misterbrief | 6th Taunt

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6th Taunt | Video

[It's been a few days since Father's Day. And he got a really nice surprise from his daughter that he never thought possible. Bulla training and honing her skills and power, it really meant something to him; so he's flipping his journal open now since Luceti played a large part of it. He's not even angry this time.]

It's come to my attention that a good number of you had a hand in the gift I received over the weekend. I will say I'm impressed- the lot of you have done the impossible with my daughter Bulla and it most certainly paid off. So for that...[His voice trails off, since saying these sorts of things isn't exactly natural to him.] For that I am grateful. I know a good portion of the time we are safe inside this barrier, but you must understand that I worry for her safety regardless.

So I suppose this is the part where I ask something else not so specific. The gift I received was for your Earthling holiday Father's Day. I've never put much stock in such things, but this last weekend certainly has changed my mind about it a little. Is this something you also observe in your own worlds? And if so, what is it that you've done or would do that you would consider worthy of your father?

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NO! FIFTY EIGHT TIMES! ONLY THAT WILL BE ACCEPTABLE!

MAKE THAT... FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHT!

[He shrugs. He knows that.] Not if you take over yourself. I've found monarchy to work quite well. Throwing out the unworthy and taking the lead sounds like a perfect plan to me. Wipe the slate clean. If you don't like how it's done, do it yourself.

I disagree. It's only when you let yourself believe you want them do you become hooked onto the idea of having them.

Really? Then their king wasn't worthy of ruling if he was overtaken. If they don't have a king then how in the galaxy are they to rule themselves? [He's never known anything except monarchy his whole life.]

[It's never weird for someone to be more considerate than Vegeta.]

I agree. As much as I enjoy making my enemy suffer, I certainly don't want to keep them as a souvenir in my living room. The couch and the TV work just fine for me, thanks.

...

[Cliff stared at Vegeta, eyes hard, and downed the rest of his glass.]

I ain't that kinda man. If I wanted authority, I'd have taken it by now. But any system that's ruled by just one opinionated guy is liable to fail, and it doesn't take a historian to know that.

[He watches her go. And waits patiently for her return, though nearing the forty minute mark his foot is starting to tap furiously. That is, until she returns, which is met with a sly grin.]

Well, I must say, you certainly showed me what fast really is. [He is not being serious, not in the slightest. He can admit however that she can fly pretty fast, and by that judgement at rates similar to some people he knows back at home.] You really think that's faster than a Saiyan warrior elite? Hah. I'm afraid you haven't seen real speed.

I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself otherwise. But all that time, I really wanted to meet the people that would be my friends.

[Believe it, she knows all the rationalizations about why it's fine without them, why she doesn't need them and it's really alright, why people shouldn't always be trusted.

But in the end, she had to find some of that faith, and she had to try, and she had to find her precious people.]

Everyone chips in and votes to decide who the leaders should be.

[She only misses a beat before honesty adds] It doesn't always work well, either. Any system has flaws. But at least this one puts a little power in hands that aren't supposed to deserve it just because of which womb they came out of.

Yes, yes, I know. I'd never pegged you for that sort of man. You're far too laid back. You do realize that you're speaking out against a system that myself, a prince by my own birthright, was heavily involved in? But here, let me share a story with you. [But not before he takes another drink. Vegeta, you need to stop.]

As you can imagine, knowing my position it's pretty easy for you to assume my father was the king of our people. If you didn't already figure that out then perhaps you need to get that head of yours checked. He rallied my race and defeated our enemies, the Tuffles. And from there on afterward he became the ruler of our people, and quite successfully- our planet being named after him. He was feared and respected, and in turn did whatever he could that was in the interest of our race. And from what I understand Earth from my world has had a long line of royalty ruling it, and it is by far one of the most peaceful planets I've ever come across. So as far as I'm concerned it's completely possible. I've seen it work.

And besides, I'm sure that plenty of other systems have their own flaws. It just depends on if you have cowards or weaklings running it.

[He blinks. He's not really familiar with a system like that, but he's heard of it. But, those planets? They didn't stay under their own governing system for long after he'd arrived on the planet.]

And what exactly is this called? Some sort of idiotic popularity contest to elect the one that hands out the most candy? Heh.

[Cliff ordered another drink himself, and threw caution to the breeze. Vegeta was a reasonable man to a degree, but there were some things that they just would never fully agree on.

This was one of them.

Cliff knocked his back and shook his head, feeling looser and freer now that the compounded effects were starting to hit him. He really needed to monitor his glasses himself.]

...I see your point, but that ain't always the case 'round where I'm from. There's more to the Federation than just Earth, yanno. Maybe someday they'll straighten up, but don't expect me to trust it so much. Try looking in the eyes of a little girl who just saw her mother spaced because the ship she was on ended up in the crossfire of a war that shouldn't even be happening sometime. Tell me what you think then.

[Only reasonable now that he actually, finally grew up. And even then...]

[He doesn't answer right away. He can't because he simply doesn't have sympathy. The hard look in his eyes might give that away, but for what reason, he doesn't explain. Because it sounded no different when he lost his own father and mother, his whole race to an event that he'd worked hard to try to prevent. Did everything asked of him and the word given to him taken back, killing them all anyway. Something, that once long ago, caused him to outright shed tears in front of others.]

[So he orders another drink instead, silently waiting patiently for it, and when he gets it he downs it quickly before he finally decides to speak back up.]

I think she either wallows in her own sorrow like a weak minded fool or she does something about it. If I were her I'd choose the latter.

[Cliff saw that look, the brief moment it lasted, and wondered if he had possibly taken a step too far. He knew the story well enough, but alcohol had a way of getting a man to say things that he normally wouldn't.

This was the cheif reason why he didn't let himself get too far into the cups. It tended to end badly.

But hearing Vegeta's responce earned a soft chuckle and a fond smile. Clearly, he wasn't just talking about any little girl...]

Oh. She did. She's become one of the top people on the Federation's blacklist, even if they don't know her by name.

You must know her by that look. And I've got a pretty good feeling I know who you're talking about. [The man is smart, and it's been more than once he's mentioned Maria to him, in one form or another.]

It's called an election. But you're pretty much spot-on for the definition.

The trouble with most political systems is that they can work in theory, but then they involve people.

The only souvenirs I'm keeping are the weapons they drop! Sometimes, the people you best in combat have insanely good weapons! [ Like that wonderful wonderful banana fan! ]

[It wouldn't be hard to guess the reasons for that either. It's a pity that the man in question was too oblivious to see the obvious.]

Well. She's pretty special in the galaxy. A strong young woman whose smart, capable, and willing to take risks.

And the captain of your ship, right? You keep talking about her. There's more to it than that, isn't there? [He didn't care if Cliff went into details or not, he's just pointing out the obvious to him.]

Tenten, you're beginning to make yourself sound like a hoarder. Perhaps you should think about seeking professional help. [He's not being totally serious but still, the woman has so. Many. Weapons.]

[He covered his confusion with a deep drink from his glass, although he simply couldn't hide the obvious fact anymore. The alcohol was doing it's work.]

I dunno what you're talking about. It ain't nothing that special...

[He just owed her his life. That's all.]

Right. [He knew perfectly well Maria was too young for Cliff, so his intent isn't toward a romantic one.] So what, because she's your boss now, that means you can't tell anyone you've adopted her? Is that what it is?

[His tone is accusatory but yet, teasing at the same time.]

...

[Cliff finished off his glass and slammed it down, slowly processing the nature of what Vegeta had just said.

It didn't quite work.]

...

What?

Let me spell it out for you. A-d-o-p-t. Are you too drunk for that too? [No, he is a dad and he could tell from that look Cliff had before. If he were oblivious to the rest of the world, this is something that he still wouldn't miss. You don't just have a twenty-eight year old son and fifteen year old daughter and NOT know.]

[No, he understood. He just didn't see how it fit the context.]

Look. I've told ya before- she's my boss. And it ain't easy to have a family in this line of work.

[Particularly if you were also among the top names on the wanted list. Vegeta can say what he wanted-- he was a shit dad if any of that was true.]

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6th Taunt | Video

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