Call Me Out!

[escaliers]

【the ❝CALL ME OUT❞ meme】
a roleplay meme to inspire muses.

♛ refer to the list above for active muses. Second row are ones I'm not used to playing but would like to try! ♛ post "calling" one of them out — you can do so by putting their name in the subject line! ♛ can be informal/formal/comment spam/crosscanon/explicit/whatever tickles your fancy! ♛ feel free to make up a scenario at the start, or wait to see where things go. ♛ Some memes for ideas: Random Scenario, Soulmate Fuck Up, Secret Agents Maiden and Monster, Kinda Stuck, Should Never Be Together Morning After, or basically any AU you've ever seen. meme code.

Comments

[meatery]

He- [Gi-ne pulls back a bit, both in response to Bardock's "sudden" anger and her own grief. She hadn't been as close to the team as Bardock had, hadn't fought alongside them. But she'd known them and cared about them and considered them her friends. Her eyes dart up to Bardock's headband, the scent of blood suddenly seeming relevant.]

... W-well, obviously he was- [The usual saiyan bravado isn't quite as effective with a stammer.] ... Bardock, what do you mean?

1/2

[fatherofalegend]

[ It isn't as effective, no, but he doesn't really expect it from her. Gi-ne has always been soft, a fighter in her own right but unsuited to the grisly lifestyle of most other Saiyans. It grew on him after a while, and he wouldn't trade his mate for anyone or anything.

Some of the tension seems to leave him, and after a moment, Bardock lifts Gi-ne off himself quietly and stands. He can only hope she won't be afraid. ]

This is what I mean...Gi-ne.

[fatherofalegend]

[ It takes a moment for him to remember exactly what it was like. The pain, the rage that caused him to transform that first time. He can't maintain it for long now, not yet, but the when the surge of power comes, he grasps it and holds on.

The golden glow comes again, like fire, and envelops him. His hair and eyes change, and the transformation comes with a yell before he settles.

New-found power crackles around him, and he stares at his mate through the eyes of a changed man.

A Super Saiyan. ]

[meatery]

[She thinks she knows what's about to happen, as she sees Bardock begin to power up and she starts to stand as well. He had been injured, had nearly died, and now he's recovered and is stronger for it. She's about to gently remind him that not only will it not likely be enough to kill Frieza just yet (she's not risking losing him now), but that she doesn't have a scouter with her and will likely need a better demonstration than this.

But then the blast of golden energy knocks her back onto the ground and she's reduced to staring at her mate, shocked to the core and in awe of what she's seeing. She's a little frightened at first by the sudden change but that quickly fades when something inside her responds at an instinctual level to the sight before her. She can feel the energy emanating from Bardock in a way she never has before from anyone and every story she ever heard as a child echoes through her brain.]

[It takes a full minute for her to respond but when she does it's in a hush whisper:] Super Saiyan.

[fatherofalegend]

[ It really is an awesome sight.

Bardock lets out a slow, easy breath and relaxes just slightly. The transformation came a bit easier this time, and more than likely, he will get better with practice.

He looks at Gi-ne, finally, and he can see it in her eyes that she understands. The legend that all of them knew, that they someday hoped they would achieve. For Bardock, it is at once an honor and a bitter-sweet accomplishment.

With this sort of power, he could have defeated Frieza, and he knows it. It just came much too late.

He closes his eyes briefly and nods. ]

That's right.

[meatery]

It's real... [Slowly, Gi-ne starts to smile, barely believing her eyes.] Bardock, it's you!

[She scrambles to her feet and nearly rushes forward to touch him before she stops herself, a strange nervousness holding her back.] The Legendary Super Saiyan... Of course it'd be you!

[Right now she isn't thinking about the bad timing, of everything they've lost, completely distracted by her pride and amazement.]

... A real live Super Saiyan! [She might need a minute.]

[fatherofalegend]

[ Oh, it's real all right. He wasn't quite sure he believed it himself until it actually happened.

Bardock looks at Gi-ne, her enthusiasm, and wishes he could smile. The power of this transformation is awesome, but he wishes he'd had it sooner.

After a moment, he lowers his eyes. ]

I failed our people, Gi-ne.

[ The golden glow fades, and his hair settles in its regular black hue. He shakes his head. ]

It's the power we always looked for, but it didn't come when we needed it the most.

[ All he can think about is what they've lost, and it's starting to show. ]

I'm sorry.

[meatery]

[Gi-ne's excitement dies down a little at that and she watches him a little helplessly. Depressed Bardock is a little new.]

You don't know that. [It's the first thing she can think of saying and it just blurts out.] We're alive, aren't we? We can still fight and it can't just be us two.

[At least she hopes not. Yeah, they're definitely not! At the very least, she can think of three young saiyans specifically that might be worth looking for.]

You didn't fail anyone, Bardock, you did everything you could. [...] At least you actually fought back.

[fatherofalegend]

[ He doesn't like feeling like this. Like every step he takes is in a different direction, and he has no idea where he's going. They're both lost, if not in space, than in time. There's no way to get that he can think of, and the visions that he had so close to the end have gone oddly silent.

Bardock sits down on the ground again and looks...aggravated. Not at her, but with the circumstances in general. He's always been able to solve any problems they had; now, he doesn't think he can. ]

We're alive, but we shouldn't be.

[ It's a negative thing to say, but it's the truth, and he doesn't feel like sugar-coating it. ]

Do you know what the natives here call this planet, Gi-ne? They call it planet Plant. [ The old name of planet Vegeta. ] We're here, but everything is....wrong.

[ His hands clench, and he looks down. ]

I don't know what happened to us, but we can't just jump in a ship and get back to where we were.

[meatery]

[Gi-ne hesitates but then sits down next to him, side by side, and covers his hands with her own. Nothing makes sense and she's worried about a lot of things. However, only one of them is currently within reach so she'll just focus on trying to comfort that one while she makes sense of all this.]

Planet... Plant. [She hasn't heard their home be referred to by that name since she was a little girl. Not since King Vegeta had come into power.] ... Have they been living under a rock for the past few decades or something?

[She looks away from him to gaze out at their surroundings. Of course she'd recognised it, but it had seemed so different at the same time. Not to mention that there aren't any other intelligent species on Vegeta, not for years, and none as friendly and weak as those villagers in centuries. This is her home but it's- ]

... Like another time.

[fatherofalegend]

[ Bardock looks at the hands enveloping his own, and there is some comfort to be found in that. Heartbreak and sorrow are alien feelings to a race of warriors, and so most of what he does feel is tied to a deep-seated rage and sense of helplessness. He understands better than ever now why he was given psychic powers -- it was a punishment, not a gift, to see a future he couldn't change no matter how hard he tried.

He sits quietly, lets Gi-ne piece things together for herself before he finally says anything. ]

It is the past, Gi-ne. I don't know how or why, but it is.

I didn't believe it at first, but I ran into someone the other day who looked just like Frieza - his ancestor, I would guess.

[ He rests his forehead against their hands and just...stays like that for a while. ]

This isn't something I know how to fight.

[meatery]

The past? For real?

[OF ALL THE ASININE BULLSHIT no but seriously what the fuck. What a cheap plot device. It's not that she doubts Bardock, of course. She's always followed his lead and believed in him with only the occasional protest. Plus... Even if he had gone mad, would this really be the story he'd come up with?

But for real, what the fuck.] ... No wonder you're freaking out.

[Gi-ne leans her head on Bardock's shoulder, still holding his hands. Man, now she could use some comfort too.]

[fatherofalegend]

[ It really is asinine bullshit, and it certainly doesn't help that he was already dealing with a lot of garbage before the destruction of planet Vegeta. Witnessing the genocide of your own race is bad enough; seeing it in bizarre visions of the future beforehand is arguably even worse.

Part of him feels like he has gone mad. If he could somehow use his rage to accomplish something productive, that would probably be helpful, but as it is, he's stuck.

Gi-ne says he's freaking out, and part of him (the stubborn, proud part) wants to deny it. He's strong than that, he's a Saiyan, dammit... but even Saiyans can reach their limits.

He lets out an angry, frustrated sigh. ]

It's been a really bad couple of weeks.

[ That's really all he knows to say about it. ]

[meatery]

Yeah, it... it has. [And it sounds like it's been even rougher on Bardock than on her.]

Maybe... Maybe there's a reason for all this.

[It sounds like nearly their entire species has been wiped out and that isn't even the strangest thing to happen (she's seen it happen to so many others) but-]

Time travel doesn't just happen, right? Maybe we're supposed to do something.

[Anything to distract her from thinking about all the friends who are probably burning in hell right now.]

[fatherofalegend]

[ Strange how wiping out other species doesn't hit so close to home until it happens to you, isn't it?

Bardock shakes his head. ]

If we're supposed to "do" something, like hell if I know what it is.

[ He looks up at her again, finally, and he just...looks tired. He hasn't even had the time to cope with his planet and his people being gone, let along being thrown into the past. It's all a bit much, and it's wearing on him as much as he tries not to show it. ]

It'd be just our luck if the freak had a power he didn't even know he had.

[ The "freak" being Frieza, of course. ]

[meatery]

If he does, it's probably for the best that he doesn't know.

[The universe does not need Frieza with the power to travel through time. Enough people are dead because of him as it is.

Gi-ne kind of wants to keep desperately trying to figure out solutions but with Bardock acting like this... Maybe it will have to wait. She's used to him being the strong one, the one with a plan no matter the situation, and it's odd to see him so tired and defeated like this.]

... At least the boys should be okay. [For now. Kakarrot should be safe at least and... She can hope that Raditz will escape.]

[fatherofalegend]

[ It is true. The universe really doesn't need Frieza with any power to travel through time. Or to read minds.

Solutions, unfortunately, will have to wait. They both need some time to breath and figure out what the hell is going on. Until then, they'll have to sit tight and try to make the best of things as they are.

After a moment, he lets out a sigh and closes his eyes. ]

The boys are the one thing I'm not worried about.

[ Kakarot, at least, will be fine. He's seen it already. As for Raditz...well. The idiot had better survive. ]

...Kakarot got away.

[meatery]

Easy for you to say. [Huffs a bit.] After all the work I put into them they better be okay.

[Bardock just got the fun bit, Gi-ne had to be pregnant (twice!!) and raised Raditz at least a little bit! So she can't help but worry and be relieved that out of all the saiyans who died, neither of her sons was likely to be one of them.

She nods at that second part though. She'd gone to see him off, so at least she knew he was off planet, even without Bardock confirming it.]

It'll probably be years before he even realises that anything's wrong.