, but I am somewhat worried that saying that there is a culture of people with inheritable superpowers will immediately lead to Garenhulder trying to analyze ki, if only in the limited ways that garenhulders as a culture are capable of. We have no idea what happens to say, genetic evidence in and out of masque (what happens to genetic evidence from being a saiyan when you turn human?) I assume that garenhuld has an equivalent to the human genome project, and I am worried that they'll start trying to hunt down identification, perhaps even making it standard in situations where it would make a big difference if a suspect or something was a ki user. This probably isn't that realistic a scenario, but it is possible, and is a real risk.
 
Based on what we've seen so far, if the Garenhulders have a human genome project, saiyans are running it.

Unless it's being run by whoever's responsible for the Garenhulders inventing nuclear weapons, because I am pretty damn sure we didn't hand those over to them?

@PoptartProdigy , by the way, this is exactly the kind of thing that I think it would be nice if we could have an occasional "ask Daddy" opportunity about. All these little minor questions where we can't know by ourselves whether it's an important problem we need to take seriously (i.e. one step down from imminent existential threats like the dragon and alien invasion). Situations where if the answer is "yes, we saiyans are behind this, it's okay," then we don't have to even think about it, and where IC Berra would tell us if that were the case.

The "what was Endivan's trick" question is a classic example, though it does seem probable that Endivan was simply duplicating Tabe's Overdrive technique. But "when did the Garenhulders get nuclear weapons and who thought handing them those was a good idea" is exactly the kind of question that Kakara should be able to ask her father in a single conversation without difficulty.

It's kind of... unrealistic/unfair... to have a situation where we as players are stuck arguing endlessly in circles over questions that IC Kakara would easily get an answer to, even if the answer is "nobody knows, start worrying about this."

Maybe once a year we could have an "Ask Berra things" post? Or "Ask Apra," maybe? Obviously that wouldn't answer all our questions, but it'd at least help us align our own worries in a realistic, constructive way with the worries our character should have given the in-character logic of what she does or doesn't know?
 
Simon_Jester said:
Based on what we've seen so far, if the Garenhulders have a human genome project, saiyans are running it.

Unless it's being run by whoever's responsible for the Garenhulders inventing nuclear weapons, because I am pretty damn sure we didn't hand those over to them?

@PoptartProdigy , by the way, this is exactly the kind of thing that I think it would be nice if we could have an occasional "ask Daddy" opportunity about. All these little minor questions where we can't know by ourselves whether it's an important problem we need to take seriously (i.e. one step down from imminent existential threats like the dragon and alien invasion). Situations where if the answer is "yes, we saiyans are behind this, it's okay," then we don't have to even think about it, and where IC Berra would tell us if that were the case.

The "what was Endivan's trick" question is a classic example, though it does seem probable that Endivan was simply duplicating Tabe's Overdrive technique. But "when did the Garenhulders get nuclear weapons and who thought handing them those was a good idea" is exactly the kind of question that Kakara should be able to ask her father in a single conversation without difficulty.

It's kind of... unrealistic/unfair... to have a situation where we as players are stuck arguing endlessly in circles over questions that IC Kakara would easily get an answer to, even if the answer is "nobody knows, start worrying about this."

Maybe once a year we could have an "Ask Berra things" post? Or "Ask Apra," maybe? Obviously that wouldn't answer all our questions, but it'd at least help us align our own worries in a realistic, constructive way with the worries our character should have given the in-character logic of what she does or doesn't know?
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I have a different solution in mind, actually. It'll be coming up soon.

Now, I really do need to finish this update...;)
 
Sadly, I doubt any of my bonuses will help- though to be fair I don't know what comes out of Auger, the "Mitsuba and Jaffur" scene. Probably nothing we can use.

Do we have a list of bonuses anywhere? Hm. [searches front page]

Ahhh. Well, we have the "Collateral damage control" bonus from In The Shadow of Her Wings. That might come in handy if things start going south? :p

One for "Breaking out of a bad system," I forget where that came from. Depends on how you interpret the international order on Garenhuld.

One for "Sizing up an opponent," I think that was from Buzzsaw and it might be applied to political-fu?

Then there's that bonus for "Utter bullshit." I am quite sure we could find a way to apply that if we need to. :D
 
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Out of My Control
  • Threadmarks
    • [X][FACE] ...you are hereditary nobility, your grandmother is the prior sitting Lady, your father is the sitting Lord, and you will yourself become Lady some day.
    [X][ROLE] ...actively address the Congress. Your blog posts over the course of the year so far have achieved widespread recognition, your continued attendance at school has done a lot to normalize you in the public view, and you have a decent amount of capital. Plus, you're a thirteen-year-old girl; even by virtue of not being able to take you seriously, people won't think, "threat," when they look at you.

    Out of My Control​

    The Congress of Nations -- that meeting place where the leaders of all the nations on Garenhuld (that are invited to attend by the Congress itself) meet or otherwise send representatives to meet and discuss the fate of the world. So the story goes, at least.

    You and your father stare up at the imposing structure. You glance at him. He gives the building an inscrutable look, hands on his hips and fully Masqued. Then he sighs. "Waste of time and money. Aramaia could just hold press conferences, save us all the trouble." He sets off towards the building, ignoring the screaming crowds to either side of the cleared path completely.

    You scurry along in his wake. Dad, what do you mean?

    The Congress is an Aramaian front. Despite how disunified Aramaia is, it's still the most powerful nation on Garenhuld. That Tastreya has not yet been erased is testament enough to how competently they've been fighting this war. And how well they managed to achieve surprise. Despite how powerful Aramaia already is, though, it wants more. So it blackmails all of its trading partners into showing up at this thing. It's a way for Aramaia to pressure the rest of the world in a way that looks legitimate.

    You grimace. That sounds horrible.

    Politics, Kakara.

    You purse your lips, looking around at the people in the crowd to drop the topic. It's...a mix, honestly. The vast majority of the faces you see are wary. A few are scared. Some are excited, there's some hope, and over there is a pocket of angry people trying to push through the crowd with signs.

    You blink.

    Protesters there, Dad.

    I see them. We knew there would be some. Just keep walking and we'll hit the building before they get through.

    I wish Grandma was here.

    Wartime, Princess. You know all three of us can't be together in the same place.

    You hum quietly to yourself. He's not wrong, but that doesn't mean you're happy about it. Grandma Apra knows politics. You'd feel a lot more comfortable if she was walking in with you.

    Still, she's not here, and you have to deal with that. You volunteered, after all. At the very least, you can handle walking in the door. It's the bit afterwards that's going to be a trial.

    You and your father enter the building, to a slight reduction in the level of nose you have to tune out. An old man in a suit leads you to a pair of seats. At length, the gathered delegates come to order, aligning their gazes on the two of you. And...

    And...
    Sight [DC 50]: 62.
    ...something feels off.

    Something feels wrong.

    Something feels very, very wrong.

    You turn your head before you can think once, let alone twice. Dad. Dad, something's wrong here.

    To your eyes, he goes from relaxed to combat-ready in a heartbeat. Every line of his body shifts in an incredibly subtle way, readying itself for a fight without tensing up. What is it?

    I don't know. I need to trance. I need to find out what's going on.

    Go ahe-

    After a moment, you turn slowly, peering at your father. His jaw is working slightly. His fists clench, once.

    ...actually, he says. Hold that thought. We're in front of the Congress. They'll see your eyes going white. They'll see you closing your eyes. We need to wait. Hold off until I stand to give my address.

    You twitch slightly. In the background, the Aramaian delegate rises to his feet and begins to call the Congress to order. Dad, something is wrong. We might not have time!

    We are in front of the world right now, Kakara. They're already nervous. We've been selling a narrative of an ancient and very traditional warrior society, and they're only just barely buying it. Garenhulders are just barely buying it. That should tell you how much trouble they're having with us. If something strange happens now, we could lose them. It won't be long, just please wait!

    You bite back the first reply that comes to mind. ...fine. Just...please, get up there quickly. Something is wrong.

    He nods slightly, and you begin preparing yourself.

    What is, what is, what is, what is, what is wrong, what is wrong here-?

    The sound of voices echoing in the chamber around you fades away as you begin to draw yourself inward. Your vision tunnels until the only thing you can see is your father. You wait for him to move. To blink. To do something to indicate that it's time for you to move-!

    And at last -- some undefinable time later -- he stands, crossing in front of you as he does.

    What is.

    * * *

    Gone.

    * * *
    ​
    The man's finger tightens slightly on the trigger as he tracks your father's head in his scope. You see a faint snarl crossing his lips. You-

    -see another man, alternating between aiming his own firearm into the crowd of gathered delegates (The crowd? Why the crowd?) and glancing at the first man's location -- waiting for the shot-

    -another gunman, the same routine of checking crowd targets and checking the first-

    -a woman in the crowd with her hand under her desk, ready to yank open her briefcase-

    -a man in a security uniform advancing on his unaware coworker with a knife at a security station-

    -a woman with a gun spilling from limp fingers, choking, dying from a handful of gunshot wounds in her chest, laughing around a mouthful of blood to the police officer who just killed her, "Too late-"

    * * *

    BACK NOW!

    * * *
    ​
    Your father finishes crossing in front of you. Before you think, your eyes track up to the location of that first man.

    For a frozen heartbeat, the two of you lock eyes, you on the ground floor, him peering through a displaced ceiling tile.


    Act.

    [ ][ACT] Go after them first.
    [ ][ACT] Stop their shots before attacking.
    [ ][ACT] Evacuate the building (yes, achievable with current human-acceptable power level before the first shooter has time to squeeze the trigger).
    [ ][ACT] Write-in.

    TWO-HOUR MORATORIUM. THIS VOTE IS NOW CLOSED.

    And you didn't even get the chance to make your speech first.

    There keeps not being a good time to insert answers to all y'all's little questions into the updates, so new feature. In every vote, if you have a small question about something you don't know OOC but think Kakara should know IC, vote -- like so, tag and all:

    [ ][ASK] Write-in.

    -- your question, and I will answer it in a spoiler-boxed QM's note in the following update, if it is in fact something Kakara would know IC. Just bear in mind -- vote tally software of any stripe counts only the latest post by any given user containing a vote.

    Endivan's (the legendary Endivan, that is, as opposed to your littlest brother) secret is not something I will answer here. I know exactly when and where I will answer it. It's coming.

    Aaaaaaaaaaaand...

    Have fun! ;)
     
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    • Well if we are strong and fast enough to evacuate the building before the first shooter can has time to squeeze the trigger then we should be able to evacuate all of the hitmen even more quickly. However that "Too late" would seem to indicate at bomb or something. But in that case why bother with the gunmen?
     
    I would prefer to deal with the disruptions without anyone noticing. Then do our speech as though nothing happened. That sends the right message to whatever enemy sent them and doesn't scare our potential friends.
     
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