So Momo, you mentioned before that Vegeta has complicated feelings about his race. What are they of exactly? Does he mourn the Saiyans being gone? Does he not care? Does he miss the role he was supposed to fulfill as prince, and eventually king? Are there other, obscure factors at play? Do tell, if you want to 👀
[Bless u Nebula for giving me a platform to discuss why I think Vegeta is more complex than we usually get to see.
This got long, so under the cut lmao
To start with the topic at hand, ideas of celebrating the Saiyans makes him itchy because it brings up all his repressed, complicated feelings about his race, most potently just the fact that they're dead. Thus, celebrating something like Saiyan day sounds really stupid to him. But I will try to delve into the depths of those feelings here and address your questions. And maybe some other thing if my mush brain can manage it.
Even though Vegeta has made callous comments about his races demise, up to and including basically suggesting they "deserved it" because they were to weak to stop it, this is all just posturing on his part. An attempt to act strong and unaffected in front of others, especially Nappa and Raditz who he was the sole monarch to after their planet was destroyed. It was also a way for him to cope that was easier for him since that was basically the Saiyan mentality: the strong survive, the weak don't. He just...tries not to think about the fact that the three of them were simply lucky to have been off planet. That they would be space dust with the rest of them if not for that simple fact. Most people, including Nappa and later Raditz, likely see through this, but they don't really dare to correct him. These days, he doesn't say these kinds of things; he's not trying to fool himself anymore, in other words.
That said, he does still mourn the loss of the Saiyans and his home. In truth, this is the first time in his life he's had the chance to, and parsing through it all has been an ongoing process. He won't admit to it or do it openly because of how he was raised, and might even suggest that he doesn't care anymore, but he definitely does mourn them.
As for missing his role as prince/king...I'm not sure if that's the way to word it exactly. In a sense, he didn't really want to be king because the role meant he would be stuck planetside more often than he would like. However, ruling the Saiyans was still his birthright, and it was one he wanted to SOME degree in that sense. It is still complicated though because, on one hand, he does feel he was denied that birthright and all that came with it. But at the same time, it's hard for him to care with the entire race he was meant to rule is dead + depression. So basically, he didn't necessarily want to rule, but that was still supposed to be HIS right.
Additionally, Vegeta feels he failed his people. He failed to save them, even if he was a kid. He failed Nappa and Raditz, the last two Saiyans he knew of before meeting Goku, even if that was partially his own fault for his callous behavior arguably learned from Frieza to certain degrees (I need to write about this again akdfjkladf). He basically feels like a failure who doesn't deserve his title as prince and, on the worst days, doesn't feel he deserves to call himself a Saiyan at all because he's sure his ancestors would be disappointed in him, what happened, and who he became.
The irony in all this is that, even if he were presented with the ability to revive them...it wouldn't be an easy yes for him (as seen in a thread I had long ago with @earthforsaken :'3). On the one hand, it's been so long. The nihilist in him thinks it would be pointless. He sees nothing good coming from reviving them and their planet. It's also about that last point of feeling like a failure. That he wouldn't live up the the high expectations the Saiyans had for him, especially since he had been beaten by Goku, a Saiyan of a lower class. He carries a lot of shame in himself, and he's certain he would see that reflected in his dead race's eyes. He isn't sure he could face that after decades of beating HIMSELF up over it all.
Overall, he is proud of his race. He's proud to call himself a Saiyan for the most part on most days. But between mourning them finally and his own perception of himself in regards to their demise and the like, things become a lot less rosy. He's working on it, on feeling that pride without the baggage attached, but it's not easy for him to do.]
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Currently thinking about how much Ford tries to hide his hands a lot when he can…behind his back with this stance. Due to how often he’s been bullied for it.
And also, how Mabel is one of the ones who Ford feels happy about showing his hands to because she thought they were cool looking upon first shaking his hand, instead of him being judged for his six fingers.
[ID: Gravity Falls screenshots. The first three are of Ford with his hands crossed behind his back. The last two are of him shaking hands with Mabel, and letting her paint a turkey on his hand. He's smiling in both. End ID.]
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