#Headcanon: Who Else But a Saiyan?
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acoldsovereign · 9 months ago
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SAIYAN LORE & CULTURE HEADCANONS #1 - SOCIALIZATION.
In this post, socialization refers to how each Saiyans greet each other, common phrases, and other such things.
HANDSHAKES: THEY DO NOT EXIST.
Instead, Saiyans grip each other by the forearm, and shake roughly/firmly or gently up and down, twice. Three times is pushing it-- reserved for strained bonds or to quietly say "I don't like you", while four shakes is considered mocking/disrespectful. Most times this is done silently, but there can be verbal greetings to accompany this 'arm greeting' (or replace it entirely).
GREETINGS & COMMON SAYINGS.
"May Yamoshi guide you/her/him/your childling/sister/brother [insert other bond/relation here]." This is the Saiyan version of Bless you/May God bless you/Good morning or goodnight. There is a belief system/religion/spirituality amongst the Saiyans, and it is called Yamoshism. Depending on one's philosophical standing, Yamoshi is either a Patron Saint for the Saiyans or the equivalent of an Ascended Master/Saiyan who underwent a process similar to apotheosis. Either way, this is the best thing to hear if you are a Saiyan or carry Saiyan blood as it is usually impossible to utter it maliciously. It denotes a large amount of care and thoughtfulness.
"May Eelnana shine upon you/grace you/smile upon you/your troop, etc." It's the same as above except it involves the Goddess embedded in Yamoshism. Depending on one's philosophical slant, Eelnana either exists as a separate and real entity (hint: Maiz is a believer in this school of thought), or she's purely symbolic. To be told the Goddess of External Power, Inner Strength and Innovation/Change is smiling down upon you and/or guiding you is no small thing to say. This is explicitly saying you are trusted to know what you are doing, and who you must be.
"May our suns rise on you/never set on you." This is the non-religious/non-spiritual version of the above two sayings.
CHILDLINGS & PROPER CONDUCT.
Baby Saiyans are called childlings up until adolescent age (16). Other affectionate names are not translatable into Universal, or other dialects as easily, but the pronunciations are suspiciously similar to the following words: hellspawns, hellhounds, critters and runts. Childlings who stay on the planet are expected to learn hand-eye coordination as soon as they're able to talk. Childlings are who sent away, aka "infiltration babies" are typically abandoned/not talked about until they come back stronger. Until then, they are out of sight, out of mind. Childlings staying on the planet are treated nicer than their weaker counterparts (unless like Maiz, they have a visible birth defect that can impede their ability to fight and defend themselves). In this case, they are pushed harder to overcome their limitations and only then, are they treated with more grace than their counterparts. Outside of that, childlings are typically encouraged to interact with their environment and make connections. If it turns out they're the type of Saiyan who cannot bond easily, this is when they figure that out and plan "ahead." If they can bond, their lives will be a bit easier-- they'll have a second family to fall back on (Team Bardock as an example). However, just because a Saiyan can bond doesn't mean they will get close with everyone. (Ex. Karne was atypical in this regard; she was warm and bubbly on the surface and actively sought out friends, but she was picky about what bonds she wanted. She was insistent on becoming Bardock's first friend* even when he was being difficult. She genuinely loved and doted on Seripa/Fasha, who took over as the more "hot-headed personality" as they both grew up. She ruthlessly killed Artichoke after confirming her pregnancy with Maiz, who she actually wanted. She was emotionally available for her daughter and spoiled her rotten with love and affection. She loved her so much to the point of shoving her into a space pod to save her life during the Genocide). Maiz is the same way, and she's aware of it to varying levels**.
Most Saiyans were either trained to be independent or part of a collective. Individualism spiked post Yamoshi's generation, but especially under Frieza. Incidentally, King Cold didn't do much meddling; he found their ability to work as a collective amusing and intriguing. It was Frieza who took issue and thus, started nitpicking at them little by little until a schism was later created-- one that would give rise to the very thing he feared; a union of Saiyans. (This union and their old, ancient traditions that were taken underground would later give rise to the legend he tried to erase: the Super Saiyan).
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actuallysaiyan · 11 months ago
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May I please request headcanons for Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo having a female S/O who has anger issues and struggles with trying to control them?
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warnings: mentions of anger, mentions of fighting, fluff, kissing word count: o.7k pairings: Son Goku x Fem!Reader, Vegeta x Fem!Reader and Piccolo x Fem!Reader
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He has a hard time understanding sometimes. He’s a bit dense, but he does what he can to help soothe you whenever you feel so angry,
Even if he doesn’t have the right words to say or maybe doesn’t know what you’re going through, he has enough sense to be able to calm you down whenever you feel like you’ve lost your grip on your emotions.
Goku helps you channel your anger into your energy. He shows you how to channel your ki and eventually, you become very good at controlling your ki and in turn, helps you be able to control your emotions.
He’s big on wanting you to train and spar whenever you feel so angry. He knows that if you are able to get that anger and aggression out in a healthy way, you’ll learn to become more patient.
Whenever you feel so worn out from every emotion, he’ll gladly hold you close and allow you to cry or vent or anything else you need. He’s a big teddy bear, and he can handle some punches or crying.
Eventually, Goku has you training and sparring whenever you feel angry. He won’t give up on you even if you’re having a bad day. He’s always there with a bright smile and a pat on the back to remind you that you’re doing great.
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Vegeta knows all about anger. He’s a 5’4” tall thing just full of anger. He’ll lose his temper at the drop of a hat. But with you, he feels guilty about it. Especially if you become angry as a result.
He does what he can to keep his anger in check, but if you become angry as well, this could lead him to losing his temper as well and it becomes a shouting match between you two.
Never will he use violence against you. He promised himself and you that he’ll never resort to that. He wants to try and talk things through with you whenever he gets the chance.
One day, you’re both angry and soon he just pins you to the wall and kisses you to shut you up. The kiss is so fiery and passionate, it leaves you breathless and forgetting exactly what you were angry about.
If that doesn’t work, Vegeta also shows you how to channel your anger into your ki. This results in you becoming much more in tune with your own emotions. You learn to fight this way as well, training under Vegeta’s tutelage.
Even if he doesn’t always encourage the best habits, Vegeta understands what it means to be angry and how it can be so hard to control it. He’ll try desperately to calm you down everytime.
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Piccolo takes a different approach. He understands anger. He knows what it feels like when it builds inside and grows deeper and deeper and deeper. He’ll know what to say or do to have you calmed down in seconds.
If you show signs of becoming angry, Piccolo takes you aside and he helps you with a breathing technique. This has you soothed within a few minutes, and he continues to remind you to breathe easier.
Sometimes he can’t calm you, so he always brings you away from the situation so you can reassess everything. He’ll fly you around, allowing you to get a different perspective on things. When you’re so high up in the air, you calm yourself quickly.
And just like the two Saiyans, Piccolo teaches you how to channel your anger into your ki and helps you find the will to be able to calm yourself within seconds through this technique.
No matter what, he will always be patient with you. He’s really gentle with you too. Even if you want to scream or punch him, he’s got you covered. He’ll just take you into his arms and get you to use the breathing techniques he’s taught you.
Piccolo takes you to these beautiful cliff sides and has you meditating with him. When you’re here with him, you notice how things are so insignificant to hold onto. Meditating with Piccolo helps you put things into perspective and how you’ll always have him by your side.
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strawberrycakelove · 7 months ago
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I have the headcanon that among Saiyans, it is predominantly females who choose and pursue the male, and not males who choose and pursue females, and that some (perhaps many) female Saiyans are polyandrous. And that males are predominantly passive and simply wait to be chosen. Because when Bulma invited Vegeta to stay at her house, he just went (and never left LOL)
Because Vegeta at no point showed himself bothered or resentful with the fact that Bulma had a current relationship with Yamcha at the moment (which doesn't mean that I don't think they don't enter competitions to win and expel weaker competitors LOL, it wouldn't even be even inconsistent with the fact that they are a warrior race, fighting to be the favorite wouldn't even be strange).
And that when Bulma invited him to her house he took it as something else lol (not that I don't believe that this wasn't Bulma's intention, she even flirted with him, and not long after Trunks' existence was practically pre -determined with the appearance of Future Trunks LOL).
And I believe this because Goku was extremely passive when accepting/remaking ChiChi's marriage proposal (let's be honest, ChiChi was the one who practically proposed to Goku here, even as children she asked him to get married), and Goku never seemed bothered or resentful that he wasn't the one to make the choice, and she did it after a fight LOL.
And Gohan, even though he was a hybrid, practically followed the same path letting himself be chosen by Videl, Videl created a dispute with him, chased him, challenged him and fought with him, investigated his house, blackmailed him and forced him to teach her how to fly and participate in the martial arts tournament because she wanted a strong opponent to fight, perhaps for the Saiyan instincts (I'm not talking about standards as the Saiyans are practically extinct in the series) this is the height of the demonstration of se….. /romantic interest LOL (just like in many animal species where males fight/show off for females, but here Videl was the one who played this role, I also don't know if Gohan, being a hybrid, his Saiyan instincts mixed with humans didn't make a beauty of a mess LOL, it can be a little of both). And Gohan practically already considered himself Videl's boyfriend or partner when Goku tries to offer her to Old Kai (which reinforces my And again, Gohan never seemed resentful or bothered by it.
Not that I believe this is a rule, but it is the HC that was created in my mind LOL
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wheregoodthingsthrive · 7 months ago
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Politicizing Saiyans (but not how you might think)
To think too hard about Saiyans is my job. Especially in the context of what I do- I gotta combine my interests or else I will shrivel up like a sad little plant that hasn't seen the sun for five years nor had water in ten. So, what am I combining now? Dragon Ball and political composition, functions, and apparatuses. For reference, I am a political science student (International Relations and Military Force, specifically) so when I got into Dragon Ball, I was not expecting to be able to identify a minimally shown and explored militaristic galactic despot with vassal states with one said vassal state being a really interesting sketch of a government system so intricately avoided, I can't help but theorize and apply what I consider myself to know a lot about.
This is all personal headcanon and absolute indulgence in my own niche interests in the realms of history, world building, and political science. There is no evidence for easily 1/2 of what's going to be in here but that's how it is. This will probably be a yapping session meant to just. Get my thoughts on Saiyan structure (and Freeza Force application) out into words and hopefully (maybe, preferably) talk to other people who are equally insane about Saiyan/DB universe exploration despite having next to no evidence as to why we think the way we do lol (THIS IS VERY LONG)
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I. Government Structural Basics
My favorite... Genuinely. The Saiyans are my political analysis DREAM (just without all the math). Some lore -- the first DB content I was exposed to, in full, was the 2018 Broly movie. Not the best start in terms of canonical timelines and building content from the ground up - BUT - it happened. I was not expecting a shonen manga-anime series to have a movie that opens with such a heavy handed demonstration of a tyrannical despot and vassal state patronage. Maybe I am giving it too much credit but the dictatorial, patrilineal passing of power, so seamlessly avoiding any form of deliberation or consultation we see Cold direct and the disillusioned response of the Saiyans is so so so easy to connect to an empire-vassal dichotomy that I simply cannot help myself. A vassal state, a medieval perfected concept, is a state that is beholden to an empire or superior state's power. A great example would be the Ottoman Empire and the lower cradle of S.E. Europe, feel free to go look it up. The controlled Vegetasei/Planet Vegeta encompasses this definition but ALSO it's more enriched one: "a state with varying degrees of independence in its internal affairs but dominated by another state in its foreign affairs and potentially wholly subject to the dominating state". Vegetasei is a fully functioning monarchy (more on this later, too) that is beholden to the Freeza Force with it's time, resources, militaristic strength, personnel, citizenship, and sovereignty. It functions internally with a significant degree of independence, with external function that benefits solely the dominating state. I think its not really a stretch of the brain to see the empire-vassal patron relationship here. Though we do not know HOW Cold overtook the Saiyans, the assumption of force is reasonable, a common denominator in vassal states. Or, possibly, given the Saiyan values and the expectation of the FF, they were absorbed consensually that then delved into tyrannical patronage. I don't know. This is more of a sketch of my general assumptions and thoughts for this section and a spring board for the deeper explorations of Saiyan politics.
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II. Vegetasei: The Oppressive Oppressed Vassal State
Now that we've established the relationship at the core of Saiyans and their lizardy occupant, I can get into the specifics. More of my favorite thing to do! I see much discussion of the treatment of Saiyans by the Cold Dynasty but not much on the condition of Vegetasei's internal workings and authoritative structure. Which is strange as I feel the political condition of the Saiyans is just as conducive to character arcs like Vegeta's or motivations like King Vegeta's as the subjugation conducted by the Force is. So, what is Vegetasei's political composition? What makes the Saiyans, especially their prince and king, behave the way they do? Bear with me. The Saiyans are a monarchical meritocracy with values of militarism and rigid, hierarchical social cohesion philosophy. That's a lot of words. Too bad I'm going to make you read (understand) them!
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III. Monarchical
This one is self explanatory but I am a yapper so yap about it I must! Saiyans are a monarchy. Wow. Shocker. But I would like to propose that the Saiyans function as a faux-mixed absolutist monarchy with hereditary expectation but is prone to socially acceptable coup d'état. Let's get some more defining out of the way. A faux-mixed absolutist monarchy is my own proposed hybrid of a mixed and absolutist monarchical structure.
Mixed: a form of government that combines elements of democracy, aristocracy and monarchy ostensibly making impossible their respective degenerations which are conceived in Aristotle's Politics as anarchy, oligarchy and tyranny.
Absolute: a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power.
Okay. So. We can see throughout many flashbacks to Vegetasei in its heyday that King Vegeta was surrounded by what looks like a council or military posse, constantly. He has a consultative court that, really, has no authority and might just be there for political bluff and show/posturing. We see matters of science, military, and general royal court procedures be present in King Vegeta's assembly. Paragus is described as a "colonel", implying there is a military hierarchy that spills out beneath the king. There is also a blue-cloaked Saiyan who speaks openly to King Vegeta about denying Freeza's request for the prince. Additionally, there are instances of scientists talking openly about the prince's incapacity compared to Broly to the king's face and live. So, given these, it seems these positions are places of legitimate prestige but hold no sway in political construction. Thus, I'd argue there are political apparatuses and institutional bodies placed beneath the king, who will ultimate say over them. I've included what I think the Saiyan monarchy is structured like (it's pretty rudimentary but I am not going for 100% depth*):
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*You can see I denote that the presence of children makes or breaks minor positioning in the upper caste of the royal family/echelon of Saiyans. I think posterity is very important. Read more slightly below.
On top of being absolutist, I'd like to argue that the monarchy has "hereditary expectations [and susceptibility] to socially acceptable coup d'état". What do I mean by this? I believe it is pretty easy to assume that the Saiyan monarchy (given its corrupt maintenance) is held by the House of Vegeta/Court of Vegeta, depending on who you ask. I make the assumption on calling it the HOUSE OF VEGETA because of the familial name. Often, royal families are defined by the names inherited by its members (i.e. the Brits). With our prince of all Saiyans Vegeta being the fourth in his lineage, I think it is safe for me to assume this condition. From there, I work under the idea that the right of the king is passed down from parent -> child (assumedly father -> son if we look at what we have so far in canon. I would assume the same value is placed on females and that females can inherit the title of queen/whatever their female equivalent is from their father's or sole maternal parent. That's a whole other essay. Sexual dimorphism does not equal sexism but anyways). So, that covers the standard understanding of familial/hereditary expectations. Right? Sure. Hang tight. I think an important thing to note is that we never see or hear (as far as I know, please correct me if I am wrong) Vegeta call Trunks or Bulla by any term of royal value. Therefore, I'd like to make the argument that even if the royal tie is carried from generation to generation, there is only the expectation of royalty found in blood, not instant ordainment. This is where socially acceptable coups come in.
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Vegeta says in the Broly 2018 movie (much to my dismay, this version is so much worse) that, upon the death of his father, "[he'll] never get to be King Vegeta" (paraphrasing). While this is a poorly written throw away line, pair it with how Vegeta never, ever refers to himself as king. Always prince. He will forever be the prince. Even Freeza observes this, albeit with malicious intent. I'd like to argue then that Vegeta, as the son of the king, is expected to fight for and win his position as king or to be purposefully given it by his father but because he can never be properly ordained/crowned as king, he is stuck as prince, dooming his lineage to never receive the rightful processes to accept their blood's expectation. This is how multiple families can compete for the throne. Should a blood-obligated child of the king fail to ascend (either by coup/force or by selection by their father), a rival family or individual can swoop in and compete for the inheritance of the throne. And how do they compete and validate their ascension to a throne that belonged to a different family? Merit. How does a son/daughter usurp, be granted, or claw their way to the throne? Merit. Which Segways perfectly into the next part of Saiyan structure!
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IV. Meritocracy
Much like it's empirical controller, Vegetasei is so merit based it almost hurts. A meritocracy asserts that a government is ruled/power is held by individuals "selected on the basis of their ability". Further, "advancement in such a system is based on performance, as measured through examination or demonstrated achievement". A meritocracy also asserts that the accumulation of wealth, power, and influence is concentrated in those who are higher valued by the society itself. This I think is pretty well explained by the privilege and value placed upon those with higher power levels. Their concept of merit (as per Vegeta's narration and understanding of Saiyan culture, excusing any inconsistencies or indoctrination for a moment) is constructed on a few things: pride, capability, born caliber, and execution of these elements. The concept of these merits runs so deep in Saiyan culture that it runs BOTH ways in terms of power capacity: too weak is seen as a weakness that must be exterminated or exiled while also too powerful is seen as a danger to the fabric of society (i.e. the arrangement of power). So, merit is a double edged sword to Saiyan society and this facet of danger is increased by the Force's regime. Merit manifests itself in very different ways (that I will get to in later sections) but the important foundation here is that due to being a meritocracy, there is NO trickle down political or societal gain from the monarchy. There is only a frantic scramble up. If you are too weak, you must scathe by if you have not already been disgraced. Too strong? Either hope it's beneficial to the society or that the Force or the crown does not consider you a threat. Either way, whether you're run of the mill or an outlier in power level, the merit of your Saiyan Traits is what gets you anywhere. What I find interesting is that there is evidence that implies societal climbing while also hinging on NO social movement due to power levels being seemingly fixed at birth (or at least very early in life). I find this interesting-- in the OG Broly movie, we see the explanation that baby's power levels are observed and in the 2018 Broly movie, its implied birth power levels dictate not just what you're going to do, but how valuable you are and if you're even worth keeping on the planet.
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I think the best exploration of this can be in Tarble. Despite the dubiousness of his canonicity, I find it particularly insightful that even a prince was not given the chance to be cultivated into a power house but rather nigh instantly abandoned due to two perceived faults in the classifications of merit:
No born caliber (low or untapped PL)
No capability (implied gentle spirit)
I think it also goes to show that the higher up you go in the society, the more a low PL matters to the merit of who the child is associated with. We can get more into this in the social hierarchy part but compare Tarble's position and fate with, let's say, Gine. Very different-- but the common thing is that the traits of merit are not exhibited to societal standards, garnering a societal ruling of less value, paid in either exiling or low-level societal jobs.
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So, tangent aside, let's break this down in the last two categories of my aforementioned word soup of Saiyan political structure.
V. Militarism
Y'all could see this one coming. Militarism is classically defined as "the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values." In political science (polsci), this extends into a school of thought called Realism, establishing the "security dilemma". While I do not think the full extent of this sketch of realism 100% applies to Saiyan political composition, I think it matters. Realism is defined by a few characteristics: the world is inherently anarchic, state actors are the main actors, and the security dilemma. The security dilemma asserts that a state must continue to bolster, improve, and better its militaristic prowess and power projection to defend itself and assert its own power as other states assumedly do/feel the same. Sound familiar? Security dilemma literally got the Saiyans slaughtered. Toriyama somehow managed to put the inklings of realism in an anime about a monkey boy who punches things. Anyways.
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Saiyan societal structure is ALL ABOUT your place in the MILITARY, both in respects to the internal/domestic and to the foreign/Freeza employment. Let's focus on the domestic for a moment. The Saiyan Armed Forces is spearheaded by the House of Vegeta, maintained as a separate but maintained branch of the FF. The initial description of ranks were "Elites" and "low-class", showing merit assessed structure. It is a seemingly compulsory army, with some form of required service and with no retirement save for types of dishonorable discharges (example: Gine or...dying). The army is the backbone of Saiyan society, functioning on multiple levels of society and with a great menagerie of apparatuses for conducting operations. The army is dedicated to accumulation of resources, no matter the position. This is where the security dilemma assembles itself in the sketch of the army -- its entire purpose is to Saiyan bolstering (until it is commandeered by the CF/FF). The accumulation of planets, races, trade routes, resources (foodstuffs, raw goods, etc.) is the main goal of the army and the main identity-giver of any soldier. They also practice realism in that the army inherently treats ANY opposition as inherently anti-Saiyan (anarchic) and works on behalf of the state solely (state actors). I don't have too much to really say about the military given its pretty self explanatory nature. I think it's a perfect microcosm of the meritocracy and...omg...VASSAL STATE IS BACK!!!! GOSH THE ARMY IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF VASSAL/EMPIRE PATRONAGE.
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As defined earlier, the vassal is subjected to the empire with "foreign affairs". The Saiyan army is its biggest hand in the international galactic arena, a force to be reckoned with and a force that is KNOWN for its impartialness in imperial conquest. The commandeering of a nation's foreign muscle is the perfect move for a vassal-owning and -employing empire. The control of the army is the swiftest, most effective move to undermine the Saiyan monarchy, society, and cultural values as the military is, was, and continues to be the Saiyan's "everything". By absorbing the army, the Cold Army/Freeza Force effectively paralyzed the Saiyans, making them MORE than beholden to the empire in that by controlling their strongest apparatus of control, the average Saiyan can do nothing without the FF. Another interesting note (that is a small tangent)-- it's fascinating how the CA/FF manages surveillance given the vastness of space and the hostile/temperamental nature of the Saiyans and their warlike inclination: the Scouters. The establishment that the Scouters LISTEN is so so so smart for a despot empire to put into place! It's very 1984 and establishes some control on the... drum roll please...next section!
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Everything in this point is a little more out of my amateur "expertise" as it deals more with sociological domestic policy than military/IR so, it'll probably make less sense.
VI. Rigid, hierarchical social cohesion philosophy
Saiyan social structure is given to us very clearly, by multiple sources, and it seems to be handled with quite the lot of animosity. Social cohesion is "the strength of relationships and the sense of solidarity among members of a community" and is often identifiable by a community's social capital. Social capital is the basic trust, foundation, and interactions within a society permitting it to function. Social cohesion is upheld by the following facets: a sense of belonging, social relations, and an orientation towards the common good. The question now becomes -- Grace, if you're trying to say Saiyans have social cohesion, how can that coexist with animosity and competitive merit? Great question. I would like to posit that Saiyan social cohesion relies on this push-pull of merit, competition, and the pride of a conditional brotherhood rather than the cut and dry, earthly expectations of social cohesion. Let's walk through these real quick! (I must avoid making this another 2k words long). Sense of belonging: Saiyan's are described by Paragus in Broly 2018 as generally untrustworthy. They are backstabbing, power-hungry, violent cages of people. Yet, Saiyan pride (and the merit of it, see the follow through?) is what ties them all together. The sense of belonging perhaps doesn't come from actual, well-cultivated cohesion but rather their species identity in BEING a Saiyan, not BEING IN COMMUNITY. I have a lot of thoughts about how Saiyans are more tribal beings than they'd admit but that's another essay that cannot be tacked onto this one. We much stay focused, brothers. Social relations: Relationships and familial ties do exist in Saiyan society, though they don't seem to manifest in an exact one-to-one way as per Earth standards. I, as per earlier, argued there is power in the blood line and I think that rings true throughout the general society. Looking at how Goku is more often referred to as "Bardock's son" over anything else or how Vegeta is a seemingly patrilineal name, I'm going to make the leap that paternal line determines a lot of social relationships. They are maintained by fatherhood, power levels (a low enough PL can result in the bloodline 'dying', cause of death: disgrace), and a militaristic aspect of brotherhood over blood in most occasions. Orientation towards the common good: Don't let "common good" distract you- a common good can be anything the society agrees is good. So, what do Saiyans conclude as good? Conquest, war/conflict, victory, kill counts, strength, power of the people, power of the Saiyan, power in general. This is once again where merit-competition and cohesion interact- yes, one would want to ascend ranks, to claim victories, to pursue power, but can one do that alone all the time? Possibly. Vegeta sure does think so, but he seems to only act on this value when Nappa becomes useless to him. Use is a common good, purpose is a common good. Your fellow brother, your fellow warrior, etc. has purpose when the two of you can bring forth Saiyan glory. It's a temporary arrangement but one nonetheless.
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All of these things though are maintained by societal structure. It is the rigid social hierarchy that encourages social cohesion and the subversive method of turning animosity into brotherhood and vice versa given the need at the time. The distance of the monarch, a seemingly untouchable governor, seems to imply also that these societal structures are upheld by the populous but made 'perfected' by the monarchy. A monarchy that wants to maintain power will cause controlled discord within its own state so that any transmission of power seems either 1. Improbable/dangerous (highly likely due to FF occupation) 2. Not needed because the leader provides some type of stability. I could argue that the social cohesion of Saiyans relies on a strange form of Diversionary War Theory. Diversionary Way Theory states that "unpopular leaders generate foreign policy crises to both divert the public's attention away from the discontent with their rule and bolster their political fortunes through a rally around the flag effect." I believe this is more of a...Diversionary Social Theory. With the society so folded in on itself for merit and competition, the king can maintain power for his line alone by altering it, looking at different social conflicts (low PLs, Frieza Force encroachment, etc.) rather than surrender powers. Sounds corrupt. I know. That leads me to my final facet of Saiyan political structure.
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A little more back into my expertise, briefly.
VII. Corruption
I am sure you all knew I'd get to this to some extent. To say the Saiyans are void of corruption would be a fool's statement. I think there are two main forms of corruption seen in Saiyan society.
Despot maintenance of power
Society-induced and maintained methods of population/defection culling
Despot maintenance of power
A despot is an often tyrannical leader with a monopoly on power. Despotism is the "form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot, but societies which limit respect and power to specific groups have also been called despotic." In writing this, I've realized that the Saiyans are equally despotic but geez I am too far into this to add ANOTHER section so a definition is all you will have to settle for. King Vegeta is a an active despot. I don't think this is a dramatic statement. He is shown to remove opposition, going to the lengths of infanticide and murder to do so. He antagonizes his specialists who dare question the legitimacy/efficacy of his lineage. He makes deadly errors in foreign policy by stationing snipers at Frieza at the risk (and expense) of their lives. He targets his own son and banishes him as an exile, completely intended to kill him in the long run. King Vegeta is losing 0-2 in trying to not kill babies/kids. I don't have much else on this subsection due to its pretty straightforward nature and political gain. In both Broly movies albeit for...weirdly different reasons...the King argues that the murder of Broly (and subsequently Paragus) is justified because it 1) ensures the social and political status quo, 2) muddles the waters on proving or accusing Vegeta's house in intending to not relinquish power even on correct merit values, and 3) shows how he, in general, is unwilling to admit defeat and hold onto power.
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2. Society-induced and maintained methods of population/defection culling
This is touched on briefly in the aforementioned social cohesion section. Culling is the method of killing the population of a wild animal to preserve its maintainability. Saiyans practice this with different principles at its core; I believe it is simply an unsaid, dark reality for the majority of the media due to its reach and aimed audience. However, where we do see glimpses of infanticide with the goal to protect the purity of strength in Saiyan numbers. Goku's PL is a concern. Him being a runt or being behind on schedule seems to be an issue, even if minimally stated. Broly's PL is a threat. Tarble is a royal liability. All of these seem to be justifiable reasons to straight up KILL them (or at least exile them from the population with an understood mortality rate). Now, Raditz seems to be an exception but I'll argue that he serves as a necessary low-PL canon fodder for more powerful members society. That is a more social cohesion point that I could've included but my lanta guys this thing is long enough. The society itself seems to maintain this principle - whether you HC there being a governmental agency observing infants power levels as the OG Broly movie would imply (which is interesting in and of itself looking at it through a bureaucratic apparatus lens). Monarchy perfects, society maintains in striving for that perfection due to merit competition, value of the patrilineal line, and a cohesive idea of Saiyan pride on a general societal level.
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VIII. Conclusion
The Saiyans are a monarchical + despotic meritocracy with values of militarism and rigid, hierarchical social cohesion philosophy.
I hope now that we've reached the end, this contributes something of at least SOME merit to the discussions and long text-posts I've been seeing floating around DB tumblr recently. I think smashing my degree and Dragon Ball together might've killed all my braincells but at least I can exhibit to my professor that I understand a majority of what I've been putting thousands of dollars to to learn.
I am not responsible for any typos or misspelling; y'all figure it out.
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Takes the heaviest breath ever. I'm going to stop here-- it is finals season and I have a test over US foreign policy tomorrow. Yap session: OVER.
PLEASE INTERACT WITH THIS DB OVERTHINKERS PLEASE.
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spilledbeans116 · 1 year ago
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Just In Case
(Vegeta x Reader)
Vegeta x fem!reader -6,207 Words - SFW - No use of Y/N
Fan of Vegeta x Bulma? Find an alternate version here! (The first parts match up!)
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This fic is based on a headcanon I have involving the prince and his constant need to wear gloves. I'm putting this here as a side note, but the first chapter is a bit violent. I hope you all enjoy it.
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    Nappa was smiling, as proud as a warrior-nanny could be given the circumstances. Vegeta had aced his first mission under Frieza’s rule without a single hitch, having wiped out an entire planet on his own in just a couple hours. They had hit three more after that, completing twice the work of an adult saiyan could have mustered up. And what, he was only 6? Never before had such latent power been shown in such a young saiyan; his power already rivaled Nappa’s own. On late night’s when the bar was full and Raditz and Vegeta were in bed, Nappa would sit and brag to the other soldiers of Frieza’s army how talented the kid was.
    The bar was dim, the tables around having been emptied as all the patrons gathered around Nappa and listened to his tales. Among them were Ginyu, Burter, and Jeice, all three of whom were rolling their eyes at the display.
    “You should have seen the way he shot through that thing! It was almost three times my size, maybe bigger!” Nappa hiccuped, taking a swig from his mug before slamming his fist on the bar’s counter-top. “It was incredible!”
    From around the corner, a young saiyan who should have been in bed smirked. His smile quickly faltered however, as someone else spoke up.
    “Psh, right,” Ginyu laughed, giving Nappa a shove. “Like a kid could take down one of those on his own. Even Guildo struggles with them!”
    “No, Nappa’s being serious, I saw it myself!” Another soldier yelled, slamming his drink down on the bar. “The kid is a beast! A monster!” 
    Vegeta nodded, crossing his arms and leaning through the doorframe a bit to watch as the older men debated his feats.
    At that Ginyu and Burter laughed, “please! He’s an ape!” Ginyu snorted. “You think that monkey could actually do that on his own? He’s weak, just like his old man. Maybe he got lucky, but nothing more than that.”
    Vegeta clutched his cape and held it at his sides, his anger overtaking him as he fought not to run in there and sucker punch Ginyu in the face; he had already learned once that it wasn’t a good idea, and wouldn’t make an idiot of himself again. Ginyu didn’t believe he could do that? Didn’t think that Vegeta could fight his own battles or overtake a stronger opponent? Fine. He would prove he could; he would show everyone exactly what he could do. And he wouldn’t stop until they believed him.
    Months had passed, but for Vegeta, time moved strangely. It felt fleeting and yet too long at the worst of times. Then again, he was still only a child. He had already gotten stronger, not that anyone but Raditz or Nappa noticed and he didn’t give a damn what they thought. Each day and night was the same, he was degraded by the Ginyus to his face and behind his back. His family was gone, his home was gone, and his race was all but eradicated. He was the last remaining saiyan royal and ruled over two; he wasn’t the strongest on the ship nor was he even close to beating Frieza… yet. That day would come, he reassured himself. Until then he was destined to be miserable, to spend everyday fighting to be better only to get no recognition from anyone. That much responsibility and pain weighing down on a child surely wasn’t healthy, especially not when they were forcing themselves to do even more than everyone else.
     Vegeta couldn’t keep track anymore of how many planets he had slaughtered. Their cries of mercy fell on deaf ears. At night, he had nightmares about the faces of those that had met their end in his hands. He wondered who they were, what lives they lived. He was doing to them what had happened to his own home. He tossed and turned each night, enough for Raditz to complain to Nappa that it was keeping him awake.
    Soon he turned 7, still a child in the eyes of a saiyan. After each fight he felt dirtier and dirtier, and visited the showers once, twice, three times a day. The soldiers on the ship joked that the prince was a germaphobe. He was too royal for their peasant germs. He was killing without purpose, without a fight and the guilt was eating away at him slowly, crumbling his sanity with each life he took. He was 8 when it happened.
    Nappa was heading to the bar before he stopped. Something in him, some primal, strange instinct, told him to go to the boys room. He rushed down the halls and to their room, where Raditz was snoring loudly with his arm draped across his face. Vegeta, however, was gone. He couldn’t ask anyone else if they had seen him, as he’d surely be punished for roaming parts of the ship he shouldn’t without Nappa present.
    Vegeta had gotten back late from a mission and decided to go take a shower. His body was covered in blood, none of which was his own. He watched as the red water swirled down the shower drain and slowly became pink, scrubbing his body with a bar of soap as he grunted to himself. Arms, chest, legs, feet, tail, and finally his hands. He lathered the soap between them, watching the bubbles form up and over his hands before rinsing them off in the water. To his surprise, the water revealed the blood was still there.
    “Damn shit must have stained them,” he huffed, turning off the water and drying himself with a towel. He quickly wrapped it around his waist and made his way to the sinks, grabbing his toothbrush and lining it with toothpaste. Until he saw his hands again. No longer tinted red, they were coated in blood. The fur on the end of his tail began to spike as he stared at it, quickly flipping them around to see if he had any open wounds. He ran the water and shoved his hands under it, scrubbing at the blood to get it off. 
     “What the hell!” He snapped, watching as nothing changed. He began to scratch at it, trying to peel it off to know avail. He hissed as he turned the water up, the heat becoming blistering hot as he started to claw at his own hands in a desperate attempt to get the blood off of himself.
    “Why isn’t it coming off!” He yelled, starting to get louder and louder as he grew more desperate. He felt filthy as his consciousness weighed down on him, his sleep deprived body and nightmarish life finally getting the better of him. “Get it off me!”
     Nappa knew he had to be in the showers, as it was the only place the kid ever went to when he wasn’t in the dining halls or his room. With how late it was, the dining halls would have closed ages ago. As he made his way down the corridors of the ship he could hear something. It was quiet at first, but slowly became louder and louder as he got closer to the men's showers. He could hear Vegeta, screaming out in pain. Nappa shot off and slammed through the door to the bathroom, following the sounds of the hysterical screaming until he found the prince by the sinks. Vegeta was sobbing, hands burnt red from the water. 
    “The hell has gotten into you!” Nappa yelled, ripping him away from the sink. He was going to scold the prince when he saw the claw marks all over his hands. Vegeta tried to shove him away, crying out for Nappa to let go of him but it all sounded like gibberish to the older saiyan. 
     “What are you doing!” Nappa yelled at him as Vegeta slammed a hand against his face, trying to make his way back to the sink. “You’re hurting yourself, what are you doing!”
    “I CAN’T GET IT OFF!” Vegeta screamed between sobs. “MY HANDS! THEY’RE COVERED IN BLOOD I CAN’T GET IT OFF!”
    “Vegeta there is no blood!” Nappa yelled, grabbing his wrists and holding him still. “But there’s going to be if you keep tearing at your skin!”
    “DON’T TOY WITH ME NAPPA JUST GET IT OFF ME! PLEASE I CAN’T- I CAN’T DEAL WITH THIS PLEASE JUST GET IT OFF!”
    Nappa grabbed the prince and his clothes, clamping a hand over his mouth as he ran out of the bathroom and back towards his room. Vegeta dug his nails into the flesh of Nappa’s hand, sinking his fang’s into Nappa’s palm as the older saiyan grunted in pain. Vegeta was still trying to scream but Nappa’s hand remained firm, refusing to let anyone see the prince like this. The door to Nappa’s bedroom slammed shut as he locked it and tossed the prince on the bed, who immediately tried to book it back out the door. Before he could grab the doorknob, Nappa was in front of him, blocking his escape in the dark room. Vegeta beat his fists against Nappa’s chest, trying and failing to shove him out of the way. Nappa knelt down, taking Vegeta’s hands in his before sliding a pair of white gloves over them.
    “Look! There’s no blood! Now please Vegeta quit it!” He turned the prince’s hands over slowly, showing that nothing had seeped through. “See? You’re fine!”
    Vegeta glanced down, a sniveling mess as he turned his hands over on his own and studied the gloves. They were white, pristine, new, and soft. They cooled his burning hands and the silken fabric felt nice against the cuts he had created. “Th-there’s no more b-blood?”
    “None, Vegeta. There isn’t any blood. Okay?”
    Vegeta nodded as Nappa stood up slowly, making his way to his cabinet and pulling out gauze and ointment. He applied it to his palm first after cleaning it with a towel, Vegeta’s fangs having taken quite the chunk out of his skin. Then he bandaged it, sliding his gauntlets on over after so the prince wouldn’t see the reddish hue that would seep out soon enough. After tossing the towel, he made his way back over to Vegeta, who had calmed down remarkably and yet was still standing in the same spot Nappa had left him. He was staring at his hands, eyes lidded as sleep finally began to overpower him. Nappa grabbed him under his armpits and lifted him over to the bed, setting him down and getting the ointment ready. As he began to pull off Vegeta's gloves, the prince started screaming again, kicking Nappa away and tugging them back down.
   “NO!” He cried out. “NO YOU CAN’T TAKE THEM OFF!”
    “DAMN IT VEGETA I NEED TO MAKE SURE THOSE SCRATCHES DON’T GET INFECTED!”
    “NO! I’M YOUR PRINCE, I DEMAND YOU WILL NOT TAKE THESE OFF! EVER!”
     “Vegeta,” Nappa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You can’t keep them on forever you’ll have to-”
    “I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!”
    “Vegeta I swear to-”
    “THAT’S AN ORDER NOW DROP IT!” Nappa didn’t say anything after that, handing the prince his pajamas and turning away. Vegeta changed quickly, grunting when he was done. Nappa frowned at the sight of the prince wearing gloves with his pajamas, but chose not to push it further. They’d deal with it in the morning and go to see the doctor then as well. 
    “Do you want me to walk you back to your-”
    Vegeta was quick to cut him off, voice trembling as he ran his hands together in his lap. “Can I stay here tonight?” His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper as he refused to meet Nappa’s eyes. Nappa looked down at the prince, an ache in his chest as he stared at the child that was forced to carry so much; but he was just that, a child. He shouldn’t have had to do any of this, not until he was much, much older. He should have been in the palace right now, spending each day training under his father to be the next king, not turned into a killing machine by a freak that regarded them as nothing.
    “Of course, your highness. You can stay here for the night.” Nappa quickly went and changed into his sleep shorts, scooting Vegeta over enough so he could fit along with him on his bed. The prince held his arm tight, body trembling as Nappa laid awake, staring at the ceiling, trying to piece together whatever the hell had just happened. Even after Vegeta had finally dozed off, Nappa remained awake, unsure with what to do with the prince.
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    As time went on, Vegeta learned to live with it the best he could. The cuts he had caused on himself that night healed over, leaving small scars to forever remind him of his own shame and guilt. The blood he saw on his hands never truly went away after that but he learned to pretend he couldn’t see it. With time he was able to remove his gloves, but only for short periods before he’d quickly slip them back on. Just long enough to shower, trim his nails, or give the gloves a quick wash.
     After everything that happened on Earth, after what he did to Nappa, it was as if he were a kid again. The gloves would not come off. Ever. He had killed the man who gave them to him, who had tried to shield him from himself. For what? A power move? Now the gloves themselves were another reminder of his sins, but he found himself unable to swap them with a new pair. Now he was living in some Earth woman’s home after embarrassing himself in front of Frieza and a low level saiyan piece of scum. He slaughtered the Ginyu force, which was a bit of a two edged sword for him. Kakarot was gone at who knows where and he was stuck here, failing to do anything substantial. He had truly lost all meaning to his life.
     The gravity chamber the blue haired woman had helped build was where he spent most of his time. It gave him a break from dealing with everyone, including you. You were the most confusing out of everyone that was on this idiotic planet. He could never get a proper read on you. You were too… upbeat. He didn’t like to dwell on what he thought of you, and unfortunately found himself thinking of you during training at the worst of times.
    He had put his hand up to guard his face at the last moment as the battle bot shot at him, successfully blocking it but not without slight damage to his glove. There, on his right hand, was a clean tear.
    “Shit!” He yelled. “Damn it damn it damn it!” He blew the robot to bits before it could do anymore damage, throwing on his shirt and making his way back towards Bulma’s house. He felt sick as he glanced down at it, the deep red shade staring back at him through the slit.
    He made his way in through the back door, speed walking through the living room and down the hallway to where his bedroom was located. He didn’t have spares, he had never needed a spare. He searched around for anything that could be used as a makeshift glove. He ripped apart shirts and tried to cover it to no avail, too stressed to tie the knots properly with one hand. He shoved the fabric under the glove, only to rip it further. “Shit!”
     He didn’t know how to sew, he was a prince for the Gods’ sakes. He felt sick at the idea of what he was going to have to do but quickly realized there was no other option. He was going to have to ask for help.
—-
    You were sitting at Bulma’s kitchen table, waiting for your friend to get back from her date with Yamcha so the two of you could go shopping. You were sipping a glass of apple juice, the only thing in her fridge at the moment in terms of drinks. The coffee maker was on the fritz ever since Vegeta tried to beat the shit out of it to get it working. Apparently the glowing blue button wasn’t obvious enough for saiyans. You paused mid sip, wondering if perhaps he was partially colorblind. Your thoughts trailed off as he was suddenly standing in front of you, arms crossed and glaring in your general direction.
    “Juice? Seriously? What are you, five?” he frowned, opening the fridge and looking around for something.
    “Good morning to you too, your highness,” you grunted, raising the cup to your lips. “I was going to have coffee but for some reason the machine is broken.”
    He huffed in annoyance but said nothing else. You could tell he had just finished training as he was a dirty, sweaty mess. The singe marks across his suit only proved your point further. “There’s nothing in here,” he frowned, slamming the fridge door shut.
    “Yeah, I heard someone has been staying over and eating everything,” you replied, taking out your phone and scrolling through it. “I have no idea who it could be though.”
    Either he didn’t notice your sarcastic tone or he didn’t care. “Tell the other woman to go get more food then,” he snapped. “It’s not my problem.”
    “You could go get it yourself.”
    “With what money?”
    You rolled your eyes, “You’re a prince, aren’t you?”
    He slammed a hand down flat on the table, leaning beside you to try and meet your eyes. “The hell do you mean by that?”
    Without looking at him you opened your text messages, Bulma’s name quickly popping up. “What do you think?” He tried to glance over at your screen to see what you were going to text her before you shifted the phone away; it was like he was a child. “Do you mind?”
     “Are you texting her? Tell her to get the vanilla protein powder as well, I won’t eat the chocolate one. It’s disgusting.”
     “Yeah yeah sure,” you sighed, instead typing “his royal majesty is awake and grumpy. Please get here soon.” She replied by laughing at your message before sending a picture of her and Yamcha laughing in whatever breakfast restaurant they were in. For now, you were stuck with him.
    “She’s with the beta-male, isn’t she?” He frowned. You nodded.
     “They’re on a date I think? I don’t know, sometimes it’s hard to tell.”
    You were surprised to hear him chuckle at that. “True. However I’d say they’re made for eachother. They’re both annoying and a pain in my ass.”
     “I’ll agree with that first part,” you giggled, setting your phone down and glancing over at him. You took another sip of your juice glass while he looked out the window. “Want me to make you a PBJ or something?”
    “Sure. While you’re at it can you pour me some juice as well and put it in a sippy cup?” He grunted, turning to face you and making an effort to roll his eyes. You don’t know why you even bothered.
    “Just trying to be polite.”
     He seemed like he wanted to say something else before he looked down at his hand. He began to fidget with his gloves a bit, the white things worn to death. When Bulma had offered him new ones he refused, rather rudely you might add, so you chose not to mention them. When designing new training outfits with her for him, gloves were always discussed but never elaborated on. “When is the blue-haired woman coming back?”
    You shrugged, “not sure.”
     He sighed, and for a moment, he sounded relieved. You went to ask him what was up before he started talking.
     “You’re a woman,” he grunted, pulling out a chair and sitting beside you. “You sew, right?”
     Ever charming, this one. “Fuck you but yes, I sew.”
     “I need you to fix my gloves,” he grumbled, continuing to mess with the one on his right hand.
    “I can just make you new-”
    “No,” he snapped, cutting you off quickly. “I need them repaired.”
    “Fine,” you said curtly. “Just leave them by my door and-”
    “No, you'll fix them now.”
    You crossed your arms, “Vegeta I don’t just carry a sewing kit on me.”
     He stared at you blankly before his eyes moved to your purse, which was resting on the back of your chair. “Then what the hell is that for?”
     You pinched the bridge of your nose and inhaled sharply as you chose to ignore his question. “Why should I help you in the first place? You’re not exactly-”
    “Please.” The word was uttered so quietly, so pathetically, you were almost positive you had dreamed it. There was no way on Earth that Vegeta had said ‘please’ to you of all people. You skimmed over his face to find he was looking at the table. After a few moments and your lack of response, his eyes snapped up, his face flushing a bright red. “Stop staring at me like that! I’m not going to repeat myself damn it! It’s embarrassing enough!”
    You blinked a few times, trying to hide the shock as you spoke, “come on, I have a kit in my room.” You placed your empty juice glass in the sink, beginning to walk towards the spare room Bulma had designated as your own. 
    The sound of his boots clicked across the wooden floor as he followed you. He was embarrassed to admit he found himself admiring your outfit. It was rare he ever saw you in anything besides casual or training clothes. Today, however, you seemed to be stepping it up. He felt his ears begin to heat up as he stared at your ass and hips before quickly looking at your hair. “Why are you dressed like that?”
     “Like what?” You frowned, glancing back at him. 
    His eyes briefly shot to yours before he glanced away. “You’re… dressed nice.”
     You almost tripped when he complimented you, “oh, uh, thanks.” You said, clearing your throat. “Me and Bulma are going out later.”
     “Why not wear your training gear? What if something were to happen?”
     “Then I fight in this,” you shrugged. “My clothes aren’t what makes me a fighter, Vegeta. Plus with you guys around I’d only get in the way.”
    “Sure, but you’re already weak enough as is. Extra protection wouldn’t hurt.”
    You didn’t know if he was trying to make sure you were safe or simply making fun of you. “With how burned your suit is from the training bots, I don’t think armor makes much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.”
    He simply grunted, watching as you grabbed the handle to your room. You opened the door and made your way to your desk, pulling out a drawer and rummaging around for your sewing kit. Vegeta stood in the walkway, staring at the floor before you pulled the kit out and set it on top of your desk. You tilted your head at him as you sat in your office chair, motioning for him to take a seat on your bed.
    “I’ll stand,” he frowned, stepping in apprehensively and making his way over to you. He had never been in your room before; he never had a reason to be in it. It was very… you. He wasn’t sure how else to describe it. It had your scent and although he’d never admit it, he liked it. It made a shiver run down his spine.
    “No, you’ll sit,” you countered. “I sew better sitting, and I don’t want you looming over me while I do it.” You flicked on your small lamp and smiled at him softly.
     He grumbled under his breath, something about how he doesn’t ‘loom’ over people, before sitting on your bed carefully. He was trying to sit as close to the edge as possible to be somewhat polite. It creaked a bit as he did so, one of your plushies tumbling over and onto the floor. He sneered at it before you picked it up and set it back in its place.
    “Alright, let me see it.”
    He shoved his hand in your direction and you stared at him as if he were an idiot. “Vegeta you’re really starting to piss me off, give me the glove.”
    “You can fix it as it is,” he snapped. “I’m not taking it off.”
    You crossed your arms again and leaned back in your chair. “Are you trying to fuck with me? Is this a prank or something?”
    “Why the hell would I do that!” He yelled, clenching your quilt in his fists. He heard the snapping of threads and quickly relaxed his hand. Whether from the glove or the blanket he wasn’t sure, but neither seemed like good options to damage. “This is serious! Do you think I’d ask you for help for fun?”
    You wheeled your chair closer to him, motioning for him to place his hand in yours. He held it out hesitantly, palm facing the ceiling as you took it carefully in your own. A shiver ran up his spine once as he watched you trace the tear with your finger tips before he quickly looked away.
     “I should be able to stitch it up, but I’m worried I’ll poke you with the needle by accident.” Vegeta didn’t say anything after that, face slightly pale and body tense. You squeezed his hand softly, “I need you to tell me what the deal with the gloves is. I won’t judge, and I won’t tell anyone else.”
     “Like I’d trust you,” he snapped back as he ripped his hand away. “This was a mistake.”
    You shook your head, setting his hand back in his lap as you began to thread the needle. “You don’t have to tell me I guess, but it would make everything easier. Maybe I can go get a spare glove from some-“
    He was quick to cut you off, growing more and more agitated the longer he stared at the open slit in the fabric. “I should've just done this myself. God forbid you be good for someth-”
     “Vegeta, I am trying to help you!” You yelled, finally having had enough. The prince seemed taken aback by your sudden outburst as you slammed the needle on the desk. “The first thing you do in the morning is belittle me, complain, and act like you own the place! Well you don’t! You treat me like shit, my friends like shit, and I still wanted to help you! Don’t get mad at me for trying to do something you asked me to do! If you want to do it yourself, fine, take my fucking kit and leave.” When you saw the look he was giving you, you immediately felt bad. His eyes were wide with shock, mouth slightly agape. It was the first time you had seen him make an expression that was anything like this.
     You went to start apologizing before he ripped the damn thing off and tossed it at you. It thumped against your cheek before landing in your lap. You grabbed it and waved it at his face haphazardly.
     “You didn’t have to throw it at me!”
    “Just hurry and fix it!” He yelled back, crossing his arms and refusing to meet your eyes. His hand was shoved under his armpit as he tapped his foot rapidly against the wooden floor.
      You quickly got to work, the prince growing more and more impatient as you fixed the tear. “Would you hurry up?”
   “I’m trying! I want to make sure it’s done properly so I don’t have to redo it!”
    He leaned forward slightly to watch you work. It was impressive how quick you were with it, precise as the needle wove in and out of the fabric with ease. He watched as you bit your lip and began to tap your foot just as he had. He watched as your hair slipped down from behind your ear before you quickly pushed it back into place. Your eyes seemed to sparkle in the dim lap light, and his heart began to race. For a moment and a moment only, he finally relaxed. Then you were pulling the seam closed, tying the knot and smirking at your work.
   “Here, it’s done now you can-” He snatched it from you in an instant, struggling to put it on. You rolled your eyes, “a thanks would be nice.” He slid it on quickly, finally breathing a sigh of relief as he stared at the now closed seam. He could barely tell there had been a hole at all. He opened and closed his hand slowly to watch the fabric shift and ensure your work was good. Then he fell back on your bed and stared at the ceiling.
    You wheeled over to him again, watching as he shut his eyes tight and laid limp against your mattress. “Thank you,” was all he mustered up.
    “You’re welcome.” You replied, surprised he had even said anything. Your tone was soft when you spoke again, and he hated how it made him feel. “You can lay here as long as you need to.”
    Your phone went off in your pocket and you pulled it out quickly, finding a text from Bulma letting you know that she was home and going to take a quick shower. You stood up to leave before Vegeta sat up quickly, grabbing your wrist.
     “Can you stay?” He asked quietly, the glove soft against your wrist. You nodded, and quickly sat back down in your chair. He made his way once again to the edge of the bed, leaning his elbows against his legs as he clasped his hands together. He looked down at them, hunched over as he thought of what to say.
    “Ever since I was a kid,” he started, voice so low and deep it sent a shiver up your spine. “I have been a killing machine. It’s what I was made for and it’s all I’ve ever known.”
    You got up slowly and he paused before you nodded for him to continue. You shut and locked your door before walking back over to him and sitting in your chair. He nodded in thanks before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
    “I don’t have many memories of my father, and the ones that I do have are… complicated. Nappa raised me, if you could even call it that. Raditz was more of a nuisance than anything. Our goal was to survive, and one day I wanted to become powerful enough to beat Frieza. What a joke” He scoffed, shaking his head and looking back to the floor.
     “At first, taking lives was easy for me. I was doing nothing more than what I was assigned; I started to do more, go beyond what was required of me. The only one to praise me was Nappa, and even then it was never to my face. I was ridiculed and mocked, but it only pushed me farther, to do better. It was never what I wanted, but more so what needed to be done.”
    He didn’t know why the hell he was telling you this; he had never told anyone this. And yet now it was as if he couldn’t stop, he couldn’t shut his mouth long enough to think about what he was doing. “What was once hundreds went to thousands, then millions. I was eradicating races in the blink of an eye. Soon they weren’t just obstacles to me, but people with faces and lives I had ripped away from them. I had so much blood on my hands; I still have blood on my hands. So much blood that I will never, ever be able to get off.”
    He opened and closed his hands once more, the sounds of the fabric shifting in his grip. “I’m not a good man. Hell, I've never claimed to be one. But now Frieza is gone and it feels like everything I’ve done, everything I worked towards for years, was for nothing. The things I see in my sleep, what I feel when I’m awake, what I’ve gone through was for nothing.” He stopped for a moment, voice and tone becoming so quiet and serious you couldn’t believe it was the same person who had spoken to you just minutes ago. “I haven’t been able to look at my hands the same way since I was a child.”
     He finally looked up at you, eyes lidded as he smirked. You realized he was on the verge of tears. “Do you know how sad that is? A beast scared of his own damned hands. I’m a damn disgrace to my people.” He laughed after that, wiping his eyes and setting his hands back down. “Look at me, a prince crying in front of a damn lower life form.”
     You reached out hesitantly, tapping his hand with your fingers apprehensively. When he didn’t pull away you continued, scooting closer to him and pulling his hand up to lay between you both.
   You carefully ran your hand over his, sliding your fingers up and under the glove before pulling away slowly. You looked at him again, waiting for him to react or move away, to tell you to stop. Vegeta shut his eyes tight but didn’t pull away, his face pale as you set his glove carefully in your lap. To your surprise, his skin was soft, with yours perhaps being even rougher than his. Then again, you suppose that made sense if the saiyan never fought without them. 
    You traced your nails gently over his palm, studying the grooves in his skin and how neatly trimmed his nails were. “Well,” you started slowly, his breathing coming to a pause. “I don’t see any blood now.”
    Vegeta opened his eyes slowly, looking at your face carefully as you studied his hand. You were so delicate with him it made his breath hitch in his throat. 
    “Sure, maybe there was a lot there in the past, but not anymore. You can’t change what happened, but you can acknowledge it and move on, try to do better this time around.”
     When Vegeta looked at his own hand, he almost gasped in shock. It was his hand, as normal as any other. He looked back to you as you ran your thumb over top of his, gently moving your hand back and forth from his wrist to his knuckles.
     “You haven’t done good things, Vegeta. But I don’t think you’re a bad person. I think you need time and care to heal, and the first step towards that was acknowledging what we talked about today.” You paused, thinking carefully over your next choice of words before smiling softly. “I think there’s good in you. No, I know there is.”
    He watched the way your hair tumbled down and around your face, and how gentle your stare seemed to be. You weren’t repulsed or disgusted, but caring and considerate. He felt a blush rise first to the tips of his ears and then his cheeks before he pulled his hand away and slid his glove back on. He stood up after that, walking briskly across the room without turning back. He unlocked the door and opened it, pausing to think for a moment. Then, he made his way down the hall, wondering what the hell had just come over him as his heart raced out of control.
    A few days later he came home to find a second pair of gloves folded neatly on his bed along with a note, “just in case <3.” His face flushed as he went to crumple it up, but upon reading it just one more time, he found he couldn’t. He shoved it in the drawer of his bedside table, grumbling under his breath as he left to go train.
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missvidel · 5 months ago
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Newest Gohan×Videl headcanon
Gohan actually does prefer girls with short hair. Or at least Videl with short hair. I reckon he was attracted to her before the chop, especially after she tackled him poonani to face, but I think he fell head over heels more quickly after her hair was cut short.
Think about how much time they'd have spent together alone during their flight lessons, and how feelings must have brewed pretty quickly as she's the first normal girl his age he's spent this much time with. With her hair cut back, he can see her face properly, without her fringe covering it, without the veil of traditional femininity overshadowing who Videl is.
He's attracted to her because she's pretty, sure, but when she cuts her hair, he sees her not as Videl Satan, daughter of Hercule, but as Videl Satan, defender of Satan City. She's strong in her own right (which we all know Saiyans are attracted to) and he's drawn in more because of it, not in spite of it.
And I know the movies aren't Canon but I don't care, I love how her hair was kept short for those too. I love the implication they're dating, I always thought that was cute.
I also love how regardless of the fact she cut her hair everyone else says she's pretty or beautiful too. Nobody says she looks like a guy, nobody says she looks ugly or should change her hair (but y'all know how much I appreciate this series for being so ahead of its time)
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astral-mariner · 8 months ago
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Hopefully this isn’t too stalker-y, but I’ve noticed you say a couple times that you don’t ship Kakavege the same way as most of the fandom. Would you be willing to talk about how you see the pairing and how it’s different from the “default”? Obviously no pressure if you don’t want to talk about it, but I love seeing different interpretations of their relationship (whatever form it may take)
Not too stalker-y! If anything, I'm flattered that anyone would be interested in what I might think about stuff, haha. That said, all of the following is just my personal headcanon. There are lots of fun and valid interpretations of this pairing, and mine is but one of them.
First to clarify: When I'm thinking of the "default" (which is, of course, a very loose term, as the fandom and the shippers are obviously not monolithic at all!), what I have in mind is how Vegeta is constantly put in a submissive and/or bottom role where he gets his absolute shit wrecked and gets all sobbing and unraveled. And while Vegeta getting his shit wrecked is definitely up my alley (lol), I feel like the journey to get to that shit-wrecking doesn't vibe with how I personally interpret each character.
I think a great deal of it has to do with the fact that I don't see Goku as a very sexual person. I think he's very sensual in that he loves physical activities like fighting, eating, etc., but that like, sexual DRIVE just isn't there in the same way that it is for fighting. He probably has a libido, sure, but there's a difference between having a physical urge and being preoccupied with sexual desire. He doesn't really think about sex in the moment unless it's happening to him. In canon, he's often shown to be oblivious or not to understand things involving sex. Not because he's stupid or he can't pick up on things (because he definitely does and even plays dumb to mess with people for fun!), but because he's just on a different wavelength. Things that occur to "normal" people just don't occur to him.
And to me, all of that doesn't really line up with his being characterized as a dominant top most of the time, lol. Someone who exerts his desire upon someone else. (Which is not to say you can't have a submissive-leaning top---you definitely can; I think that is *cough* how Vegeta is with Bulma *cough*.) Now there are definitely situations where I can see Goku entering this headspace, though. Namely, say, if Vegeta nurtured that feral side of Goku's saiyan nature and encouraged him to get in touch with and act upon it. Exerting it on others.
Which brings me to Vegeta's characterization. I don't see him as particularly nurturing, lol. He sees Goku as a rival---someone he wants to tear down, not someone he wants to build up. He's obsessed with and angry at Goku for besting him. And I feel like one of Vegeta's responses to this would be to dominate him in any way he feels that he can. Unravel and defeat him. Even if it's just a pathetic attempt to feel superior or to shove down his real feelings and longings. (Because I think, deep down, Vegeta longs to let go of his NEED to fill a particular role, play the prince, be the best---it's a cage for him, and laying down his desperate desire for power and reveling in weakness would be freeing.)
On top of this, Vegeta strikes me as a person with far more dark, sexual energy. He's repressed as fuck, of course, but he's just BRIMMING with pent up feelings and desires. It even comes out when he fights. When he's dominating someone in battle, he gets really into it. He gets really intimate and personal about it. And considering his past, he's seen some fucking shit out in space. He's not innocent or oblivious even if he is a prude who tried to stay above it all. He knows what sex is, he knows what sexual desire is, he knows what sexual violence is, and he feels all of it intensely even if he doesn't let himself act on it (probably plays into why he's so ANGRY and frustrated all the time, lol). Not to mention the fact that Vegeta wouldn't have to stop and explain to Goku how to fuck him, lol; he'd just fuck him himself and show him what's what (or even sexually dominate him by bottoming from the top, so to speak).
All in all, in my mind, Vegeta would be far more likely to exert sexuality onto Goku vs. the other way around. Act his desires out on Goku. Dominate him in one of the few ways he can. Even though it's pathetic! And perhaps not even what he truly wants (to let go and have his responsibility/power stripped from him). But it's what he would do, and what he'd tell himself he wanted.
All that said, this leads to a "default" dynamic where Vegeta is more sexually dominant than Goku is. Which is against the more common fan interpretation. "Kakavege" is definitely more popular than "Vegekaka." (Even though I personally don't like when people get obsessed with who bottoms or tops... I'm a queer man, I'm messy as fuck, and I like when my ships are messy and complex like me, haha).
Even so, as I mentioned somewhere else before, there are definitely still situations where I can imagine Goku topping and/or being more dominant. Particularly in AUs where he's a lot less innocent and didn't get conked on the head, lmao. I LOVE when Goku snaps and goes feral like he did when he first transformed, though. I also LOVE when Vegeta lets go of his pride and gets his shit wrecked. But I feel like not a lot of people get either character to those places in a way that satisfies me personally when they write the pairing. Takes into account all the little subtleties and complexities of their characters. So it results in me being very picky with my shipping content for the pairing.
And THEN, on top of everything else, there's the issue of the imbalance in their feelings for each other. Vegeta feels far more intensely about Goku than Goku does about Vegeta. Vegeta is fucking obsessed. Whereas Goku has lots of rivals, and Vegeta might be one of his favorites, and he might even have a special bond with him as a saiyan, someone who understands him in a way the others might not, but he's not obsessed with Vegeta. Vegeta is always going to be angsting about what is effectively a situation of unrequited love. The pairing, at least to me, is an extremely angsty and doomed one for that reason. Vegeta just wants so desperately to be noticed and cared about the way he cares about Goku (see: the Majin Stunt). And a lot of people write the ship to be a lot less angsty than this. But I'm all about the angst, lol.
Vegeta really is the more "emotional" of the two despite insisting how little he cares for anyone or anything. Despite Goku wearing his heart on his sleeve more. Or being outwardly affectionate and comfortable sharing his feelings. Vegeta feels for Kakarot deeply even if he doesn't express it outright. Whereas Goku may love Vegeta as he loves everyone---his general love for life and everyone he meets kind of way. But it's not the intense, dark, emotional, romantic obsession that Vegeta has. The two characters are extremely different despite being two sides of the saiyan coin and sharing many important things in common.
I hope that sheds a BIT of light on how I see them? There is so much nuance to these characters. I love hearing other people's thoughts too. There are lots of really cool and interesting reads on them that are different than mine. Thanks for the ask!
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lady-eris · 1 year ago
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Hello! I recently found you through your Yandere frieza, and I loved it!
I wanted to ask, if it is part of the request that you're alright in doing, could you do a Yandere Platonic Cold Family (which include of Frieza, Cooler, and King Cold) headcanons or scenario?
I can't decide that maybe the reader could even be saiyan to make it more dramatic or human? It's your choice. Also, you can choose if the reader is an adult or maybe a child or one of each version?
what tags do i put for platonic?
There's so many different ways this can go, so I'm going to do a few different scenario's if you'd like more please say : D, it's amazing. Who was my hardest character to write? Frieza
TW: yandere content, Talk of mutilation, torture and killing, reader being considered an accessory, Shitty parenting, a lot of this is political, such as reader being given to the family for reasons, Talk of political marriage, Slight Blue eye samurai spoilers, Frieza and King Cold consider you as a thing/tool/pet, Talk of potential physical abuse then a actual person General yandere behaviour that is concerning. OOC
how would they behave if you were a Saiyan?
Cooler would be slightly cautious, he knows the damage Saiyans can cause. Sure they tend to be hot headed, but they can be a deadly opponent. With what seems to be an never ending power, that comes with emotions. He'd had someone else cut your tail off, and then comfort you for the next period, carefully stroking skin, whispering in your ear that he'll kill them, and brutally torture them for what they did to his child. He'd then blame it on an enemy of his, and use it as a reason to kill them. In the end you wouldn't know that, he was the one that ordered for your tail to be cut off. Or that the person he killed wasn't really the one that took your tail.
King Cold You were so young, having been given to the Family for more of a status. a little guard dog. Of course you were just a tool, but King Cold, knows how to look after his tools. You are no exception. He can't have you broken now can he? exactly. if his tool is broken then that's no good. a servant, a guard dog, a punisher. all roles you would of had until it mysteriously stopped. Wonder why?
Frieza: Frieza isn't someone you want to make annoyed, he'd consider you a pet. You are nothing more then a pet to him, you're just an endagered pet. or an exotic, this isn't even romantic. He quite literally considers you like a dog or hamster. cute, something to look after.
what if you were actually related to them?
Cooler probably raised you. or raised you for a good part of your life. Despite being your older brother, he'd most likely of had to of been a primary or secondary father figure that raised you. Besides from the servants, and maids that would of played a large part in your life, it would of also been Cooler. this would cause him, to eventually, start to actual love you. Like how a father would love there child. He'd become more overprotective.
King Cold- King Cold Sometimes i feel like his kids are accessories. Yeah sure he loves them, But there extensions of him. an Accessory. What do you do with Accessories? you flaunt them. You are certainly no exception. You'd need to be one of these things. Powerful, smart, Beautiful or influence. If you aren't powerful then that's fine. You can be used for other things. As his youngest, You won't be as well known as Frieza and Cooler, so you probably wouldn't have that much influence. So that leave's two things smarts and Beauty. By smarts, this refers to Battle IQ and deception. If you have this, you'll be more favoured by the more battles you win. What if you don't have any of these besides from beauty? ( Because you're beautiful) Simple. He'd marry you off (in the beginning), What's the point in keeping you around if you can't bring anything to the table? He loves you of course, you're daddy's Prince/Princess, but It's dangerous. So He'll find you a suitable husband, for a political marriage. Spoilers for the blue eyed samurai, in the brackets! (I believe it would have to be something like Akemi and her Father, Where the Akemi pleads with her father that she's scared, that she wants someone like him, and Manipulates him to some degree. in order to avoid marrying for a while? It would be like that reader and King Cold, making King Cold Sympathetic. Of course he'd have to figure out the perfect man, for his baby) Within time, King Cold wouldn't allow other's near his Baby as they aren't as worthy. Congratulations. you've bought some time.
Frieza- Can't see him caring about you much in the beginning, a pest. another person to get in his way, Though you don't seem to be that powerful, so he could simply put you in your place. perhaps, being thrown in the wall will put you in your place? Or perhaps he should wrap his Tail around your neck. Maybe that will get the brain cells working once more. Like the other family member's the more, he looks after you; Is around you he'll start to feel something that may be love (however he wont admit it)
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bahnloopi · 1 year ago
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Your Broly Black ideas inspired me, so here's some random thoughts I had about them:
Broly Black (Z):
Zamasu wished to "Swap bodies with the mortal that hates Son Goku the most", and either just took Broly's body from that world OR Z Broly hated him so much that the Super Dragon Balls pulled him and his body through the multiverse.
Spear for a weapon, perhaps becoming a Trident as he powers up (connotations of Royalty that Zamasu would surely enjoy + the mental image of Black stabbing Trunks with a Trident with an evil grin is powerful)
Would get the most affected by this body's personality, leading to a very spiteful and downright malicious Saiyan that would take more and more joy from his actions as he goes on.
Worst relationship with Immortal Zamasu as the two slowly become different people, maybe culminating in them outright refusing to fuse.
If they did, then Merged Zamasu would end up being so much worse, his body breaking down quicker with cracks breaking into his immortal side aswell. In addition, the immortal body having a way higher capacity alongside way less stability means Merged Zamasu would end up being a bomb when he dies, his overflowing ki risking the whole galaxy.
Rose Legendary would likely fuse into a single aura and form, enhancing all his worst traits as he continues to enhance it. I'd imagine it'd start more lean, slowly growing more Buff until he rips his shirt (reflecting how Zamasu loses himself to his Saiyan side as he connects to the body).
Broly Black (Super):
Zamasu decided to think his wish through more and used the Time Ring to go back in time to watch Gokus major battles, trying to figure out what he had to let him get so far.
And he notices a few things, like Goku using godly techniques (if he would go on to force the knowledge of both techniques from that pitiful "King" Kai, then he would never tell) and Goku beating someone that stole his body already (darn it Ginyu) but, above all else...
He can adapt. He may lose, but he comes back stronger each time. And Zamasu needed to find a way around that.
And so, he wished on Super Shenron to "Swap bodies with the Saiyan with the highest latent potential", giving him the body of Broly.
... shame he has no clue who Broly is, and he won't find Vampa for... a while.
Most affected by the bodies rage, him losing himself into it until he doesn't even care (the whole way he says he has control over it)
His weapon would be something more blunt and martial, such as something simmilar to knuckle dusters or boxing gloves.
Legendary Rose wouldn't be one Merged form as it is too far away from Zamasu's personality to blend easily. Instead, it would be a clash between the two, the Divine simplicity and mortal emotion clashing like trying to hold magnets together.
Gets on well with Immortal Zamasu until he snaps and transforms, fooling only himself when he says that he has control over this brutal form.
Merged Zamasu flat out wouldn't happen, with Zamasu refusing to merge with a berserk Saiyan out of control and instead teaming up with the heroes temporarily to stop Black
Kale Black:
Gonna be honest, can't think of a reason for this one beyond maybe "Zamasu waits a bit, sees the U6 expo / ToP and notices how strong Kale was"
The Most nothing of the Black Beserkers ngl.
Weapon would 10000% be two Great Axes, one over each shoulder.
Could maybe tie the U6 saiyan biology being different into the form, with God Ki manifesting differently in them (alongside Zenkais, with the U6 saiyans likely not needing them as much as our U7 folk and maybe having weaker ones as a result.)
Let me be the one to tell you these are all f i r e headcanons and a great chunk of them are ideas I had myself and I love these. This was what I wanted when I challenged the fandom to write his lore. So good
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xbraveheartx · 1 year ago
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Did anyone else get that feeling that the texture/color of Romeo's hair looked like a bleach job gone wrong?(Unlike P's curly brown locks, which I agree are resistant to fire unlike Romeo getting caught in PK's explossion but my point remains). A healthy number of Lampwick depiction has him with red/auburn hair (wether this is an actual book thing or not I have no idea), so I have this headcanon that while the lamp post jokes never got to him, ginger jokes definitely did
I think I've seen a mention floating around about that! I do like that headcanon, especially with how you explain it with the jokes aimed at him!
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But I'm gonna go with the thought that-- no, I don't think he bleached his hair. I think he really is that blond... His eyebrows look very strawberry blond in this image here, prior to getting cooked over-easy and you can also see his roots are pretty natural looking? With all the detail the devs put into this game, I would assume they would have added some different colored roots to show that sort of thing, but I could also be wrong!
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Also, kinda would be hard to keep up with keeping your roots nice and bleached when the world is dying all around you, y'know? Also, take it from someone who has a lot of red in their hair, and has friends who are redheads: Bleaching wouldn't make it nice and pale like this. It would make it... super saiyan yellow. Cartoonishly yellow. Even if you bleach it repeatedly, it wouldn't be this nice and light!
As for texture, considering he was only created to be used and discarded? I don't think Geppetto cared to put any love and attention to his hair. Just enough to emulate how he used to look, but that's strictly my thoughts and theory, at that point.
REGARDLESS, I adore the idea that he was naturally a redhead and spent so long painstakingly bleaching it! The amount of stories and situations that could come from it, the ideas that are born from it-- I'm all here for it. Give me those fics. That art. Feed my soul with this concept ♡ I love the idea of Carlo finding out his best friend's hair is naturally red and Romeo confiding in him over it, because it's something he's super self conscious over.
Maybe in some stories, he learns to like his natural hair color? ♡ Ugh, the potential. But yeah, these are just my thoughts!!
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generalfandomsofthefreak · 4 months ago
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small headcanon based off a headcanon i had for Goku
Saiyan Warriors have matching earrings with their partners, they're usually small, and would hug the ear if they were longer
this would be to show their connection to someone else, and also not be a danger when fighting, being too small to be something an opponent would bother grabbing, and also less likely to be lost or broken in a fight, which could happen if they wore rings on their fingers
the earrings are made as a set and worn on the same ear for each owner
if a saiyan had multiple partners, they'd have multiple earrings and new ones would be pierced above the others, not really showing off any importance, but more so who was first type thing
low class soldiers would most likely just have simple metallic bands, higher class soldiers would bring back riches to make an earring out of, or simply use earrings taken from defeated people (In such cases, only earrings of like royalty/Nobility would be used, to also show off strength)
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acoldsovereign · 1 month ago
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SAIYAN "HELL" & THE AFTERLIFE.
The Saiyans had their own attached Afterlife prior to the destruction of Planet Vegeta. It was a neutral place for all, regardless of their station in life. Regardless of rank. It worked vastly different from Otherworld in that it was less of a punishment or a reward system and more of a . . . well, white space. That, and it only housed one type of soul--the Saiyans.
The common belief anyway (pre-Colds) was that the Afterlife was for the religious lot. Lesser beliefs were that the Afterlife was for those who turned into Super Saiyans (because of the Goddess Eelnana, who is the Goddess of External Power & Strength) or had the capacity for it spiritually speaking. Even rarer, were atheists who didn't believe in anything, but they existed. Because nobody's died and come back, there's no detailed records of what this Afterlife looked like; there's only guesses, hints, dreams and visions. All contradictory of course. Were there clouds? Is there a sun? Are there seats and benches where all can sit and chat? Is the Goddess up there? Do feelings exist in that realm as they do down on other planets or are they dulled down? What happens to their souls after a disclosed amount of time? Do they have a sort of physical body made out of condensed ki? Nobody knows. It's the equivalent of a fairytale until one gets there.
Post-Cold (and especially during Frieza), the amount of Saiyans that went to Afterlife more than halved. And then it lessened more and more over time. "Hell" became a saying. (It was most likely adopted into their lexicon since the Saiyans had to learn Universal to be part of the PTO).*
*And since it wasn't an original concept they had, it's more than likely that they went to other planets' Hells (if the planet had one).
When Planet Vegeta was destroyed, their Afterlife was destroyed with them. All of those souls are gone. Scattered into the winds. Their collective ki? Poof. Everything the Saiyans believed in was no more, including whatever emerging concept of Hell they might've had.
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galexibrain · 7 months ago
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The Guardians of Otherworld
About 13-15 years ago I started a DBZ fanfic that was called "Guardians of Otherworld".
It started with Goku dying from old age and ending up in the afterlife, where he realized that all his friends and family who died before him - Chichi, Bulma, Vegeta, Krillin ... had been allowed to keep their bodies.
They all live in a giant mansion that looked a lot like Capsule Corp, and the first thing Goku does is eat the food set out on a table. But well, uhm - it was Vegeta's, because now there's TWO people that are still hungry even when dead, and Vegeta's pissed because fucking Kakarot ate his food.
Lord Kaio then explains to him that after Buu they decided they couldn't lose the strength of the last two full-blooded Saiyans in the universe, so Vegeta and Goku get to keep their bodies. And everyone else too, because no one wants to risk leaving Goku and Vegeta alone without at least some distraction lmao.
Bulma tells Goku that she's glad he's finally here because Vegeta who's been dead for ten years, was so bored without a proper opponent to fight that he was absolutely unbearable.
And Vegeta is very excited to show off how strong he's gotten while training in Otherworld ...
In chapter two Goku and Vegeta go to have their big rematch on the world of the Kaioshin, because everything's a mess there after Buu anyways.
They fight, and during this fight Vegeta reveals that he finally achieve SSJ3 in the afterlife, and that this is the whole secret: the vers first transformation to SSJ3 needs so much energy that a living person can't possibly do it. Gotenks was an exception because the rules for a fusion are different.
(Ngl I've kept this headcanon ever since lol]
Anyways, Vegeta defeats Goku in that rematch and he's learned teleportation too from some dead Yardrat peeps.
The fic ends after chapter two and I never picked it up again but here's some highlights:
Bulma is an Otherworld celebrity bc she keeps inventing cool stuff
Vegeta and Goku have to do the dishes together. It ends with them slapping each other with wet dishcloths
Chichi pulls Vegeta back by his tail when he tries to leave the dishes undone
Getting enough food for Vegeta and Goku to Otherworld is a real pain in the ass
Old Kai was against the entire idea of letting them keep their bodies but he's come around since Roshi died. They're besties (guess why)
Goku and Vegeta are constantly fighting over food and turn everything into a competition
It's not very well written but there are some funny bits I have to admit. Lol.
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flingmetothemoon · 9 months ago
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Hello again, do you have any cute Sonikal Headcanon’s?
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Oh hi there! Are you the same Anon who asked about the first kiss? I already appreciate your cute asks! As for your cute Sonikal headcanons, well I have come up with alot of them throughout the years so lemme see what I can do…
~~~~~~~Cute Sonikal headcanons~~~~~~~~
-Here's my possible explanation to the question that has always remained a mystery to me ever since I heard it: Even though she never once introduced herself to him, how did Sonic know Tikal's name? Shortly after Tikal's sacrifice and the birth of Angel Island. The echidna temple was rebuilt to serve as a shrine dedicated to the incident told by witnessing survivors (Makes sense because the temple is inspired by the famous Mayan temple of Tikal). During his early adventure days after meeting Knuckles, Sonic first explored the abandoned Mystic Ruins and heard about the story of a tragedy that fell upon the ancient echidna clan due to the warmongering chief's selfishness and greed and how his daughter sealed herself and the monster in the Master Emerald to stop the destruction.
-Using his ability to channel the M.E.'s power to show people/objects held in the emerald, Knuckles shows Sonic the echidna girl. (Chaos isn't seen because Tikal trapped him in her blue water ring to secure extra escape prevention) Despite essentially being fridged, Tikal actually isn't frozen or disempowered. (She mostly just sleeps when there's nothing else to do) She can still channel the M.E.'s power, transport people/objects and communicate to people And even told Sonic not to rescue her because she fears the destruction that could occur again if she and Chaos were to be set free without plan B.This makes Sonic sad and he often thinks about her even if he doesn't admit it to Tails and Amy. He can't imagine how much Tikal had to sacrifice to stop Chaos from destroying the rest of the world – her freedom, her old friends and family, her opportunity to enjoy life without watching her home turn into a war zone just so everyone else can enjoy those privileges. Not only does she remind him of someone he vaguely remembers in the past, but he also knew what it was like to be confined into stasis for a long period of time due to a tragedy, except she had to go through this ALOT longer. He wants to save her so badly. 😢
-Sonic’s most challenging yet rewarding battle after SA1 is Perfect Chaos. There's not a whole lot to be afraid of when he's basically an invincible Super Saiyan who can easily beat Eggbutt’s robots on a regular basis, but what makes Chaos a unique rival to Sonic before Shadow is the fact that not only is he literally a body of one of his weaknesses: Water, (The fact he is powerful enough to trap him in water and drown him if he can sure as heck doesn't help) but he initially viewed him as another one of those baddies of the week he'll simply kick the butt of as usual, but Tikal, the girl Sonic wanted to help out the most, showed him Chaos was actually that once kind, gentle monster from that historical incident she had to suffer to tame. It was pretty scary for Sonic to tame a literal water God with a whole flood around him, but boy it  was worth it! Now he can rest reassured that Tikal and the calmed down water creature found peace again and can start a new happier life. Now he just makes sure she gets the comfort and new friends and adventures she might need to heal from her trauma at any opportunity he gets.
-Sonic is one of the few modern friends of hers Tikal trusts the most to have a listening ear when she wants comfort when she feels down from her memories of her old life and family she lost so the pain and sorrow inside her wouldn't consume the qualities that made her lovable amongst her former people: Love, joy, kindness & hope. Ever since that day, Sonic was the light to her gloomy darkness. Thanks to him, Tikal doesn’t have to fridge herself or Chaos for another 5000+ years until another madman comes and uses Chaos as a weapon of destruction, she can now have a chance to live a more happier, peaceful life, make herself a new home, make new friends, have new adventures, have more freedom and even be a new hero alongside her light. Tikal is anointed as the new chieftain of her new friends one day much to her surprise and dismay because she now associates a chieftain with her father, who used his position of power to harm others. But Sonic and his other friends reassures her that she'll be a fine chieftain and use her position of power to do good instead of bad, to help those in need and advocate for peace and harmony.
-Even when away from each other, Sonic and Tikal still find ways to communicate with each other from long distances due to their interesting telepathy ability and their creative ways of communicating to the emeralds, particularly when they are relaxing at the end of the day and they don't have anything else to do or anyone else to talk to. Due to their connection to the emeralds’ energy, they can also feel each other's energy when touching each other and feeling a certain emotion. When one is stressed and another is calm and touches the stressed one, the calm, positive energy transmits into the stressed one, and they also calm down. Sonic (Even though he doesn't want to admit it due to him not normally being a physical touchy kind of person) and Tikal likes to hug and hold hands for a reason.
-Tikal didn't really get to explore the world outside of her home place in her life. So for their dates, Sonic takes her to explore a new fun adventure and try new things, whether it's beautiful scenery or a new cuisine. Tikal has a high spice tolerance and loves chili peppers, not only does she like chili dogs as much as Sonic does, maybe it's not spicy enough to her and she often tries to make it spicier by using spices and/or hot sauce. Both her and Sonic often have fun eating spicy food together and watching their less spice tolerant friends suffering. 😂 And they also like to hang out at beaches and the sunflower field of course. They also like to spend a quiet peaceful day together hanging out at a chao garden and parenting the chao as if they're their children. And although Sonic doesn’t want to swim for obvious reasons, he doesn’t mind joining in a pool where Tikal is swimming in long as he simply sits on a stair step where he can still feel a body of water on half of his body while knowing he can easily get out if he starts getting uncomfortable. He surprisingly finds pure peace and serenity when he just chills that way.
-Tikal also sometimes joins Sonic in defending small, helpless critters from Eggman. She despises that guy ever since he fueled her closest friend's anger and used him as a weapon of destruction. Just imagine how she would feel about him when she learns he also takes small, helpless, innocent critters and uses them as machine batteries and pollutes the environment around them. She would not kill him, but she will wreck his replaceable machine's good with her gymnastic warrior moves and her newfounded spiritual powers she can get creative with. Forming orbs with her hands? Fling them as bombs. Wanna create a spiritual border to trap Eggman to keep him from causing trouble? Call this girl. Summoning lightning? Causing stunning earthquakes with a slam of a palm?  Hydrokinesis? Shovel claw whenever Knuckles isn't using it? She got it. Mix that with Sonic’s speed, boosts, spindashes strong enough to create underground tunnels, his super form and whirlwind forming and you sure get one heck of a power couple that gives even Superman and Wonder Woman a run for their money. Whirlwind + Water = Waterspout
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-It took a while for these two to decide to get married due to their own things to do and their own issues to work on. But when Tikal finally uses her position as the new chieftain to propose to Sonic with a golden ring, they come up with a very creative wedding ceremony idea that fits for both of their personalities. Both are a bit introverted, but also like to spend time with their friends and make them feel included in the happy memories, But they're also worried about how Amy would react to Sonic marrying someone who is not her. So for their wedding day, they hosted a “fancy party" and put on a dress and tuxedo respectively, but didn't make them look too obviously like wedding gowns. They had fun food and dancing as usual, but Sonic and Tikal sneaked their vows and the kiss the bride ritual when everyone else isn't looking and then he'll bridal-carry her and run into the night to their honeymoon. Their interactions after their marriage aren’t even that different from their normal interactions. Yes, there’s a few kisses and cuddles here and there (They prefer to kiss and cuddle in isolated areas where it's more intimate for them), but they mostly just keep doing what they’ve been doing.
Welp, that’s all I can think of without letting you wait for my answer for much longer. I hope you enjoy reading my headcanons. Cya next time!
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sweetescapeartist · 2 years ago
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You know, when you think about it, Movies 9 and 13 don't seem to contradict much of anything from Dragon Ball if at all. It's actually one of these thing where people can choose whether it's canon or not. MasakoX even stated that you can make Movie 9 canon and not change much of the plot at all.
You say they "don't seem to contradict much" from the main series continuity. But there are 2 keywords there. "Seem" & "much." Meaning there is some contradiction. Those contradictions are why I dont consider them to be in the main continuity.
Tapion gives Kid Trunks the sword Future Trunks uses to explain how Future Trunks got his sword. Doesn't make sense. (IF I'm remembering correctly. Correct me if I'm wrong.) Plus the battle is never referenced in the main continuity, giving more evidence that it never happened in the main continuity.
Link to the Bojack contradictions here.
Its not if those movies are canon or not; those movies ARE canon. But they ARE NOT canon to the main continuity. They are canon to the Z movie verse; DBZ Movies 1-13 + GT (link here explains why I say so).
I do not take what MasakoX has to say has evidence of anything other than his DBZA influenced headcanons. He is often inaccurate when it comes to DB knowledge. He adds more of his ideas than what the series actually reveals. Even ignoring certain details as many other ppl do. Just because you're popular doesn't mean you are a knowledgeable source of accuracy. Even Geekdom (from what I noticed) gets things wrong but ppl take it as gospel without checking if he's right. Both of them combine the manga & anime continuities as well as ignore innacuracies of Z Bardock to make DBS Bardock look lesser. But many in the fandom don't want accuracy. They want their bias confirmed by popular & influential people. What many of the popular DB YouTubers do is appeal their base and the Saiyan fans of the fandom. Meaning if something is innacurate but still popular within the fandom, they don't go against it. They have innacurate ideas of what Saiyan Pride is despite the series telling us it is pride in their strength but to the degree of arrogance. They look over things the Earthling characters do instead of looking into them like they do for Saiyans, because majority of their fanbase are Saiyan fans. Did you know Krillin has a lot of references to Sun Wukong & its not just the Saiyans? You probably wont hear it from them or others popular in the DB community because Krillin isnt a Saiyan & the fandom has unreasonable hatred for him. Talking about him wouldn't be profitable. There's a reason most of their videos are about Saiyans. There aren't many popular DB YouTubers who are Earthling fans and who talk about Earthlings. DotoDoya is the only popular one I know that is a Krillin fan. The fandom rarely supports non-Saiyan fans & DB influencers rarely support Earthling fans. Instead they usually talk bad about them and insult the characters and/or fans of the characters.
I don't look to many DB YouTubers or influencers for accuracy. Yes, they are right at times, but not always. And if they dont have incentive to give correct info, they wont. Geekdom gives accurate info on a lot of Saiyan stuff, but his info about canon or Earthlings is often innacurate. Like how he downplays feats or goes along with lies about Yamcha because he has a lot of Vegeta fans who watch him & many of them want to hear the lies.
Now if you or anyone else want to see it as canon to the main continuity? I'm not gonna stop you. I only present the facts and evidence of the series. If something doesnt fit within the main continuity, then it fits within a different continuity. But there is so much misinformation and confusion about canon & ppl don't use the term "continuity" often, ppl will constantly be confused. Especially since the DB influencers get the canon stuff wrong or make it confusing. And they dont distinguish between canon & continuity either.
Not saying I know everything, but I try my best to examine the series to understand its continuity & I encourage ppl to fact check me. That helps keep me honest and accurate. But I fact check myself & make corrections when I find out I was wrong about something or I'm informed by other ppl.
I dont like to lie, because keeping up with lies is too much work for me. I like to get the truth and facts. And if I find out I'm wrong about something, then that means I'm just closer to the truth & can make necessary corrections. Being right means you have to be corrected at times.
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spilledbeans116 · 1 year ago
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Just In Case
(Vegeta x Bulma)
Vegeta x Bulma - 5,965 Words - SFW
Fan of Vegeta x Readers? Find an alternate version here! (The first parts match up!)
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This fic is based on a headcanon I have involving the prince and his constant need to wear gloves. I'm putting this here as a side note, but the first chapter is a bit violent. I hope you all enjoy it.
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    Nappa was smiling, as proud as a warrior-nanny could be given the circumstances. Vegeta had aced his first mission under Frieza’s rule without a single hitch, having wiped out an entire planet on his own in just a couple hours. They had hit three more after that, completing twice the work of an adult saiyan could have mustered up. And what, he was only 6? Never before had such latent power been shown in such a young saiyan; his power already rivaled Nappa’s own. On late night’s when the bar was full and Raditz and Vegeta were in bed, Nappa would sit and brag to the other soldiers of Frieza’s army how talented the kid was.
    The bar was dim, the tables around having been emptied as all the patrons gathered around Nappa and listened to his tales. Among them were Ginyu, Burter, and Jeice, all three of whom were rolling their eyes at the display.
    “You should have seen the way he shot through that thing! It was almost three times my size, maybe bigger!” Nappa hiccuped, taking a swig from his mug before slamming his fist on the bar’s counter-top. “It was incredible!”
    From around the corner, a young saiyan who should have been in bed smirked. His smile quickly faltered however, as someone else spoke up.
    “Psh, right,” Ginyu laughed, giving Nappa a shove. “Like a kid could take down one of those on his own. Even Guldo struggles with them!”
    “No, Nappa’s being serious, I saw it myself!” Another soldier yelled, slamming his drink down on the bar. “The kid is a beast! A monster!” 
    Vegeta nodded, crossing his arms and leaning through the doorframe a bit to watch as the older men debated his feats.
    At that Ginyu and Burter laughed, “please! He’s an ape!” Ginyu snorted. “You think that monkey could actually do that on his own? He’s weak, just like his old man. Maybe he got lucky, but nothing more than that.”
    Vegeta clutched his cape and held it at his sides, his anger overtaking him as he fought not to run in there and sucker punch Ginyu in the face; he had already learned once that it wasn’t a good idea, and wouldn’t make an idiot of himself again. Ginyu didn’t believe he could do that? Didn’t think that Vegeta could fight his own battles or overtake a stronger opponent? Fine. He would prove he could; he would show everyone exactly what he could do. And he wouldn’t stop until they believed him.
    Months had passed, but for Vegeta, time moved strangely. It felt fleeting and yet too long at the worst of times. Then again, he was still only a child. He had already gotten stronger, not that anyone but Raditz or Nappa noticed and he didn’t give a damn what they thought. Each day and night was the same, he was degraded by the Ginyus to his face and behind his back. His family was gone, his home was gone, and his race was all but eradicated. He was the last remaining saiyan royal and ruled over two; he wasn’t the strongest on the ship nor was he even close to beating Frieza… yet. That day would come, he reassured himself. Until then he was destined to be miserable, to spend everyday fighting to be better only to get no recognition from anyone. That much responsibility and pain weighing down on a child surely wasn’t healthy, especially not when they were forcing themselves to do even more than everyone else.
     Vegeta couldn’t keep track anymore of how many planets he had slaughtered. Their cries of mercy fell on deaf ears. At night, he had nightmares about the faces of those that had met their end in his hands. He wondered who they were, what lives they lived. He was doing to them what had happened to his own home. He tossed and turned each night, enough for Raditz to complain to Nappa that it was keeping him awake.
    Soon he turned 7, still a child in the eyes of a saiyan. I’m the eyes of anyone, really. After each fight he felt dirtier and dirtier, and visited the showers once, twice, three times a day. The soldiers on the ship joked that the prince was a germaphobe. He was too royal for their peasant germs. He was killing without purpose, without a fight and the guilt was eating away at him slowly, crumbling his sanity with each life he took. He was 8 when it happened.
    Nappa was heading to the bar before he stopped. Something in him, some primal, strange instinct, told him to go to the boys room. He rushed down the halls and to their room, where Raditz was snoring loudly with his arm draped across his face. Vegeta, however, was gone. He couldn’t ask anyone else if they had seen him, as he’d surely be punished for roaming parts of the ship he shouldn’t without Nappa present.
    Vegeta had gotten back late from a mission and decided to go take a shower. His body was covered in blood, none of which was his own. He watched as the red water swirled down the shower drain and slowly became pink, scrubbing his body with a bar of soap as he grunted to himself. Arms, chest, legs, feet, tail, and finally his hands. He lathered the soap between them, watching the bubbles form up and over his hands before rinsing them off in the water. To his surprise, the water revealed the blood was still there.
    “Damn shit must have stained them,” he huffed, turning off the water and drying himself with a towel. He quickly wrapped it around his waist and made his way to the sinks, grabbing his toothbrush and lining it with toothpaste. Until he saw his hands again. No longer tinted red, they were coated in blood. The fur on the end of his tail began to spike as he stared at it, quickly flipping them around to see if he had any open wounds. He ran the water and shoved his hands under it, scrubbing at the blood to get it off. 
     “What the hell!” He snapped, watching as nothing changed. He began to scratch at it, trying to peel it off to know avail. He hissed as he turned the water up, the heat becoming blistering hot as he started to claw at his own hands in a desperate attempt to get the blood off of himself.
    “Why isn’t it coming off!” He yelled, starting to get louder and louder as he grew more desperate. He felt filthy as his consciousness weighed down on him, his sleep deprived body and nightmarish life finally getting the better of him. “Get it off me!”
     Nappa knew he had to be in the showers, as it was the only place the kid ever went to when he wasn’t in the dining halls or his room. With how late it was, the dining halls would have closed ages ago. As he made his way down the corridors of the ship he could hear something. It was quiet at first, but slowly became louder and louder as he got closer to the men's showers. He could hear Vegeta, screaming out in pain. Nappa shot off and slammed through the door to the bathroom, following the sounds of the hysterical screaming until he found the prince by the sinks. Vegeta was sobbing, hands burnt red from the water. 
    “The hell has gotten into you!” Nappa yelled, ripping him away from the sink. He was going to scold the prince when he saw the claw marks all over his hands. Vegeta tried to shove him away, crying out for Nappa to let go of him but it all sounded like gibberish to the older saiyan. 
     “What are you doing!” Nappa yelled at him as Vegeta slammed a hand against his face, trying to make his way back to the sink. “You’re hurting yourself, what are you doing!”
    “I CAN’T GET IT OFF!” Vegeta screamed between sobs. “MY HANDS! THEY’RE COVERED IN BLOOD I CAN’T GET IT OFF!”
    “Vegeta there is no blood!” Nappa yelled, grabbing his wrists and holding him still. “But there’s going to be if you keep tearing at your skin!”
    “DON’T TOY WITH ME NAPPA JUST GET IT OFF ME! PLEASE I CAN’T- I CAN’T DEAL WITH THIS PLEASE JUST GET IT OFF!”
    Nappa grabbed the prince and his clothes, clamping a hand over his mouth as he ran out of the bathroom and back towards his room. Vegeta dug his nails into the flesh of Nappa’s hand, sinking his fang’s into Nappa’s palm as the older saiyan grunted in pain. Vegeta was still trying to scream but Nappa’s hand remained firm, refusing to let anyone see the prince like this. The door to Nappa’s bedroom slammed shut as he locked it and tossed the prince on the bed, who immediately tried to book it back out the door. Before he could grab the doorknob, Nappa was in front of him, blocking his escape in the dark room. Vegeta beat his fists against Nappa’s chest, trying and failing to shove him out of the way. Nappa knelt down, taking Vegeta’s hands in his before sliding a pair of white gloves over them.
    “Look! There’s no blood! Now please Vegeta quit it!” He turned the prince’s hands over slowly, showing that nothing had seeped through. “See? You’re fine!”
    Vegeta glanced down, a sniveling mess as he turned his hands over on his own and studied the gloves. They were white, pristine, new, and soft. They cooled his burning hands and the silken fabric felt nice against the cuts he had created. “Th-there’s no more b-blood?”
    “None, Vegeta. There isn’t any blood. Okay?”
    Vegeta nodded as Nappa stood up slowly, making his way to his cabinet and pulling out gauze and ointment. He applied it to his palm first after cleaning it with a towel, Vegeta’s fangs having taken quite the chunk out of his skin. Then he bandaged it, sliding his gauntlets on over after so the prince wouldn’t see the reddish hue that would seep out soon enough. After tossing the towel, he made his way back over to Vegeta, who had calmed down remarkably and yet was still standing in the same spot Nappa had left him. He was staring at his hands, eyes lidded as sleep finally began to overpower him. Nappa grabbed him under his armpits and lifted him over to the bed, setting him down and getting the ointment ready. As he began to pull off Vegeta's gloves, the prince started screaming again, kicking Nappa away and tugging them back down.
   “NO!” He cried out. “NO YOU CAN’T TAKE THEM OFF!”
    “DAMN IT VEGETA I NEED TO MAKE SURE THOSE SCRATCHES DON’T GET INFECTED!”
    “NO! I’M YOUR PRINCE, I DEMAND YOU WILL NOT TAKE THESE OFF! EVER!”
     “Vegeta,” Nappa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You can’t keep them on forever you’ll have to-”
    “I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!”
    “Vegeta I swear to-”
    “THAT’S AN ORDER NOW DROP IT!” Nappa didn’t say anything after that, handing the prince his pajamas and turning away. Vegeta changed quickly, grunting when he was done. Nappa frowned at the sight of the prince wearing gloves with his pajamas, but chose not to push it further. They’d deal with it in the morning and go to see the doctor then as well. 
    “Do you want me to walk you back to your-”
    Vegeta was quick to cut him off, voice trembling as he ran his hands together in his lap. “Can I stay here tonight?” His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper as he refused to meet Nappa’s eyes. Nappa looked down at the prince, an ache in his chest as he stared at the child that was forced to carry so much; but he was just that, a child. He shouldn’t have had to do any of this, not until he was much, much older. He should have been in the palace right now, spending each day training under his father to be the next king, not turned into a killing machine by a freak that regarded them as nothing.
    “Of course, your highness. You can stay here for the night.” Nappa quickly went and changed into his sleep shorts, scooting Vegeta over enough so he could fit along with him on his bed. The prince held his arm tight, body trembling as Nappa laid awake, staring at the ceiling, trying to piece together whatever the hell had just happened. Even after Vegeta had finally dozed off, Nappa remained awake, unsure with what to do with the prince.
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    As time went on, Vegeta learned to live with it the best he could. The cuts he had caused on himself that night healed over, leaving small scars to forever remind him of his own shame and guilt. The blood he saw on his hands never went away after that. With time he was able to remove his gloves, but only for short periods before he’d quickly slip them back on.
     After everything that happened on Earth, after what he did to Nappa, it was as if he was a kid again. The gloves would not come off. Ever. He had killed the man who gave them to him, who had tried to shield him from himself. For what? A power move? Now he was living in some Earth woman’s home, after embarrassing himself in front of Frieza and a low level saiyan piece of scum. He slaughtered the Ginyu force, which was a bit of a two edged sword for him. Kakarot was gone at who knows where and he was stuck here, failing to do anything substantial. He had truly lost all meaning to his life.
     The gravity chamber the blue haired woman had helped build was where he spent most of his time. It gave him a break from dealing with everyone, including her. She was the most confusing out of everyone there was on this idiotic planet. He could never get a proper read on her. She wasn’t like any woman he had spoken to before. He didn’t like to dwell on what he thought of Bulma, and unfortunately found himself thinking of the damned woman during training.
    He had put his hand up to guard his face at the last moment as the battle bot shot at him, successfully blocking it but not without slight damage to his glove. There, on his right hand, was a clean tear.
    “Shit!” He yelled. “Damn it damn it damn it!” He blew the robot to bits before it could do anymore damage, throwing on his shirt and making his way back towards Bulma’s house. He felt sick as he glanced down at it, the deep red shade staring back at him.
    He made his way in through the back door, speed walking through the living room and down the hallway to where his bedroom was located. He didn’t have spares, he had never needed a spare. He searched around for anything that could be used as a makeshift glove. He ripped apart shirts and tried to cover it to no avail, too stressed to tie the knots properly with one hand. He shoved the fabric under the glove, only to rip it further. “Shit!”
     He didn’t know how to sew, he was a prince for the Gods’ sakes. He felt sick at the idea of what he was going to have to do but quickly realized there was no other option. He was going to have to ask for help.
     Bulma was in her lab, a sweaty mess as she tinkered with the broken training bot that lay before her on her work desk. Her hair was glued to her skin and she sighed, wiping her forehead with her arm and setting down the wrench that was in her hand. Her yellow overalls hung off her arms as she attempted to cool herself off, her white crop top sticking to her body. She pushed out her desk chair, rolling and spinning across the room to her fridge. She opened it and pulled out a can of beer, pulling the tab and cursing as it foamed up and over her hands. She licked it off quickly before shaking out her hand and wiping it on her pants. She’d call someone in to clean up what had spilled on the floor later.
     Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out, glancing over the text from Yamcha as she took a sip. “Caught up with some friends, will get there when I can.” She rolled her eyes, shoving it back in her pocket and not bothering to give a response. She didn’t know what to make of her weird situation-ship with him, but she did know that this was one of the reasons they weren’t actually dating. He was just too immature sometimes for her to handle. Canceling plans last minute, leaving her waiting for him to show up; she deserved better than that. She deserved a prince.
     She laughed at that, shaking her hand and taking another drink before rolling her chair back to her desk. She had a prince living with her, and it was nothing like what she pictured. Sure, he was handsome and strong, but he was more of a pain in the ass than anything. She wanted to feel like a princess, not a maid. Yet here she was, cleaning up another one of his messes. She began to reconnect some of the wires in the bot before she paused. The sound of boots stomping their way into her lab made her roll her eyes long before he even began to speak.
    “Woman!” As charming as ever she noted. “Woman! Where the hell are you!”
    “In here your royal highness,” she huffed, picking up a screwdriver and unscrewing a latch in the machine. Oil sprayed out and covered her hands before she yelled and covered it with a rag. She sighed as the oil pooled around the table, the rag only soaking up half of it. “Damn it!”
    Vegeta came to a halt in the doorway of the lab, arms crossed as he looked her over. She was a dirty mess, grease stains coating her clothing and her hair curling up slightly from the humidity of the lab. He frowned. “You look like shit.”
    She spun around to face him, crossing her arms and glaring at him. “So do you.” Her eyes glanced over his form, noting the burns and tear marks in his blue one-piece outfit. “I just made you that suit, how is it already torn up?”
    He bristled, the hairs on the back of his neck beginning to stand on end. “It’s not my fault it’s shitty material.”
    “Maybe you’re just bad at dodging.”
    “You’re ridiculous! Do you know how annoying-”
    She rolled her eyes again, turning back to her work as she removed the rag and tried to mop up the rest with a clean one. “What do you want, Vegeta? I’m busy.”
    “How dare you cut me off!” He snapped. He stomped over to her, slamming his hand down on the table. She didn’t look up. “Who the hell says I need anything from you!”
    “Why else would you be here?” The two rags were tossed in the bin by her feet haphazardly, flicking oil on the prince’s boots. His nose crinkled up as he leaned against the desk and once again crossed his arms.
     “I destroyed another one of those robots.”
    Now it was her turn to get upset, slamming her hands down on the table and standing up abruptly, startling the prince. “Are you kidding me! So what, you need a new suit and new training aids?”
     “Maybe if you built them stronger I wouldn’t have to keep coming into this mess of a lab and telling you to make more!”
    She took a step towards him, jabbing a finger into his chest, “maybe if you weren’t such a dick you could realize that’s what I’m trying to do! These materials don’t just grow on trees!”
    He didn’t like how he felt as he tried to hold her gaze. He didn’t like how he felt with her standing so close to him either. He could practically feel her breath against his face as she spoke, and those eyes; it sent a chill down his spine. He turned away completely, huffing as he continued, “whatever! That’s not even why I came in here!”
    “Then get to the point so you can leave!”
     He began to fidget with his glove on his right hand before glancing at Bulma over his shoulder. “I need you to fix my glove.”
    “Done. I’ll make a new pair in a day or two now can you please-”
    “No, I said you need to fix it. Not replace it.”
    She groaned, running a hand through her hair and leaving oil streaks, “fine! Just leave it on the desk and I’ll get to it!”
    “I need it done today. Now.” He grunted.
    Bulma stomped her foot, “what do I look like to you!”
    Vegeta turned, running his eyes over her before once again meeting her gaze. His tone was cold as he looked at her with a bored expression. “Do you want my honest answer?”
    That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. “That’s it! Find someone else to help you, I’m done!” She shoved the chair back into the desk, making her way past him and to the bathroom down the hall. He ran after her, shouting all the while.
    “Woman stop!” She did not. “I’m serious, would you just wait a minute!” The door to her bathroom slammed shut, locking behind her with a click as Vegeta banged his fist against it. “Open the door this instant woman!”
     Bulma turned on the sink and lathered her hands and arms with soap before scrubbing off all the oil and grime from her work in progress. She pretended she couldn’t hear the prince as he had his little temper tantrum outside the door. She splashed the water over her face next, drying it off with the hand towel hung up on the rack beside her. She glanced at herself in the mirror, her hair still a mess but at least she didn’t feel as gross. She’d have to take a shower later to get the rest of it off. Suddenly the prince was quiet, and she smirked as she realized he must have left. However, she would have been wrong.
    “Please, woman. I need your help.” His tone was quiet, so quiet she thought she might have misheard him. Perhaps she was hallucinating. She opened the door suddenly, spooking Vegeta for the second time today. He was close, and she could smell the sweat on him each time she breathed in. Somehow, she didn’t mind it. She liked being this close to him.
    “What did you just say?” He couldn’t meet her eyes.
    “Don’t make me repeat it,” he grumbled. “It’s already embarrassing enough.”
    “Come on, I keep my sewing kit in my room.” She brushed past him, a shiver running up both their spines from the contact as her bare arm brushed against the tears in his suit. Both, of course, ignored it. Vegeta walked with his hands by his sides before quickly tucking his hands under his arms again in his typical fashion.
    She glanced over her shoulder at him, frowning slightly at how disheveled he looked. Was it because he had pleaded for help? When he noticed her staring, his ears flushed. “What the hell are you looking at!”
    She shrugged, “I’m not used to this side of you. I’m committing it to memory so I remember you have a soul sometimes.”
    “Oh you shut it!” Her overalls were practically falling off her waist now, and the prince found it hard to concentrate on anything besides her hips. Just another thing to distract him during training. He grumbled a couple curse words under his breath as she stopped to open the door to her room. Stepping inside, the place was a wreck. Random items strewn about the floor, a mix of papers, gadgets, trash, and so much else. Her bed wasn’t made and a pile of laundry sat in the corner. Somehow, it was fitting.
    “Your room is disgusting. How do you live like this?”
   Bulma shrugged. “You keep me busy enough that I don’t have time to do much else. Besides, most nights I sleep in the lab.”
    Vegeta made a face as he stood in the doorway and leaned against the frame, “is it really my fault?”
    She raised an eyebrow as she rummaged around through her desk drawers, kicking aside a pile of magazines to get to it. “No Vegeta, I’m just joking with you.”
    “I thought you had maids?”
    “I don’t like them messing with my stuff. It’s… organized chaos.” She offered.
    “I agree with the chaos part.” He huffed and looked at her walls as she bent over, studying the posters she had pinned up everywhere.
    “You can come inside you know,” she chuckled, pulling the kit out and setting it on the table. “You can take a seat on my bed. I don’t want you hovering over me while I work.”
    “I don’t hover!” He snapped, floating off the floor to avoid stepping around the mess entirely before sitting on the very edge of the bed. Beside him lay a bra, which he quickly covered with the bedsheet before he began to turn pink. Bulma giggled at his reaction as he began to turn more red. “What are you laughing at!”
    “You. Has the mighty prince Vegeta never seen a bra before?” She snorted, threading the needle and turning on her desk lamp.
    “Why the hell do you care!” He replied. “Of course I have! Tons even!”
    “Mhm, sure,” Bulma snickered. “Alright, now pass me the glove.” Vegeta stuck out his hand and Bulma set the needle on the desk. “No, seriously. Hand me the glove.”
    “You can work on it like this,” he replied, glancing at the tear before quickly turning away. He seemed pale now.
    “Vegeta, I’m not great with sewing and I will stab you repeatedly with this needle. Give me the glove.”
    “You’re a woman! How are you bad at sewing?”
    “WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN!”
    “DON’T YELL AT ME!”
    “This was a mistake,” Bulma snapped, starting to stand up. “I agree to help you and for what! For you to treat me like shit? You asked me for this, you dingus! I’m choosing to do this! Just like I choose to let you live here! Like I choose to feed you, clothe you, and give you a little playroom like a stray cat! Even though you ruin all my shit and treat everyone like trash! If you don’t want my help, for fuck’s sake get out!”
    For the first time ever, Bulma witnessed a look of shock take over the prince’s features. His eyebrows were raised as he stared at her, finally speechless. She felt bad for yelling at him but she needed to get it off her chest. Before she could say anything else, she was surprised to feel the glove slapping into her face before falling in her lap. “YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO THROW IT AT ME!”
    “JUST HURRY UP AND FIX IT!” He shouted back, shoving his hand under his armpit as he began to tap his foot anxiously. She was going to comment on that but shook her head, grabbing the needle and getting to work. The faster she was done, the faster he would leave.
    Vegeta found himself focusing on her to help calm his nerves. He watched the way thin strands of her hair would fall in front of her face before she quickly tucked them back behind her ear. Or how beautiful she looked as she concentrated on patching up the glove, biting her lip occasionally before she would relax again. Something about her drew him to her, and he hated how his heart raced when she was around. Suddenly she was speaking to him, bringing him back from his thoughts.
    “It’s done,” she said as she tossed it back to him. He grabbed it quickly and immediately slid it on before opening and closing his hand a few times to ensure it wouldn’t tear again. He couldn’t even tell where it had been, and sighed as he spread out his arms and flopped back into her bed. She scooted over to him in her chair, bumping his knee with hers. “A thank you would have been nice.”
     Vegeta remained silent, shutting his eyes and ignoring what she had said. Her eyes softened as she stared at him and wondered what he was thinking. “So what’s the deal with the glove?” She asked quietly. 
    When she didn’t answer again she sighed, standing up and turning to walk out. “You can stay here as long as you need to then. I’m gonna go take a sh-”
    A firm and yet gentle grip took hold of her wrist and she froze, glancing back to see the prince was once again sitting up straight. His eyes were pleading as he spoke, “please don’t leave.”
    She nodded, surprised at how gentle he was with her. She sat back down and crossed her legs before he let go of her wrist. He leaned forward, his elbows against his legs as he clasped his hands together. He looked down at them, hunched over as he thought of what to say.
   “Ever since I was a kid,” he started, voice so low and deep it sent a shiver up her spine. “I have been a killing machine. It’s what I was made for and it’s all I’ve ever known.” He looked to Bulma for reassurance before she nodded. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t have many memories of my father, and the ones that I do have are… complicated. Nappa raised me, if you could even call it that. Raditz was more of a nuisance than anything. Our goal was to survive, and one day I wanted to become powerful enough to beat Frieza. What a joke” He scoffed, shaking his head and looking back to the floor.
     “At first, taking lives was easy for me. I was doing nothing more than what I was assigned; I started to do more, go beyond what was required of me. The only one to praise me was Nappa, and even then it was never to my face. I was ridiculed and mocked, but it only pushed me farther, to do better. It was never what I wanted, but more so what needed to be done.”
    He didn’t know why the hell he was telling her this; he had never told anyone this. And yet now it was as if he couldn’t stop, he couldn’t shut his mouth long enough to think about what he was doing. “What was once hundreds went to thousands, then millions. I was eradicating races in the blink of an eye. Soon they weren’t just obstacles to me, but people with faces and lives I had ripped away from them. I had so much blood on my hands; I still have blood on my hands. So much blood that I will never, ever be able to get off.”
    He opened and closed his hands once more, the sounds of the fabric shifting in his grip. “I’m not a good man. Hell, I've never claimed to be one. But now Frieza is gone and it feels like everything I’ve done, everything I worked towards for years, was for nothing. The things I see in my sleep, what I feel when I’m awake, what I’ve gone through was for nothing.” He stopped for a moment, voice and tone becoming so quiet and serious Bulma couldn’t believe it was the same person who had spoken to her just minutes ago. “I haven’t been able to look at my hands the same way since I was a child.”
     He finally looked up at her, his eyes lidded as he smirked. That’s when she realized he was on the verge of tears. “Do you know how sad that is? A beast scared of his own damned hands. I’m a damn disgrace to my people.” He laughed after that, wiping his eyes and setting his hands back down. “Look at me, a prince crying in front of a damn lower life form.”
     She reached out hesitantly, tapping his hand with her fingers apprehensively. When he didn’t pull away she continued, scooting closer to him and pulling his hand up to lay between them both.
   Bulma carefully ran her hand over his, sliding her fingers up and under the glove before pulling away slowly. She looked at him again, waiting for him to react or move away, to tell her to stop. Vegeta shut his eyes tight but didn’t pull away, his face pale as she set his glove carefully in her lap. To her surprise, his skin was soft, with hers perhaps being even rougher than his. Then again, she supposed that made sense if the saiyan never fought without them and she only worked with her bare hands.
    She traced her nails gently over his palm, studying the grooves in his skin and how neatly trimmed his nails were. “Well,” she started slowly, his breathing coming to a pause. “I don’t see any blood now.”
    Vegeta opened his eyes slowly, looking at her face carefully as she studied his hand. She was so delicate with him it made his breath hitch in his throat. 
    “Sure, maybe there was a lot there in the past, but not anymore. You can’t change what happened, but you can acknowledge it and move on, try to do better this time around.”
     When Vegeta looked at his own hand, he almost gasped in shock. It was his hand, as normal as any other. He looked back to Bulma as she ran her thumb over top of his, gently moving her hand back and forth from his wrist to his knuckles.
     “You haven’t done good things, Vegeta. But I don’t think you’re a bad person. I think you need time and care to heal, and the first step towards that was acknowledging what we talked about today.” She paused, thinking carefully over her next choice of words before smiling softly. “I think there’s good in you. No, I know there is.”
    He watched the way her hair tumbled down and around her face, and how gentle her stare seemed to be. She wasn't repulsed or disgusted, but caring and considerate. He felt a blush rise first to the tips of his ears and then his cheeks before he pulled his hand away and slid his glove back on. He stood up after that, walking briskly across the room without turning back. He unlocked the door and opened it, pausing to think for a moment. Then, he made his way down the hall, wondering what the hell had just come over him as his heart raced out of control.
    A few days later he came home to find a second pair of gloves folded neatly on his bed along with a note, “just in case <3.” His face flushed as he went to crumple it up, but upon reading it just one more time, he found he couldn’t. He shoved it in the drawer of his bedside table, grumbling under his breath as he left to go train.
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