The update is going up in ten minutes. This update has some shit. If you are not equipped to deal with shit tonight, I encourage you to wait until tomorrow. Do not burn down my thread.
The update is going up in ten minutes. This update has some shit. If you are not equipped to deal with shit tonight, I encourage you to wait until tomorrow. Do not burn down my thread.
[X] Actually, Lord Vegeta has the authority to say whether his son can fight or not, even sealed. And with the secret of Ki out, we can simply talk directly to him. Ask Valentine Somerlad for permission to train his son in how to fight.
A Plate Drops
You want to stick it to Dandeer.
You really want to stick it to Dandeer. You want it so bad. But...
...you blink, just on the verge of asking Jaron to let you talk to his Mom. You don't want to do this without clearance -- the fallout would be legendary.
But...Dandeer's authority to deny Jaron combat training stems purely from her position as Lady Vegeta. Well, also from her position as his parent, but at this point, with everything else you're doing, it'd be farcical to pay that the slightest amount of credence. But in terms of politics, her place as Regent is all that gives her a voice.
And from where exactly does her authority come?
* * *
The door opens, and you grin, arms behind your back. "Hello, Mister Somerlad!"
The man blinks, looking down. "Oh, hi! Karen, right?"
"She's been over before, Dad," says Jaron, trying to sidle past his father.
"Yeah, but you and your friends are always down in the basement," he replies, snagging his son for a hug. "C'mon, some day soon you won't let me have any of these."
Jaron turns beet read and stands there, stiff. "Yeah, well..." he says, trying not to look at anybody.
After a moment, his father releases him with a chuckle. "Yeah, I remember when I was your age. Come in, come in!" He steps aside, and the two of you enter his home. "You two hungry? Doreen's off with her friends, but I'm pretty sure we have some snack food in here."
"We already ate," mutters Jaron, shuffling into the room.
You fight to keep the bright smile plastered to your face. You...haven't interacted with Valentine Somerlad much. At all.
The last you remember seeing of him was him in his Masque, blank-faced by his wife's side. Before that? Him blasting Jaffur nearly to death.
So seeing him like this definitely throws you for a loop. He's...he's just...
...he's just so cheerful.
You feel your smile starting to slip. You can't keep this up. You let it fall and step forward. "We actually wanted to talk to you about something," you say.
He goes still for a moment before turning, a rueful smile on his face. "I figured this'd be coming. Come on, let's go into the family room." He leads the two of you to a large room filled with couches, chairs, a table, and a TV. "Have a seat," he says, sitting down in an armchair. "I'm guessing that this is about what happened at your school."
"It is," you say, tucking your hair behind your ear. "It's about what happens now, actually."
Valentine's eyes flicker between you and his son. "...Jaron's mother and I have talked with him about what happened on his end," he says. "He told us that you said he needed to learn how to control all of this...this."
"I did," you say. You can't quite hide an expression of relief. It wasn't pleasant, realizing that Jaron may not have been honest with you about what permission he did and didn't have.
He notices. He scowls, folding his arms. "I don't lie."
"I know!" you say, flushing at being so easily caught out. "I just- it's just good to..." you wilt slightly at the continued glare, rubbing at the back of your head. "...yeah, never mind."
Valentine snorts. "No, he asked. About the only time I've seen him argue with us. Doreen was...very against it." He glances at his son. Jaron looks away.
"It's the only safe thing," you say.
"You don't have to convince me," says Valentine. "You don't have to convince her. Jaron already did."
You blink. "I. Right. Um." This is a weird feeling. "Anyway, we're here to talk about something else." You straighten. "Jaron told you what happened?"
Valentine nods, clearing his throat. "I'm been trying to get in touch with Brandon for weeks to talk about what happened, but he's been busy. I guess talking to the leaders of the whole world isn't a quick thing to set up."
You chuckle. "It's...not. He's really busy lately." You sigh. "Jaron and I fought the aliens' leader together. And...he had a camera on him. It was transmitting back to his fleet."
"Jaron told us all of this," says Valentine, leaning forward. "It's why I want to talk with your father. I need to know my son will be safe, when the rest of them come."
You force yourself to meet his gaze. It's Valentine, not Vegeta. It's Valentine, not Vegeta. "I'm actually here because I think I can help with that," you say.
Less than a mile away, you feel Lady Dandeer's ki pulse once into the double digits, shock and anger lancing through her presence.
You think she heard you. She's coming closer.
You start talking faster. "My people are going to be fighting to keep the aliens away, but we can't promise that none will get through. The leader -- his name is Tamar -- will be coming after Jaron and me. I'll do what I can to keep him safe, but-"
"I don't want you to have to keep me safe," he growls, crossing his arms.
You're guessing that Dandeer is trying to extricate herself from her friends, because she isn't already at the door. Still, you feel another bolt of panic from her.
"Jaron, you're only thirteen," says Valentine.
"And Karen's only twelve!" snaps Jaron.
"I'm stronger than you by a lot," you say, scowling at your friend.
"Well, yeah, but I- I don't-" He closes his eyes and takes a breath. "...people are coming who are going to be stronger than either of us. You're going to have enough to deal with taking care of yourself. I don't want you to have to take care of me too." He looks at his father. "I want Karen to teach me how to fight with ki. I don't want to be dead weight when the rest of them come. I don't want anybody to have to get hurt because I could have been able to fight, and I didn't try. I want to be able to make a difference."
Valentine looks at his son with a look you don't quite recognize. "Your mother is going to be so proud of you," he says -- whispers, nearly.
You feel a bolt of fury and despair from Dandeer.
Valentine breaks eye contact and clears his throat again. "I can't promise anything myself," he says. "Jaron, your mother and I are a team. I can't just make promises like this for the both of us. But...I agree with you. I don't want to see you getting into things -- never that -- but if it's just a matter of knowing how to stay safe...well, I'll do whatever I can to convince your mother."
Dandeer must manage to get clear of her friends, because that is when she arrives. Quietly -- so quietly you're sure only you can hear it -- she slumps against the door.
Maybe if she were just any other human housewife, she could get away with fighting her husband tooth and nail on this.
But she is the Lady Vegeta.
And the Scion of Goku just heard Lord Vegeta proclaim that he would like his son to be trained.
She can't dare refuse you now.
The door opens. Valentine looks past the two of you, and he smiles. "Doreen! Welcome home."
"Hello," she says, a smile plastered onto her face. Her gaze tracks over to you, and you fight the urge to flinch. "Oh, Karen," she says, smiling. "Good to see you here. I was hoping to talk with you. I hope you boys don't mind if I steal her from you?" she asks, stepping into the room. She tousles Jaron's hair as she passes by. He jerks his head away with an irritated grunt, but she follows him until she's done.
"Of course not," says Valentine, standing and giving her a kiss. "What's it about?"
"Girl stuff," she says with a chuckle. "Secret stuff. Very embarrassing. You wouldn't get it. Excuse us." She steps past you. You hesitate for a moment, searching for any reason not to follow her, but you come up empty. You smile at them and leave, following her around the corner as she leads you down into the basement.
The instant you reach the bottom of the stairs, she whirls, seizing you by the throat and pinning you against the wall, a saiyan in an instant. She leans into your face, hissing, "How dare you?!"
You blink in shock before snarling quietly back and squeezing her wrist until the bones creak. "I'm making sure that he's safe!"
"This is my family, not yours," she says, struggling to keep her grip under the pressure of your own. "You don't have the right-!"
"You know what, no, I don't," you whisper back, squeezing a little harder until her hand opens. You decline to hit the ground, instead floating a little bit closer into her face. "You know who does? Your husband. And guess what?"
She seethes through the pain, "Don't. You. Dare-"
"He just gave his permission," you say. "I saw it. I can pull it out for anybody who knows Mind Delve. Lord Vegeta made a ruling. If I imply that he did, I'll have Vegetans lining up around the block to have a peek." You open your hand and she stumbles back, angry tears running down her face.
"Damn you," she hisses, choking back sobs. "Yemma damn you to Hell, you little bitch. It's not enough that you sit and watch while my own faith casts me out, it's not enough that you have my own people hating me, you have to take my son away from me, too!"
"This isn't about you," you say, disgusted. "This is about keeping Jaron safe. The only reason I went around you is because I knew you didn't want that to happen."
She goes still, looking at you with undisguised hatred. She levels her palm at you. "Blind-"
You don't wait to hear the rest of that incantation.
tsew
You seize her by the throat, silencing her. "Give me a reason," you snarl. "Give me one reason, and I swear I'll go up there, take him away, and tell him everything."
Her eyes widen in fear.
You lean in. "Everything."
She closes her eyes in defeat and breaks down, sobbing.
You drop her and turn away, leaving her at the bottom of the stairs.
You plaster a neutral look onto your face as you reach the top and poke your head around the corner. "Hey, so if that's all we needed to talk about, I know my Mom wanted me at home," say. "Sorry, but..."
Valentine looks up, blinking in surprise. "What? Oh, yeah, sure. You can go ahead. Doreen and you have a good talk?"
You start stepping away towards the door so he can't see your face. "Pretty good! Alright, bye Jaron!"
"Bye," he says, giving you an odd look.
You step out of the house and Transmit away.
Valentine Somerlad has approved Jaron's training, leaving Dandeer helpless to protest. Which was not without consequence.
Relationship Developed: There has been an open breach between you and Dandeer Vegeta. While you always hated one another, it was always a covert thing. You sniped at each other, and you personally plotted in secret, but it was kept away from the public eye, and it never escalated to open conflict. That is no longer the case. She has taken your decision to trap her with her husband's judgment as a declaration of war. When the two of you meet in public, it is with open hostility, disdain, and contempt.
People have already taken note.
Relationship Developed: Jaron Somerlad (Acquaintance [Friendly?]-->Ally [Dependable]). You went to bat for Jaron with his parents, and agreed to help him gain the training he wants. You can call him as true a friend as any of the other Misfits now.
It would have detracted from the impact to have more after this. The next update, voting options included, will be up tomorrow. For now, feel free to discuss. Be nice. Be civil. Step away from the computer if you can do neither.
Relationship Developed: There has been an open breach between you and Dandeer Vegeta. While you always hated one another, it was always a covert thing. You sniped at each other, and you personally plotted in secret, but it was kept away from the public eye, and it never escalated to open conflict. That is no longer the case. She has taken your decision to trap her with her husband's judgment as a declaration of war. When the two of you meet in public, it is with open hostility, disdain, and contempt.
Boy oh boy I am looking forward to this blowing up
/s
More seriously though I wish we could get a better understanding of wtf is going on in her head to mitigate more of this stuff - like, I get that she wants to protect Jaron but also it's getting legit dangerous for Jaron because his face is on TV and stuff. How else does she expect to protect him?
Or is her fear of either Vegeta or Jaffur relapsing overpowering all of that?
We should probably aim to get our father to back off on his support for Dandeer. Will probably take some bonuses tho.
@PoptartProdigy you said once that there was a DC to get Dandeer to reverse the Sealing. Is there a DC to convince dad, or is it impossible at this point?
We should probably aim to get our father to back off on his support for Dandeer. Will probably take some bonuses tho.
@PoptartProdigy you said once that there was a DC to get Dandeer to reverse the Sealing. Is there a DC to convince dad, or is it impossible at this point?
"Yemma damn you to Hell, you little bitch. It's not enough that you sit and watch while my own faith casts me out, it's not enough that you have my own people hating me, you have to take my son away from me, too!"
How can she possibly blame us for all that? The faith thing was not our decision in fact we stopped Yammar from vaporizing her and made sure the crowd didn't tear her apart. If we had not been there it is likely that Jaffur would already be unsealed because she would have been dead or deposed.
As for the Vegetans hating her. I have no idea how she thinks we are to blame for that. We have barely had contact with them.
We didn't, though. We were entirely neutral at Garenhuld II. The Vegetans already hated her before we said that Jaron got powers on his own and it was she who admitted she never wanted him to gain power. Training Jaron isn't going to break the Seal or anything. She is super overreacting.
We didn't, though. We were entirely neutral at Garenhuld II. The Vegetans already hated her before we said that Jaron got powers on his own and it was she who admitted she never wanted him to gain power. Training Jaron isn't going to break the Seal or anything. She is super overreacting.
We obviously hate her, and we were basically there everytime something happened to her. She probably thought that after the Sealing she could have her family again, and be happy. Then she loses her Faith, the love of her people, and then this bitch who was there the whole time, who she thought was on her side starts making moves towards her son.
We might not have been instrumental to destroying her life before, but we were there every step of the way. It's extremely easy to blame us and she's also incredibly biased.
