#gohan: this is the guy ever i would die for him

[tobiasdrake]

Man, every time you post from Dragonball Meta I go "Man, that makes so much sense! Now I wanna see their take on this" On that note: How would you describe Gohan and Krillin's dynamic

It takes a village to raise a child. Goku, Chi-Chi, and Piccolo's contributions to Gohan's upbringing are often brought up, but it's often overlooked that he was Krillin's ward for a time too.

During their time on Namek, Krillin and Gohan have a pretty neat dynamic. As a hybrid Saiyan given some instruction in ki manipulation and martial arts by Piccolo, Gohan has a great deal of raw ability. But he's also five years old.

He's got a lot of power and some technical prowess but he doesn't have the sharp instincts or experience of a martial artist. He has the temperament of a child in need of guidance. Because. Like. That's what he literally is.

His ki sensing tends to be more finely tuned than Krillin's.

Gohan is a fantastic radar. I think learning to sense ki at such an early age probably made it second nature for him, like having a sixth sense. But that's my speculation.

In any case, Gohan's got a lot of ability but what he lacks is maturity, experience, and some of the more esoteric techniques picked up from a lifetime of martial arts study. That's where Krillin comes in. Krillin calls the shots during their time on Namek.

As an aside, I love this moment because it conveys the difference in technique between the two. Gohan and Krillin are both about to absolutely murder these guys in one hit each, but the way they're about to do it is totally different.

Gohan fights like a brawler, and so he's just going in for a hard right hook. Krillin, meanwhile, is preparing to twirl himself around with Bukujutsu in order to create momentum for a spinning kick.

Brute force on the one hand and finely honed martial arts on the other. Akira Toriyama's greatest talent as an artist was conveying character through action.

That is their dynamic on Namek. (Dynamek?) Gohan is powerful beyond measure while Krillin makes choices about where and how to apply that power. And when Gohan's impulsiveness gets them into trouble (in a way that will pay out massive dividends for years to come):

It's Krillin's technical knowledge, experience, and knack for subterfuge that gets them out of it.

This victory was brought to you by everybody cannibalizing Tenshinhan's techniques because they're so good. Dude needs to start filing patents.

Bunch of fucking thieves, Kame-senryu.

This sort of teamwork is the relationship they develop. Krillin is experienced and tactical, but also pragmatic. He didn't want to save Dende; He was totally willing to let Dende die to avoid exposing him and Gohan. But he rolls with it and adapts.

When he next sets out into a situation where they might have to leave the Namekians to die, he doesn't say he's not taking Gohan to avoid a similar predicament... but he does bench Gohan without giving any reason for it.

It's certainly an interesting choice, to be sure.

And a mistake he'll spend the next six days trying to un-make.

Oof. Would have been a great idea to have brought Gohan along in the first place, huh?

He does it again much later, when he's once again flying into a situation where he might have to choose between exposing himself to Frieza or letting the Namekians die.

Again, no explanation offered. Gohan volunteers to join and Krillin tells him, "Nope." Gohan has implicitly been fired from ever doing spy ops with Krillin again. Nonetheless, he continues to follow Krillin's lead unquestioningly, all the way up to the end.

For his part, Gohan is impulsive and follows his heart. He leans on Krillin for guidance and mentorship, but also follows his heart.

But together they effectively fight as a single unit. That... psychic mind training thing they were doing on the spaceship wasn't just sparring; They were also forming battle strategies and making plans for fighting an enemy together.

The coordination and teamwork between Gohan and Krillin is some of the best in the series, because they had both time and will to practice and train themselves as battle partners. Guldo can freeze time and he's still on the backfoot from how fast they flow from one attack to another, and how well Gohan's learned to read Krillin's moves and follow along without a word between them.

Oh, and the ki sensing.

I love the way Krillin and Gohan dominate this fight. Guldo's telekinesis almost pulls this out for him right at the end, but 90% of this fight is Guldo narrowly avoiding being brutally murdered by virtue of his time manipulation.

This is, once again, the Planet Trade Organization in the nutshell. Their raw abilities are incredible, while the Earthlings are better fighters. This tends to put the Earthlings on the backfoot, but the Earthlings have the tools to at least navigate the situation - For a time, at least.

When they can find an answer, they excel. When they can't, the raw ability of the PTO wins out. One of my favorite moments for Gohan and Krillin is right here, when they intervene during Vegeta's fight with Recoome.

This is a desperation move. There was no plan here. "We're fucked; GET 'IM!" was the only idea exchanged before they rush in.

So, lacking a coordinated strategy like the ones they used against Guldo, you can see their different values manifest in how they move. Krillin, the underhanded pragmatist, goes straight for a critical shot. Hitting Recoome with a well-placed knee drop to slam his jaw shut on the ultra-powerful Eraser Gun he's firing from his mouth.

Krillin's sneak attack fucks up Recoome about as hard as the preceding battle with Vegeta did.

But where Krillin sees an opening for a powerful hit, Gohan sees a life in danger. So he moves to save Vegeta instead of following Krillin's attack. Even Vegeta's startled by this decision.

Vegeta's pissed that Gohan didn't let him die. Vegeta would have let Vegeta die.

This is who Gohan is: A kindhearted boy who doesn't want to be in these violent situations but will do whatever he has to do in order to protect the lives of others.

Gohan is the most unambiguously heroic character in the cast. There is no poison in his heart. He's not here to fight. He doesn't care about martial arts. He has no enjoyment and no love of violence. He has Goku's best quality: He doesn't like it when people are being hurt, and he's bold enough to get involved if he can. But it's distilled in Gohan, untouched by Goku's poison.

Which is both a strength and a weakness, in different ways. And remains so throughout the rest of his life.

[dbzebra]

126 for marten :>

Sorry this took a little bit!

I love GT, especially the Baby Saga, so I wanted to try something with that! Imagine this being a little AU where Goten actually went with Trunks, Pan, and Goku to space like we was supposed to lol

I’ve always wanted to do a full Baby Saga rewrite with MarTen, but this’ll do for now lol

When Goten came back to earth after searching for the Black Star Dragon Balls with his dad and Trunks, he thought it was all over.

They had killed that bastard Baby and saved the planet.

Or, he thought so.

Baby had survived. Not only that, but the thing has infected the entire world. Even got Trunks too. He had no idea what happened to his father. Goten sensed Goku’s energy disappear a while ago…

Goten escaped all the way to Roshi’s Island. Everywhere else was compromised. When he landed, he wholeheartedly expected an infected Master Roshi to attack him.

The last thing he thought he’d ever see was a teary eyed Marron practically bursting out of the door, and throwing herself at him after she knew it was really him.

“M-Mar, what’re you doing here??”

“After everyone started moving to the Tuffle planet, I got away… that guy got my parents, Goten! I’d rather die on Earth then go to that horrible place. They were about to kill me, but Uub… he… he saved me. Then he brought me here because it’s so far from civilization that most forget it’s even here…

“Uub is okay?! Where is he now?!”

“I don’t know. He said he had to go after Baby so he left. What about you??”

Goten explained to her the whole story, about the Machine Mutants, Dr. Myuu, and Baby.

“We thought we killed him. We made sure of it. But somehow he survived. When we showed up here it was too late. You should’ve seen the look on Pan’s face when her own parents attacked her. She’s just a little kid, she doesn’t deserve all this…”

“how’d you avoid infection??”

“Luck, I guess. The thing attacked Trunks first. Trunks managed to expel it from his body. He went for me but Dad managed to blast him to pieces, and then in the chaos we lost him. He hides in people and we have zero way of knowing.. Even with my power, it wasn’t enough…. I’m too weak! My dad bought some time and ordered me to escape. I didn’t want to but—“ he frowned. “It’s my fault… My dads probably dead because I wasn’t there to help him.”

“Stop that!!” Marron shouted, surprising him. “You did nothing wrong, sweetheart. The fact that you’re alive now means we can still fight back. It was an unfair fight. I saw them. Gohan, Trunks, Bulla, all of them looked so twisted, following Baby’s orders like some sort of puppet. And I know you, Goten. You wouldn’t be able to fight them for real even if you tried. Your have such a big heart…” Marron gently kissed his cheek.

Goten smiled. “You’re right. We’ll figure something out… but man I’m hungry… let’s order food. I haven’t eaten since before I got back!”

Marron rolled her eyes. Only her Goten would say that at a time like this. “We’re literally fugitives of the state. If Baby’s forces find us, I’ll you’ll be killed!!”

“So no pizza?”

“Dummy! We have to think of a plan!”

Goten frowned. “Alright, lunch can wait. I do remember hearing my brother tell me a story about how him, Piccolo and your dad saved the world from Garlic Junior by finding this thing called the Ultra Divine Water. It purifies people.”

“That’s perfect!” Marron happily said.. “I can save my parents! And your mom! And everyone else, then we can go home!” She jumped up, ready to race out the door.

“Just one problem.” Goten grabbed his fiancé by the hand and gently pulled her back to the floor. It’s up on Kami’s Lookout. And I’m guessing Dende and Popo are infected too. Who knows who else is there.”

“Dammit…”

“They’ll sense us if we fly, and I’m still too tired to teleport, but i think we can use Nimbus. I can’t leave you here, so you’ll have to come with me. If I distract them, could you get the water for me?

“What if I fail… the world is counting on me… I don’t even know where it is! That temple is huge!”

Goten brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be right there with you, babe. We got this, okay?”

“R-Right!”

Together, the young couple climbed on Nimbus and shot off towards the Lookout. As Marron clung to his back, Goten’s eyes flashed a brilliant green. “I’m coming for you, you bastard.”

[straightfacedstrangeness]

Broly movie semi-liveblog because of reasons

I only ever watched the original Broly movie once or twice cus of the suuuper long fight scene ending (and I think it came out, or we borrowed it from Blockbuster, around the time I was losing interest in DBZ)…which is great cus watching it now after the reboot movie has me going in almost totally fresh

Krillin’s puppy song (and how he just pauses then keeps singing after the ship lands X’D so you just hear him wailing in the background during Paragus’ big speech)

Paragus: I’m starting a new planet and I want you to be king Vegeta: :/ Paragus: Uhh…there’s also this big strong bad guy and only YOU can stop him! Vegeta: :/ Trunks: Dad, don’t go with him Vegeta: DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! *goes out of spite*

Vegeta gets to the planet, gets his ear talked off by Paragus, sees Paragus’ whole army, doesn’t react to anything, but takes one look at the big buff shirtless dude covered in jewelry and decides “I want to be alone with that guy for a while” (Trunks: “DAD NO” Vegeta: “DON’T KINKSHAME ME”)

Son “cat trying to convince you it didn’t just eat five minutes ago” Goku

“Golly, who could the Legendary Super Saiyan be?” *shows a whole flashback of Broly being the Legendary Super Saiyan and names the movie “Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan”*

Still gets me that the fan-favorite His Power Is Maximum villain’s weakness is that he flips out at the sight of the guy who cried in the crib next to him when they were babies

I’d still fight Master Roshi if I could risk getting within ten feet of him but thanks man for deflating the tension every time it gets serious here. And more importantly, giving my boy Oolong an actual reason to be here (designated driver). Which kinky freak on staff came up with that sequence of the two of them in bed together though?? XD

Realizing I haven’t seen the old DBZ movies since before my dad got his giant TV, and watching this thing in HD on a huge screen with surround sound blasting the doofy 2000s grunge rock songs shoehorned into the soundtrack just feels so wrong X’D

With Paragus’ whole thing being about trapping Vegeta on this planet so a comet can smush him, how much funnier would it have been if Goku had just shown up and immediately IT’d everyone back to Earth

This version of Broly is SO annoying, OMFG. Hulked-out glowing guy cackling about how he was gonna kill a child, “What do you expect from a true freak?! Wahaha~” Like 100% one of those guys who saw The Dark Knight and went “the Joker’s so dark and edgy, I wanna be just like him” Shut up already

Actually Broly’s fixation on hurting Gohan to upset Goku plus the Trunks-Vegeta dynamic could’ve made for an interesting subplot about father-son relationships, but nope I guess. Gohan and Trunks aren’t even in the reboot movie where they really dig into Paragus’ abuse of Broly (just a brief scene of Goten and Trunks calling Bulma for two seconds to tell her plot stuff)

Piccolo dragging Vegeta to the battle by his hair

I also actually love sad scared Vegeta because it makes him so much more interesting. Goku’s an excitable child whose relationship with martial arts is basically like a good work ethic, so he hears about someone stronger than him and gets all excited cus he wants to test his strength by fighting them. Vegeta’s an arrogant jerk generally used to getting his own way, so he hears about someone stronger than him and his first instinct is to go “pff, no way,” then when it’s clear the person IS much stronger he just shuts down. Probably a remnant of being terrorized and probably physically beaten by Frieza or his minions as a kid, cus you KNOW he wasn’t gonna just start taking orders from some guy who isn’t even his king dad

The classic DBZ squeaky foot noise when Broly walks...bless

“I’m the prince of all Saiyans, even you, Broly” “Then please try your best to make me kneel before you” Get a ROOM

“Did he really think I would die just because this planet is about to explode?”

*gives you my power, but in a tsundere way*

I’d been wanting to watch the first bunch of movies for a while since they use clips from em in the Ocean dub opening, but wound up with the 2nd movie set cus I found a good deal and the Broly reboot made me curious to revisit the original…now I’m torn between going on to Return Of Cooler & Super Android 13 my dumb funny beloveds, or going back to the 1st movie set and working my way up to truly Earn them XD

[fourcolour-ace]

DBZ Non-Combatant Gohan AU

Something we often talk about is how Gohan never had a choice.

In canon DBZ, a child was thrown(sometimes literally) into a world where everyone's fate was riding on him. A four-year-old child. We all know this.

Some months ago I asked myself, 'Well, what would have happened if he had been able to choose?'.

Which brings us to the(slightly improbable) alternate timeline in which Gohan had a normal childhood.

Imagine, if you will, the scene after the defeat of Raditz: Goku and his brother dead, onlookers have assembled, Piccolo is just about to grab that kid, but then Chichi arrives.

"There's no way you're taking my baby!" She's not about to let the reborn Demon King take her son, and by now it's become clear there's no arguing with Chichi. Piccolo has had his fill of human BS for the moment; he warns of a day when Gohan's strength will be needed to save the Earth, and leaves.

The fate of the planet now(as ever) rests on the shoulders of the deceased Goku. Chichi takes her son home and he starts kindergarten only a few days late.

I'm open to suggestions regarding the details of the big fights: my peers have told me the Z Fighters are "screwed" in the Saiyan saga without Gohan. Despite my years in this fandom, fights are not my forte(haha). For now, we just trust that the DBZ guys will always make it through, because they have to. The Saiyans, Frieza, the Androids and Cell: all are defeated without the son of Goku's help. I don't intend to have Majin Buu appear in this, no shade to fans of the Buu saga but things are too different by that stage of the story. Indeed, there is another layer to this will displease many: Goku and Chichi are separated.

This is no act of hatred towards GoChi, I assure you. I only wanted to make Gohan's lack of presence in combat more credible. I imagine as the years passed Chichi was ever more determined to keep her son off the battlefield, while Goku would most likely never give up on trying to train the boy. They aren't divorced, but live apart. Chichi moves with Gohan closer to the city so commuting to school will be less challenging, while Goku stays in Mount Paozu, where I imagine the Son family home becomes a bit of a Z Fighter hangout. By the time he's sixteen, Gohan hasn't seen his father in nearly a decade(though he did see most of the Cell Game broadcast). Goten fans worry not, your boy will still be born, just later.

So, when does Gohan join the fight? I'm not sure exactly, but know that there's no way to keep a Saiyan(even a half-blood) off the battlefield forever. He does meet his father at the 25th World Martial Arts tournament(I have a fun workaround for how they all found out it was happening), which is the big moment I always come back to when I ponder this AU. I won't take up too much more of your time with this post, but let me sketch it out for you:

Gohan and his high school friends are attending the tournament in order to cheer Videl on. Oddly enough, it is Vegeta who takes notice of the teen, with his uncannily familiar face.

"Kakarot, does that boy look Saiyan to you?"

"A Saiyan?" Goku looks in the direction that Vegeta indicates. "That's my son!"

So he calls out to him, the boy turns to see his father, and the die is cast. Nothing Chichi says will keep Gohan from learning his heritage now.

There's a whole lot more to this but it'll be coming in another post! Thanks for reading.

[anysin]

Fic: First Time For Everything

For @rmjagonshi, a Dragonball Z fic with Piccolo/Krillin and “kiss  as a joke/in a teasing manner”. You said angst is okay so here is a fic set in the timeline where  the androids wreak havoc, warnings for angst and end-of-the-world feels.

First Time For Everything

It's only a matter of time until their foes arrive.

"Should I even be here?" Krillin wants to wring his hands, but he forces the urge down. He and Piccolo are so far the only ones here, but the others - well, just Gohan and Tenshinhan at this point - will come soon. He glances at Piccolo, who is staring off to the distance, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What can I do?" Krillin asks. "I'm the weakest on the field."

"We need everyone." Piccolo looks at him over his shoulder. "Although if you are scared-"

"Of course I am! But it's not about that." Krillin narrows his eyes at Piccolo, fuming inside, but he also wraps his arms around himself, giving himself a little squeeze of comfort. It's pathetic, but *he's* pathetic, so he will take it. "I don't want to get in the way. I don't want to be a burden."

The words are full of self pity, to the point Krillin cringes at himself. Piccolo keeps looking at him, his face as hard to read as it's ever been, but he sighs, turning to face Krillin fully, unfolding his arms.

"As I said, we need everyone. None of us have the power to fight them alone." Piccolo's expression, which has been some kind of stern this whole time, turns a little hesitant, and Krillin doesn't understand why until Piccolo reaches out for him, touching his shoulder lightly with the tips of his fingers.

"We saw what happened to Vegeta," Piccolo says in a serious voice. "Facing them alone gets you killed. Together we have a chance."

Piccolo hesitates again before grasping Krillin's shoulder fully, giving it a tentative squeeze. Krillin can only stare at him in awe; although Piccolo isn't a bad guy anymore, he hasn't particularly tried to bond with anyone else but Gohan, and this is certainly something new. He supposes he should be touched by this, impressed that Piccolo is trying.

Instead, it's making him wonder if they are going to make it even as a team.

Still, Krillin chooses to smile.

"Yeah, we gotta try," he says, patting the back of Piccolo's hand. An idea strikes him, making him chuckle. "Hey, how about a kiss of good luck?"

He fully expects Piccolo to snatch his hand away, maybe scold him for taking all of this lightly. But much to his surprise, Piccolo doesn't move.

"Do you think it would help with your courage?" Piccolo asks. "I have no personal experience about it, but if it helps, I can try."

Now, Krillin is sure that neither of them are going to walk out of this battlefield alive; there is no way Piccolo would be willing to do this, even as a joke, even if it was supposed to help, if he had slightest hope about their survival. But if that's the case-

"Me neither," he says. "But it can't hurt. Lean over."

Krillin can't sense Tenshinhan or Gohan yet, but he can only imagine how shocked they would be to see Piccolo bending down towards Krillin, closing his eyes while Krillin reaches out to cup Piccolo's face between his hands, holding him as he leans close to Piccolo. He can't believe he's doing this, but he's not backing out now. If he's going to die, he's going to kiss someone before he does.

Piccolo's lips are soft and smooth as Krillin rests their mouths together, his own eyes sliding shut. He's not sure what to do - he knows there are tongues, but there is no time to figure out what to do with them - so he keeps his mouth there, brushing his lips delicately against Piccolo's. Piccolo doesn't respond first, allowing Krillin to have control, but eventually, he returns Krillin's soft touch, just as softly, catching Krillin's lower lip between his own lips. It's weird, it's strange, it's- it's not unpleasant. It sends a shiver running down Krillin's spine, while at the same time his face burns.

Slowly, Krillin pulls back, licking his lips. Piccolo is staring at him, his face openly confused, as if he's not sure what just took place between them. Krillin doesn't quite know either.

"We gotta talk about this if we live," Krillin says, releasing Piccolo.

Piccolo blinks at him, slowly straightening up again. "I agree," Piccolo replies. "We will discuss this."

Piccolo turns away, and Krillin lets him. They will talk about this. They will live.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball GT 62

✨GT Stands For Gibberish Twist✨

Last time, Goku and Vegeta were all but defeated.  They can’t beat Omega Shenron, even using the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, and now Goku can’t even use that anymore.  Their only hope was the Fusion Technique, but they whizzed that down the drain in Episode 60, and now it’s no longer an option.

The one thing going for them is that Goku managed to capture one of the Dragon Balls, so Omega Shenron is only operating at 6/7 of his full power.  This doesn’t seem to matter much, although Omega says that he can’t use his finisher, the Minus Energy Power Ball, to destroy the Earth, unless he has all seven Dragon Balls, so I guess it’s something.  I don’t see why he can’t just blow up the world with a vanilla ki blast, though. 

Anyway, Episode 61 ended with the Four Star Dragon Ball mysteriously appearing on Goku’s forehead.  He swallowed the damn thing to keep Omega from getting it back, so I don’t understand how it migrated into his skull, but GT keeps doing all this goofy magic shit with the Dragon Balls, so just run with it.

So this moment is presented like some sort of miracle.  After all, the good guys kind of need one right now.  They’ve been fighting Omega Shenron for the last five episodes with no end in sight, and their powers are beginning to give out.  Maybe Grandpa Gohan will commune with Goku from the Afterlife and teach him how to become a Super Saiyan 5.  Maybe Goku has accidentally mastered the same technique Omega uses to absorb Dragon Balls for power. 

But no, the Four Star Ball pops out of his head and it turns into Nuova Shenron.  Wow.  Hey, Nuova’s back, you guys.

Yippee.

✨"Good" "Ideas", Poorly Executed✨

So the big question in this episode is whose side Nuova is on, since he was the Shadow Dragon who befriended Goku earlier in the arc.  Syn Shenron killed him for this, then he absorbed the other Dragon Balls, including Nuova’s Four Star Ball, and Syn became Omega Shenron.  Now Nuova is back again, which sort of begs the question: Was he ever dead in the first place?  It seemed like Goku killed the others, but could any of them truly die?  It seems like as long as one Shadow Dragon remains, and the Dragon Balls continue to exist, then they can return the way Nuova did. 

Anyway, you’d expect Nuova to be on Goku’s side, since Omega’s the one who shot him before, but no.  He demands to kill Goku personally, and he attacks Vegeta to show he means business.  Omega explains that once he absorbed the Four-Star Dragon Ball, he re-polluted it with the minus energy from his own body, which therefore restored Nuova as an evil dragon.  And Omega’s in a chipper mood, so he decides to let Nuova handle things from here.

Ah, but it turns out to be a SHOCKING SWERVE~! as Vegeta reveals that Nuova only pretended to attack him.  Just as Nuova appears to be ready to finish Goku off, they both turn and attack Omega, and Nuova jumps him from behind.  So he was a good guy the whole time?

Apparently, Omega’s body did re-pollute the Four Star Ball with Minus Energy, but when Goku swallowed it in the last episode, the Plus Energy from his body canceled it out, returning Nuova to his honorable self?  Wait, what?

Okay, time out.  I am sick of hearing about Minus Energy and Plus Energy.  It didn’t bother me as much when it was just being used to explain how the Dragon Balls turned evil, but now Goku has Plus Energy?  Did he always have this? Is “Plus Energy” just another name for his ki?  Does that mean the Shadow Dragons have some sort of anti-ki? 

And if Goku’s Plus Energy can decontaminate a Dragon Ball, then doesn’t that mean Nuova would be destroyed for good?  He was born of the Minus Energy that polluted the Dragon Balls, so if Goku cancelled out that Minus Energy, how is Nuova even still alive? 

What’s unclear is whether Goku planned all of this from the moment he swallowed the ball. Like, characters speculate that he may have been thinking that far ahead, but he never confirms or denies this.  And I guess he must have been in telepathic contact with Nuova before he made his big reveal, since they seemed to be on the same page up to this point.

So here’s Nuova’s big play: He seals himself and Omega inside a big ball of fire.  If Omega tries to break free or attack Nuova, he’ll just end up setting of a huge explosion that will destroy even him.  Nuova, on the other hand will be just fine, since his body can withstand the intense heat of this technique.  

Annnnnd it doesn’t fucking work, because Omega simply takes shelter inside Nuova’s heat-resistant body.  When the explosion subsides, Goku finds Nuova standing in the aftermath...

But Omega bursts out of his hide like an eggshell.  So now Nuova is double-extra dead, I guess.

And to top it all off, Omega now has all seven Dragon Balls in his chest again, so he’s back to full strength.  Not that it mattered much, but there you go.

Oh, and Vegeta’s Super Saiyan 4 power also wears off.  He could get a recharge from Bulma’s Blutz Wave Generator, but it was totalled in Episode 59.  And Episode 60.  Yeah, they forgot about it getting wrecked, so they wrecked it again.  This show sucks so much ass.

Apparently, Vegeta can’t just switch back and forth like Goku can, but it’s kind of a moot point since the series is almost over and we’ll never see him use the SSJ4 form again anyway. 

So yeah, that’s pretty much it for the good guys.  They’re out of power, out of allies, and out of tricks.  Meanwhile, Omega Shenron is just as strong as he was in Episode 59.  It’s a good thing he’s so damned lazy, or he would have already destroyed the planet by now.

Oh, right, I was going to discuss Nuova Shenron’s appearance here.  That was dumb.  Bringing him back was pointless, since he never had the power to defeat Omega in the first place.  Remember who killed him?  Syn Shenron, who finished him off easily, and that was before he powered up into Omega. 

This episode tries to fool you into thinking Nuova had a chance, but it’s all smoke and mirrors.  Everyone knew he’d be a good guy, but they had to make it seem like he was evil in order to get the drop on Omega.  Then he pulls out a new technique to make it seem like he’s got him cornered, except why would Nuova’s heat powers be a threat to Omega?  Omega has five other Shadow Dragon powers backing him up.  Wouldn’t Eis’ cold powers protect him from the heat?   Couldn’t he use Naturon’s body stealing power to take over Nuova’s body?   Oh, wait, that’s exactly what he did.

All this really served to accomplish was to get the Four Star Ball out of Goku and back into Omega, but you could just skip Episodes 61 and 62 and avoid the entire hassle.  Re-killing Nuova was pointless because he already had a death scene.  They couldn’t even be bothered to find someone else to murder him for the second time. 

✨Positivity Page✨

This isn’t much of a compliment to the episode, but it did make me chuckle, so I might as well go with it.  Okay, so Nuova has this “lens” power he uses to focus his heat rays.  I’m not sure if he makes a physical piece of glass, or if it’s some sort of energy construct.  The point it he has this big round thing that floats in front of him when he’s about to shoot at someone.  It’s about as big around as a trash can lid. 

So he’s using it to aim at Goku right before he reveals his true loyalties, and then he and Goku suddenly attack Omega at the same time.  Goku shoots a ki blast at Omega, but Nuova throws his lens at him, which is funny because the idea is that he shoots his beam through the lens. 

I’m not sure what happened here, but my guess is that someone didn’t understand how Nuova’s power worked, and he just chucks this lens at his enemies like Captain America’s shield.  Or maybe the idea was that Goku’s blast would pass through the lens before hitting Omega, to amplify it or something?  Which would be fine, but the animation doesn’t really communicate that very well. 

Also, it’s pretty silly how Omega has been shrugging off Super Dragon Fists and Big Bang Kamehamehas, but this vanilla ki blast and a dumb lens are enough to make him flinch.  But that’s GT for you.

✨Is This Episode Worse than "The Roaming Lake"?✨

As you may have noticed, we’re all the way up to  Episode 62, which means the series is almost over, which means the fight with Omega Shenron must be almost over, and yet Toei still decided to waste time on what is essentially a filler episode.  The plot doesn’t advance one bit, and all that gets accomplished is the return and re-killing of a character who had already been written out of the story. 

I really don’t know what to make of this.  It’s definitely bad, but it’s bad in a very confusing way.  In the 2005 interview with Kozo Morishita, it’s stated that they had planned the ending of the series pretty much from the start.  I don’t know if that means just Episode 64, or the entire Shadow Dragons Saga that led up to it, but I assume that this means they found out the show was probably going to get canceled in early 1997, and so they started working towards that finale. And the Shadow Dragons arc kind of has some flexibility to it.  If necessary, it could be condensed into a much shorter arc, simply by having some of the fights be shorter.  The showdown with Omega Shenron is seven episodes, but it could easily be cut down to three or less. 

So I think this was a deliberate strategy to get the ending they had in mind, and still produce the number of episodes they were alotted.  But they probably had to work with some uncertainty, and maybe they ended up having to add in an episode because things were running short.  And maybe that’s where Episode 62 came from.  All it took was for Goku to eat a Dragon Ball in Episode 61, which didn’t really affect anything, and now the stage is set for Episode 62, which returns the Dragon Ball to Omega. 

And good for them for finding a way to keep their production schedule flowing, but that doesn’t impress me a whole lot.  This episode sucked and it was a waste of time.  At least “The Roaming Lake” accomplished something.  Nam got water. 

✨The Blade Braxton Memorial Haiku*✨

Veggie lost his fur.

But he still gets to keep his

Bart Simpson haircut.

[nella09archive]

Marriage. 36

Chapter 36: Where’s daddy?

Daddy’s dead? That’s impossible. Daddy can’t die. Wait. If what he say is true, then daddy saved me from that meanie man. But now I’m stuck with the meanie Piccolo monster. Well, until he threw me at a mountain. So, mean. He then made me take off my coat, and left me. I’m all alone. No! I’m scared. I WANT MOMMY! I WANT DADDY! Daddy? Daddy is dead. Nobody is coming this time. Mommy can’t do what daddy does, when I get lost. Mommy always sends daddy to find me.

Today is just awful. A meanie uncle hurt my daddy, and is the reason daddy is gone. A meanie Piccolo won’t let me go home, and is the one who killed daddy. He didn’t say it, but how else is he alive and not daddy too. I don’t want to admit it, but uncle meanie was nicer. He didn’t hit me, until I hit him first; from what Piccolo said. Uncle meanie didn’t throw me at a mountain. He tossed me into that round thing, and it didn’t really hurt. Also, uncle meanie didn’t scream at me, unless I was crying. But overall, uncle did talk to me nicer. He was annoyed, but he did speak nicer. If I didn’t run, he wouldn’t have put me in the thingy. Could it be possible that all uncles are just big meanie butts. Uncle meanie probably didn’t have a mommy to tell him he was being mean. If he had a mommy, maybe he would have been nicer and I would be ok that he was my uncle. Uncle Raditz just needs to get a good spanking from his mommy. So, wait, what is my grandma would be like? Well, can’t worry about that now.

This place is super scary, but I have to be brave. I have to do what I can for 6 months, then that meanie Piccolo will be back. Meanie Piccolo? Does he have a mommy?

…

Boy is this thing long. I wonder how Chichi and Gohan are doing. I hope my little man is keeping mommy happy for me. Don’t worry you two. When daddy comes back, and take care of these bad guys, daddy is going to be home more. Daddy promise will stop fighting, and just spend everyday with you. Then again, I can’t think like that. What if someone strong than these guys comes along? NO! I have to keep training to protect you and mommy!

I can’t let anyone hurt my family ever, ever again! My family safety is my top priority! Chichi would understand. Chichi. My heart aches for you. I hope you’re ok. I wish I could have had enough strength to tell you what was happening. I wonder how my friends told you of my death. Did you get angry? Cried? NO! My Chichi shouldn’t have to go through this! Chichi should only be happy. Gohan should only be happy. My family should only be happy!

I finally broke down. I couldn’t hold back anymore. I finally let the tears fall. DAMN IT! I WASN’T STRONG ENOUGH! I punch damn snake way. I failed them! I failed again! NO! I keep punching. I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t strong to protect them! I wasn’t strong enough to protect grandpa. I wasn’t strong enough to keep my Gohan safe! I just keep punching. Why do the people I love so much have to suffer! WHY? Why can’t I ever keep them safe? I’m a failure!

I slapped myself. Look at me. If Chichi was here, she would be mad at me for talking all this nonsense. “You’re so strong, Goku. There’s no fight too big for you. Now get your butt up, and prove me right!” I swear I could hear her. But yeah. I gotta get off my butt, and get through this. Gohan and Chichi are counting on me. My friends are counting on me. Earth, my home is counting on me. Most importantly. My family needs me!

…

It only been a month and I still haven’t found my Gohan. I do hope he’s ok. It’s been a while still I used ki. Maybe I should train again, and practice in that too. If I train, I could have a better chance to get Gohan back. I hope he isn’t hurt. Now let me finish the laundry.

…

That meanie robot was nice after all. Daddy was right. People can change. Even though I get chase by this dinosaur, and that funny tiger, it’s kind of fun. It keeps me busy. Plus, it’s like they kind of my pets. If daddy saw me now, he would be laughing. Probably telling me something encouraging to keep going. Heck, dinosaur tail makes good breakfast. Way better than fish. Looks like I finally found my favorite; daddy would probably be super happy. He always wanted me to try dinosaur, but mommy would say no.

Oh look, it’s Mr. Tiger. Guess it’s time to play. Actually, Mr. Tiger looks tired today. So, I guess I could practice those things daddy does. How does it go again? Oh yeah! Start with right leg back. This feel weird. I hope I’m doing it right. If daddy was here, he would tell me. Oh, what daddy does look just like those pictures in that book, mommy gave me. Punch, punch, kick, kick, and repeat. I’m going to repeat till I get it right. I’m going to make daddy and mommy proud of me! That I promise.

…

I’m so hungry. Wish I had Chichi’s homecooked meals. Like her hot pot, with wolf shish kebab, and maybe a side grill deer. Just thinking of her cooking is making me even more hungry. I wonder how long I been laying here. Once the fighting is done, I’m going to ask Chichi to make all my favorites. That includes her famous apple pie. Gohan loves her apple pie, too. I bet they’re eating one right now, and sharing my piece. Hope you’re making mommy smile, while waiting for me.

…

101, 102, 103… 200! Looks like lunch still got time, so one more set.

…

What is Mr. Piccolo doing? WHOA! Where that wind come from? Hold on Mr. Tiger! I wonder how Mr. Piccolo did that. That was cool! Can my daddy do that too? Ok, Mr. Tiger let’s let Mr. Piccolo alone.

Wait! I was on an island this whole time? How is that even possible? How am I going to get off? Maybe I could finally see mommy! Mommy would be so happy to see me. And I can have her hot baths, and yummy food, and warm hugs. But… But it won’t be the same without daddy. Maybe I can at least see mommy. Just check up on her. Just let mommy know I’m ok. I hope Mr. Piccolo doesn’t notice.

Mommy was right about making friends with other kids. This is so much fun! But if mommy and daddy knew I was stealing they be mad. But I have to, how else am I gonna eat. I can’t believe he left the other kids. “We have to go—” He punched me. But I thought… I thought… He’s right. Gotta do what’s right, even if it hurts. Is that how daddy feels when he goes off training? Does it hurt daddy to leave me and mommy? I want to cry. Does daddy hurt? How much does daddy hurt? How much does mommy hurt? Mommy? Mommy! I’m coming home, mommy!

I see her, she right there. Just a few more steps. Just turn around mommy. Mommy! I’m right here! I miss you mommy! I can’t… I can’t yet. Mommy, please wait a little longer. Please wait a little longer. When this over, me and daddy aren’t going anywhere. Me and daddy will protect you. Me and daddy will keep you safe! You’re important to us mommy. I love you mommy.

Mr. Piccolo. I’m ready. Train me!

…

Gohan? I thought I felt him near. Maybe it was him. Maybe he did try to come home, but the monster stopped him. Don’t worry baby, I believe in you. Mommy will wait for you, forever and ever.

Now to get back to making this welcome home blanket, for Gohan. Then I could work on Goku’s.

…

I finally made it! Whoa! I feel like I’m being crushed. So, this monkey is King Kai? Oh no, it’s this blue guy. He wants me to tell a joke. Why? What’s the point of that?

Wow, this is hard, but I can do it! Got to remember my goal. They need me to get stronger. They need me, and I’m not failing a second time. “You keep saying they. Who’s they?” Wait! He can read minds? “Yes.” Crap! “Why you say that.”

“No reason King Kai. And they are my family. My son and wife.” He gave me a funny look, and then got back to clearing his car. Now to get that damn monkey!

Two months on this planet and I’m really starting to get used to it. I finally caught Bubbles, and I hit Gregory. Now King Kai is going to train me at other techniques. No time for rest, got to get back into training.

A year has been up? Wow, that was… quick. OH NO! CRAP! I BETTER HURRY OR I’LL BE LATE! Please hold on for me. Guys keep everyone ok till I get there.

…

I can’t do this. These guys are so much stronger than us. I’m only a kid. I shouldn’t be here. Daddy, where are you? I’m scared. I panicked and I failed Mr. Piccolo. Now he’s angry at me. Mr. Krillin is trying to cheer me up, but it’s not working. I gotta pee. Oh no, that guy almost hit me. “You big smelly idiot!” That Vegeta guy laughed at that. But he’s the one I’m scared the most of.

Oh no! It’s my fault. It’s all my fault! Mr. Piccolo!

…

What is Gohan doing here? He looks stronger. Oh no! I’m not going to make it. NO! HE NOT HURTING GOHAN! NOT THIS TIME! OR EVER AGAIN!

“Daddy!” I so badly want to give my little boy a hug, but I can’t right now. First, got to take care of these guys, then I can finally hold my son.

“Leave. Go to mommy.”

“But daddy.”

“Gohan.” I really don’t like speaking harshly to him, but he needs to go. He gives my leg a quick hug, and I watch him go off with Krillin. Now to deal with Vegeta.

…

Why is daddy telling me to look up? Oh, that’s a pretty ball. It looks just like a—

[sonohban]

little sketches of gohan sharing his love for insects with his family :Tc trying to make this into a more meaningful comic l8r (still thinking these thoughts)

[zeravmeta]

everyone on this website looooves to talk about Zuko having the best redemption arc ever but like. legitimately he does not hold a candle to Vegeta Something I feel people don't recognize is that Vegeta isn't a good guy until the END of dragon ball z. And I don't mean that in the “oh he warms up to them by the end” way I mean in the “he is 100% willing to let the main cast die at multiple points throughout the series and even kill them himself should they get in his way” way. He’s directly responsible for both Cell and Majin Buu getting as powerful as they did, and it ties back to his motivations in ways that are actually genuinely interesting. From the Namek saga, he’s committed to getting immortality specifically so he could defeat Frieza and avenge his race, and when Goku drags the rug out from under him and takes his deserved W, he shifts his life goal from defeating Frieza to defeating Goku specifically because his pride as a Saiyan and a prince are basically all he has left at this point. We see him vulnerable and even cry in the anime because of how important realizing the legend was to him, and then when he does achieve it but gets his ass handed to him, he becomes more and more volatile as the series goes on. Trunks dying was his first breaking point because suddenly he DOES have a family and he does care about them, but he also sees it as “settling down” and basically giving up on his principles entirely. And he’s extremely committed to his goals in almost suicidal ways throughout the series, as well. As far back into his shaky alliance with Krillin and Gohan in the Namek saga, he berates Krillin for not letting Recume kill him because Krillin could have used his death as the opening to land a fatal blow, to his first encounter with Perfect Cell where he almost blows up the planet (which would surely kill him, as well) just to take out his enemy, one of the most consistent points to his character is that he’s driven and always puts the effort towards his goals.

It’s easy to see why people call his actions in the Buu saga his midlife crisis bc it kinda really is. In the years following Goku’s sacrifice, Vegeta noticeably calms down simply bc there isn’t really a pinnacle for him to strive for anymore. He’s the current strongest, so there's nothing more he was to struggle for, and he even begins building his relationship with Bulma (compared to their initial one night stand lmao). When Goku comes back and shows Vegeta how ultimately outclassed he is in power DESPITE all the training he did do in the meantime, all his progress in the years Goku was gone just fly out the window because of what strength means to Vegeta. Unlike Goku who wants to get stronger simply bc he enjoys martial arts and wants to be the best version of himself he can be, for Vegeta it’s a way to gain back control of his own life. Even when he was supposed to be a prince, when Saiyans were supposed to be the strongest warriors in the universe, his entire life has been nothing but being oppressed, hunted, and getting the shit kicked out of him. Beating Goku is directly tied to Vegeta’s definition of his own security, because if HE’S the strongest then no one could possibly hurt him and his. When Shin tells him that his problems don’t matter after he accepts the power up from Babidi, he gets vicious because how dare he? How dare he tell him, after his entire life has been nothing but being stomped on and one upped in every turn, that his problems don’t matter? His monologue to Goku also does illustrate it best, that even with all his struggles and effort, it didn’t matter when a literal child became stronger than him just by getting really really mad. The sheer indignity of it all drives him up the wall in so many ways, because if none of his efforts mattered then why did he ever bother in the first place?

And ultimately, his redemption comes when at the end point of Buu murdering humanity, threatening to take the home he somehow managed to cobble together, and Current Trunks being forced to step up the same way Future Trunks did that, that he finally does choose to sacrifice himself for the sake of someone else for once in his life. It’s really interesting too that after he knocks out both Trunks and Goten that he talks to Piccolo about this, the only other villain-turned-hero whose redemption also came from finally choosing to sacrifice himself for someone else. It’s only when Vegeta can finally come to terms with not only the realization that he does care about others, but that they also do care about him back, that he really does become an ally. From an actual bastard villain to a genuine good guy whose even willing to swallow his pride if it means protecting his family.

[yusuke96universe]

WHAT IF: Goku Black Turned Good? (My Thoughts) What IF: Goku Black was a Turles Origin Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl-DMTjlbnU 

In the link above is MasakoX’s WHAT IF: Goku Black Turned Good? oneshot episode, and I really enjoyed it, but I feel like it had a bit of an underwhelming conclusion. 

On top of my head, Zamasu forcing Black in non-consented Fusion with the rest remaining the same until the split from the Spirit Sword severing the Fusion. With the Mortal Black helping Trunks get a better shot at the vulnerable immortal Zamasu who needs to be hit before his body fully resets. By pinning him to the ground. Both of them die, but with one fully repented for his atrocities to Trunks and welcomes this divine justice being deliverd by his hand. Since it’s so fitting for Trunks to be the one to deliver the final blow to him. Goku Black and Zamasu meet again in the after life and make up. Gowasu gives his pupil a chance to start over by granting him his very life the same way Old Kai did for Goku and convincingly ensures how he will do everything in his power to allow Goku Black to not be erased by the higher ups.

I wanted to share my comment to it.

This is much closer to how I would have handled the Zamasu and Goku Black scenario with Goku's body rejecting Zamasu in small bursts like you said with passion and fleeting memories, but his memories being the more major ones for a change. Give Zamasu an arc learning 'what it's like walking in someone else's shoes'. Learning what it means to be mortal first hand and realizing where their purpose in the universe is for. 

Granted, I would have taken more advantage of being in the Future timeline where Goku is a Fallen Savior, but his footprints are still ingrained in the people that Goku Black is killing. Black is influenced by the likes of Roshi, Oolong, Puar, Chi-chi, Ox-King, Baba, Korin, and Bulma, if not in the moment, in hindsight because they are planting seeds in him from Goku’s life. 

Goku's innate purity and goodness teach Zamasu the mortals' potential through these people and how his body responds to their words and reactions to him. Future Trunks with the Resistance and Goku/ Vegeta hammers it home even further for Black to realize the error of his ways. I think he shouldn't die, but live on and live out a mortal's existence while just barely squeaking out from erasure for being instrumental in halting the arc, doing the Divine equivalent of community service for his crimes. He is the go-to errand boy for the Gods when they need him, but is acclimating to Universe 10 lower realms and forming relationships with the mortals that live there. He is no longer Zamasu, but he isn't Goku either, so he might go by Black from now on, or choose a Saiyan name to fit his body. He is going to take a few more pages from Goku's book. Maybe try martial arts since Universe 10 is filled with various martial artists and we can see how this blossoms in the next arc with the T.O.P. 

The twist ending of Black being a Master Class Rebooted Turles 

With a new lease on life, Black could give himself an appropriate Saiyan name for his story moving forward. It’s a fresh starting point for Turles.

In many ways, Goku Black was heavily inspired by the original evil Goku, Turles, So it stands to reason that we could just go all the way and just combine them.   

This would have the audience recontextualize the arc and looking back to see all of their similarities as foreshadowing and looking forward to how this newly actualized character would be like. The name acting a tease to make people eager for what’s to come.

We could watch as a more open-minded Black had befriended some of his fellow competitors on the Universe 10 team and bonding with others as the T.O.P. progresses. In fact, he could be U10′s poster face like Hit is for U6 or Jiren is for U11 that gets us invested in the other Universes, at least as a threat and at most endearing us to them before they are erased to push the stakes of the arc. These guys could even act as a reference to both groups that fought in the Tree of Might. The loyal followers with varied backstories that Turles surrounded himself to display his open-mind and the Z-Fighters who were entirely made up of Martial Artists back then during the Tree of Might movie. 

Movie Turles was hung up over the conflict of Goku’s and Gohan's purity vs the Saiyan's evil nature under the popular misconception that the Saiyans are supposed to be evil, but Toriyama mentions in supplemental materials, in actuality, Saiyans of old were more like Goku. So while the message is taking a different angle, it remains intact through Zamasu being a person who has had his life permanently changed by the 'true nature' of the Saiyan race which isn't evil, but ever striving for self-improvement. 

Turles animosity toward Vegeta and his family from the games have been repackaged with Black being Future Trunks’ living nightmare and killing Future Bulma, and being a pale imitation in Vegeta’s eyes by using Goku’s body. So the multiple fights with Vegeta were very personal, but for the other side. Originally it was personal for Turles who had something to prove due to the social hierarchy putting the royalty in a much more favorable status than him being born a low class Saiyan, but Vegeta looked down on him for not training / earning his power in battles like a true Saiyan would.

Turles is better known for his signature Tree of Might, which always had Divine roots which are expanded and explored by making him a full on Kai. 

Even right down to Black’s air of sophistication stemming from the Kais having proper manners being more intellectual types not only reflects Turles’ character being a clever Saiyan

Black rebelled against the Divine system in the same way Turles rebelled against the Saiyans by deserting the army

They also share the character flaw of skipping steps for power while looking down on others and being self-absorbed and closed-minded on certain viewpoints. 

Goku Black and Turles have similar traits in their arrogance, but also their passion for battle coming out in troubling circumstances due to the Saiyan instincts. 

Even right down to the way Zamasu and Turles are defeated are the same after having ravaged the planet and seemingly stripped it of all life and hope. They are both poetically defeated by the power of Earth's remaining living creatures finding hope as they come together in their darkest moments. One is a Spirit Bomb the other is a Spirit Sword. (Granted most of us ignore the Xeno Button)

[dragonsballsz]

Galaxy brain realization: Vegito's name uses the "-to" from "Kakarotto" because, as suggested by the name, Vegeta is the dominant personality that makes up the fusion, while Gogeta uses the "Go-" from "Goku" for the opposite reason.

i’ve heard that theory before, and i’m not against it, but it’s not quite the theory i usually go with.

anyhow, buckle up bc this gets extensive.

both goku and vegeta refer to vegeta as “vegeta” (bc his name is vegeta), but they differ in terms of how they refer to goku. neither gogeta nor vegito spend much time pondering their names - they just basically go “guess i’m gogeta/vegito” and move on. but in the manga, vegito explicitly refers to goku as “kakarot” before deciding on the name “vegito” for himself.

this comes right after goku and vegeta’s argument on fusing, which, following goku’s explanation of how it works, has vegeta state that he’d rather die than fuse with goku, and goku responding that this isn’t the time for pride. however, vegeta says that he feels goku hid ssj3 from him during their fight either as manipulation or mockery, and that that’s why he refuses to fuse. goku tries to explain, but vegeta comes to the conclusion that goku was mocking him, only agreeing to fuse after goku tells him that buu has eaten bulma, piccolo, gohan, goten, and trunks. even then, he’s still clearly unhappy about it.

that discussion, to me, demonstrates how little goku and vegeta understand each other. despite knowing goku’s kind and honest nature, vegeta still isn’t able to come up with a reason for goku not to use ssj3 that doesn’t boil down to something antagonistic towards vegeta (manipulation or mockery). on the other end, goku - understandably - assumes vegeta is refusing to fuse bc he feels that working with goku infringes on his pride rather than bc he feels slighted that goku didn’t go all out against him earlier - he misses that it’s not so much vegeta’s pride as a saiyan warrior as it is his deep-seated insecurity of not being strong enough.

their inability to understand one another is still key to their relationship, and that shows in vegito. to me, vegito’s name - and the basis of his existence - come from how vegeta and goku view one another. vegito showcases their respect for one another’s fighting abilities, but his personality doesn’t quite mesh with either of them. he switches from dramatically announcing that he’s “super vegito” to a serious face ready for battle. “super vegito” is a callback to when vegeta first achieved super saiyan, declaring himself “super vegeta”. goku was barely conscious for that, but it occurred right after vegeta viciously kicked him out of the fight (yes, he was technically saving him, but he made sure to be as nasty about it as he could). as for the serious face, that shows up multiple times. however, i’m reminded of planet namek, when vegeta had just been murdered by frieza (but hadn’t quite died yet). he’s lying there dying, and watches goku’s face go from concerned to understanding to determined.

vegito’s behavior seems drawn not from goku and vegeta’s actual personality traits but from how they view those traits in one another. vegito is arrogant and clever, vicious and excitable. but all of those traits are only shown briefly, even in the limited time vegito is onscreen. i believe that this is bc the impression one person has of another can only ever really scratch the surface of who that person is - that’s not necessarily a bad thing; just kinda how it goes.

after falling apart, they seem to have gained a stronger understanding of each other - vegeta still refuses to fuse inside buu, but that’s bc he finds that dance ridiculous and demeaning. this time, however, goku just lets it go. he puts up no argument whatsoever to vegeta’s refusal to fuse. to me, that’s because he’s gained a deeper understanding of how vegeta functions (read: barely) and where he’s coming from. on vegeta’s end, he becomes much more cooperative with goku, now that he’s quite literally been in his shoes. he knows goku isn’t looking down on him, he knows he’s not being mocked or manipulated. when goku asks vegeta to buy him time, vegeta agrees right away. when vegeta is about to kill good buu, after ignoring mr. satan’s pleas for him to not do that, goku steps in and tells dende to heal him. rather than blasting buu out of spite, vegeta asks goku for an explanation and backs down once he’s gotten one. he still makes it clear that he views buu as a threat, but he’s a threat vegeta is willing to allow to keep living. for vegeta, that’s huge. remember, this is the guy who slaughtered the ginyu force as soon as goku took them down, only sparing ginyu himself because he’s no longer a threat and will have to spend the rest of his life as a helpless frog. and yet he spares buu, who is still an enormous threat and who vegeta died trying to get rid of, solely because goku asked him to.

so vegito, to me, is symbolic of them learning to understand each other. he’s quite literally the final step to cement them as friends - the physical embodiment of going to therapy, if you will.

gogeta, however, seems much more put together. granted, i haven’t really been able to consume much media with gogeta in it - he’s not a canon manga character, which is my main source for consuming dragon ball, so my main source for gogeta is clips i’ve seen on youtube and things i’ve read on the wiki.

gogeta comes off as more solidly a person. i feel in part that this is due to his first appearance being in gt, where goku and vegeta are on somewhat better terms than in dbz. from what i’ve seen, gogeta is much more put together than vegito is. he’s still willing to pull pranks and mock people, but there’s always an ulterior motive. he’s got goku’s humor, but he’s able to put it aside in order to defeat an opponent - or use it to his advantage. he’s got vegeta’s viciousness, but he’s able to curb it once the threat is neutralized, even if said threat is still alive and could return to wreak more havoc.

the way i see it, vegito represents goku and vegeta’s understanding of one another, whereas gogeta represents their understanding of themselves. various traits show through more in various circumstances, but neither is ever what i’d call “dominant”. for example, if a bookworm and a jock were to fuse, you’d see more of the bookworm if you were in a library and more of the jock if you were in the gym. the presence of the other wouldn’t be lessened, it would just be less noticeable to outside observers. i think it’s the same here.

that’s just my take on it, though.

[kyotakumrau]

2020.12.21 The World You Live In at Zepp Tokyo, 2nd event report

Fujieda again started with greetings, introduced himself and Takabayashi and then asked for applause for the band members.

And we got quite a surprise!

Kaoru and Toshiya came on stage!

Thus making Tokyo the only place where band members changed for each slot/session. As much as I'd love to see Kyo again I was happy as my friend only went to Tokyo and she's Toshiya's fan😊

F: please introduce yourself.

Kaoru: you already did lol. I'm Kaoru.

T: I'm Toshiya.

F: the last video you just watched was different from other sessions. The trailer for the concert film screenings that will start from February. It's something only you know right now. As you can imagine from the title it will be something similar to this, with the band members coming for the talk after.

K talked a bit about the situation as well.

T: it's still difficult to hold concerts, but this is something we can do. So I hope you will look forward to it.

Next F started the 'merch items introduction corner', he passed the items to the members.

K: I was watching the 1st slot and we talked about them in Osaka, too. (he talked more about the items and what members said)

F: yes, everything can fit in the pouch so it's a very useful item. You can buy all merch items and put then in the pouch and take home like that. Let's look at Toshiya's big pick key chains (he pronunced that very carefully😂)

They talked about members signs and company logos when suddenly K requested to have to lights in the venue set brighter so he could see everyone.

After that F announced they wil start with questions from the fans, passed the part of papers to others, but K gave his to F saying it's better if he chooses.

T: ok, I have a good one! 'It was Die's birthday yesterday, did you send him a birthday message? And are there any memorable presents you've received in the past?'

T: I got a bicycle. I was really happy at first, but then it was stolen from the parking area.

F: when was it?

T (I didn't catch it but from the context it must have been quite early on in their career)

F: during the tour?

T: yeah, we were always giving each other something for our birthdays, every year, but as years passed it got more difficult to choose something good and we then just stopped.

F: how about you, K?

K: I got a Mickey Mouse, about this size (he showed us with his hand, about 1m tall).

F: 'how do you deal with feeling tired?'

K: I go for a massage.

F: only during the tour?

K: anytime.

F: when the most? When writing songs?

K (laughing): but we're always writing songs

T: for me it's sauna.

F: do you often go when just staying at home?

T: for example after the gym

Ta: 'what did you eat most often during the stay at home period?'

K: ...what did I eat, what about you, Tooru?

Ta: sausages.

The whole venue kinda rotfled 🤣🤣🤣

F: that's cute😆

Ta: it's something I can usually only eat at home.

K: ...something I was really into...(still thinking)....(thinking)

F: for me it was Jiro-ken ramen.

T: at home?! So you weren't really staying at home?

F: I gained some weight after the overseas tour. I started to diet then, and one day a week, a cheat day, I could eat whatever I wanted. My cheat choice was Jiro, either at the restaurants or to take away.

K: ...what was it for me...

F: maybe nabe you talked about before? (in Osaka)

K wasn't impressed 😆

T: canned mackerel for me.

F: for when you drink etc? No, just like that?

They all laughed here a bit.

Suddenly K jumped in with a new topic.

K: in Osaka you talked about the theme behind Kyo's outfit, you said it was pink but he pointed his green hair as the main point.

F: that was difficult.

K: tbh I also thought the main idea was pink (he also talked about Kyo's use of Kansai dialect)

T: 'what were you able to do after becoming an adult?'

F: there's a lot of food people start eating when they grow up.

T: food topic again? 😆

F: for example for me it was raisins.

T: as I get older I can drink more. When we just debuted I couldn't drink at all.

F: drinking wine?

T: おっさんだから・'cause I'm an old guy.

K started talking about the food he couldn't handle when he was small but the next question kinda made me forget it 😅

' 'wet cat food is actually quite good, have you ever tried?'

F: I have a cat and sometimes when I give my cat wet food some will get on my fingers. I'd just lick it. You know some of it, the mackerel or tuna, it looks so good.

T: please send me a video when you eat cat food next time.

😂

(but to be fair most of canned cat food in Japan is 100% fish🤷‍♀️)

K: 'when you can tour again what local specialities do you want to eat?'

F: motsunabe in Fukuoka

T: miso type?

F: of course (if not Shinya would kill him)

K: what did you eat in Sendai?

F: bento

K: in Nagoya?

F: nothing special

T: we had normal bento, but it was miso katsu (Nagoya's style cutlet)

F: but if it's not in a restaurant it's not the same. Anything you want to eat, T?

T: Beki soba from Niigata.

F: have you tried it before?

T: when we went there on a tour, I really like soba.

They talked but more about food, tare katsu, okonomiyaki from Hiro and Jiro again.

T: is Jiro really that good?

F: 😍

K: I've tried it before, but it's (just) okay.

F: it's all about how the noodles taste (type of flour etc)

(more food talk, choosing between salt and tare options)

K: 'what's your favorite onigiri (rice ball)?'

F: how about you, K?

K: I don't eat onigiri.

T: Me also, but if I have to choose it's sujiko/salted salmon roe.

K (about not eating onigiri much): right, you only eat soba.

T then told us the story how much he loved salmon roe even as a child. When he was quite small he went shopping to the local supermarket with his grandmother. When he saw salmon roe in the shop he just started eating it directly from the shelf/container. Of course when his grandmother and supermarket staff found out it got very noisy, but because he was so young it was forgiven.

(back to onigiri topic)

Ta: salmon for me.

F: oh that is nice, I love the most tamago-kake-gohan rice ball (TKG is a very simple, traditional Japanese breakfast dish - just rice with a raw egg eaten with soy sauce, sometimes other toppings), the Newdays chain is selling them

K: the chain operates only in this area, no?

F explained that there are Newdays in other places too, fe Sendai. He also really got into explaining all pros incl the tasty gooey filling inside of the rice ball.

K (imitating F) oh that's nice 😂

F: 'it got so cold recently, what's your favourite season?'

T: spring or fall, I don't hate winter but I definitely don't like summer.

K: fall. (he said as this year wasn't too cold he could go out a bit during breaks)

F: so 2~3 weeks ago was your fav time.

K: here in Tokyo at least.

F: 'as we're staying home much more now do you have a recommended tv series or a channel?' (not just a movie)

K: Cobra kai.

F: ah, you tweeted about it.

K: it will be on Netflix next month, the 3rd season.

K talked about The Karate Kid (Japanese title 'Best Kid').

F: I don't know it.

Ta: me too.

K (shocked): you're serious???

T: I know, of course.

F: 'Best Kid'? 'Best Fit?'

T: just stop it🙃

F: how about your recommendation, T?

T: The BOYS on Prime.

K: I haven't seen it, but it seems interesting.

T: it is! I also like BOSCH. I'm just watching like after work and so on.

After that K talked about how cinema with the capacity reduced by half was nice because you could put your bag on the seat next to you etc, but recently came back to the full house (Demon Slayer did that...)

F: 'how do you feel being in front of people first time in a while?'

T: I'm sorry it has to be done this way

F: don't say that😆

(missed K's reply)

T: it's tiring to be in front of people.

F: but we do it in an interesting way.

T: yeah.

T: 'what's your favourite game? Even including older ones like famicon?'

K: games?

T: Spelunker on Amicon😆

T/K in agreement: where you die so quickly

K: PS5 is so popular, I didn't win.

F: it seems Kyo won once but the information he submitted had a mistake.

K: I applied for Sony's lottery and Big Camera's.

F: you don't want PS5, T?

T: recently I don't play.

K: what about the... what was it Tsushima?

They all reacted with 'ah'

F: what kind of game is it?

K: don't ask me😅 but it looks interesting.

T: it seems to be very popular abroad.

F: 'what's your favourite way to eat ozoni?'

(A new year soup with rice cakes)

Ta: the soy sauce based soup, with grilled mochi.

F: but what ingredients do you add?

K: isn't that way too detailed??

Ta (tries): spring onion etc

K listed grilled mochi, spinach, carrot etc. Then he told us about his family tradition to properly make rice cakes for New year, pounding was so loud even if you wanted to watch tv, you couldn't. But then they had enough for a month.

T: soy sauce style.

F: with miso or?

T: I said soy sauce.

F: what ingredients?

T: rice cakes, spinach, and what is that... (he started to make circles with his hand) ...?

F: naruto?

T (yeah that/nods)

F: in my family we do soy sauce, rice cakes, carrot, fish cakes etc.

K (ignoring F comment that they should finish now, in a teasing way): what about osechi, which dishes do you like?

F: konbu maki or kurikinton.

K: how about you, T?

T: that egg dish that is kinda like this (he gestured the shape again)?

Ta: tatemaki?

F: datemaki!

T: I think it's datemaki.

K: I like that beef roll with carrot and green beans inside (its 牛肉の八幡巻き)

F (making very dreamy face): Aaaaaaah that😍 green beans are so good.

F: ok, thank you all.

K: what about Tooru (Ta)?

F: it's time, sorry.

Last comments.

Toshiya: thank you all for gathering here despite the COVID situation. It's difficult to do concerts now so we tried doing film screenings. In difficult times like this it's not only about the band members, there's our staff and also the venues. I'd love to play concerts again, please wait for us.

Kaoru: it is a difficult situation to share my personal opinion... if we can't do the concerts in a way everyone can enjoy... enjoy, it will affect our relationship of mutual trust. I think this (COVID) situation will continue for some time still, so I think it's better to go with the film screening events. But we will keep checking the situation. Please stay healthy and I hope all of you will come to watch it.

[helpfulbug]

okay i have one final request 🙈🙈 as i was typing up my thots on your yyh post, something about kuwabara reminded me of vegeta and then i was like VEGETA... OUR MEOW MEOW MAN.. so 🤪🤪 i hav returned to ask 👉🏼👈🏼 da blorbo meme for dragon ball? 🥺

ohh sarah i had to wait until i was in the right mind set for this one...and since the mania has hit on monday im ready now >:]

GLUP SHITTO ASK MEME

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

ofc its bulma!!! (i could also put vegeta here but as you said yourself he is THE meow meow so until later bestie) shes so epic i love that she and goku meet as kids and even as a young air head teen its established that shes extremely bright and innovative. despite being a genuis shes never the "quite nice girl" she always just speaks her mind big win for women

also every bulma outfit/style ever slaps so hard she never misses and never shows up w/o being dressed to nines even w a baby in her hand (my personal fav is the big hair red stripped dress of the trunks arc)

like all other women in db she got hardcore nerfed after becoming a mom but she got it a little better than chi chi bc at least she can have some plot relevance for technical stuff but still T_T can we get a working milf in here PLS the kids are off fighting after age 2 anyways

i will touch on this later more but my GOD the power the bulma vegeta marriage has in comedy alone one of the funniest things in anime ever i was just explaining it to the bestie earlier<3

also not to bring up a whole other timeline but FUTURE BULMA wahh the way she kept on going w a little kid when all of her friends and family were dead and build the time machine that saves the earth and puts her son into knowing if he manages to change the future this version of her will cease to exist or he will die in the past and she will never see her child again damned to survive the end of the world all by herself knowing she send her own son to his death TORIYAMA u didnt need to go this hard tears im my eyes just thinking about it wahhhh

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

i would have to say puar or chiaotzu.....i love that theyre just little guys and fiercly loyal to their besties they both also started out doing crimes and being evil for fun until they decided to be good actually so theyre quite similar in that way

tldr; theyre both shaped and i enjoy looking at them very much:)

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

TEENAGE GOHAN hes soooo funny he saved the earth and then was just like ok time to return to school :) and then he has to use his superpowers but only in situations where he has no other choice and hes always in a hurry bc he cant be late for school! he wears bulmas lame ass superhero outfit w/o shame bc his sense of style is 10 years behind and calls himself the great saiya man so no one will recognize him as anything abnormal meanwhile he rides on a cloud to school every single day

on a more emotional note he had to help raise goten bc goku died before he was born....hes such a good older brother remember the episode where hes training and is like hey goten wanna throw rocks at me :} ? and goten almost kills him bc he doesnt know how the count down from 3 thing works anything wah wah wah wah siblings i very much enjoy thinking about^^

also he dabbed in the 90s before it was cool or uncool .... unbothered king....

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

shes an obscure fave in dbz only bc TORIYAMA FORGOT ABOUT HER but LAUNCH so epic so epic (i know shes supposed to be a funny take on "split personality" women but lol my city now) anyways she was so cool her design slaped and the ambush the enemy by sneezing and getting violent was always funny^^ also i thought she and tien were very sweet:) and i think there was a storyline where she wanted to get to the bottom of her condition and learn to be more controlled about it too? (iirc tho)

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

OK HERE WE GO u all already know who im talking about the original short king (3 foot troll doll hair included) male pattern baldness icon he was pondering the orbs bc it was cool he never sets foot outside w/o the channel boots and gloves ON prince of 3 subjects the original trophyhusband his name is literally vegtable what can i say that hasnt been said..... unironically one of my fav characters ever

also his cultural impact where would we be if vegeta hadnt felt it coming in the air that night...

lets not forget no trunks gender w/o vegeta either (thank you KING)

also gt only so this is a bit obscure but hes so WIPPED for his daugther (i think hes also making up for missing most of trunks childhood) the episode where she disses his cursed mustache and he IMMEDIATLY shaves and goes through the house waiting for ppl to compliment him on it OK WORSTIE

on a more serious note vegeta orgin story MY GOD. being fully aware when his planet was blown up that being taking in and working for the guy who did dude he was like 6 wah wah wah i know its been memed to death but the namek saga scene where hes deadly wounded and PLEADS goku to kill freeza for their people MAN.

also bonus german dub tidbit but SPONGEBOB VA VEGETA i think they did it bc he sounds similar to the french one? anyways we have this cursed combo intil after the first goku vs vegeta fight iirc

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

i would also say vegeta here but no doubles so im saying in a non joking way

master rochi DIE OLD FART

also toriyama for every shitty racists depiction in dbz wtf is mr popo bro

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

well superhell is p much canon in dbz and quite a lot of ppl have been there so idk

if its for gay reasons i would say trunks he is the fruitiest dbz character for SURE

OH also mr satan just bc i think it would be funny (i dont remember if he already made it in there sorry)

also i know hes already in there but freeza can spend eternity in that cocoon on that tree

[blastthechaos]

I posted 57,034 times in 2021

187 posts created (0%)

56847 posts reblogged (100%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 304.0 posts.

I added 482 tags in 2021

#danganronpa - 82 posts

#dr - 68 posts

#makoto naegi - 62 posts

#trigger happy havoc - 60 posts

#thh - 56 posts

#junko enoshima - 38 posts

#naejunko - 37 posts

#dr3 - 28 posts

#end of hopes peak high school - 26 posts

#sonic the hedgehog - 25 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#basically in this au naegi is still the protag but the original survivors die and the ones that die become the survivors (junko still dies)

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

The hilarious part about Danny's suckiness at dodging is that he has a fuckton of powers that should be incredible useful for dodging.

He can open holes in his body with no problem, he can split himself, he can phase through the ground, he can duplicate himself to use as decoys, he can go fucking intangible, I think he uses a teleport once. He has abilities for dodging that Sans would kill for and Spider-Man would die of envy...and he just stands there and takes it 99% of the time, he makes DBZA Gohan look like a dodging prodigy.

And that's hilarious.

258 notes • Posted 2021-11-16 22:09:15 GMT

#4

Makoto, Hajime and Shuichi:Can you just give a clear cut answer for once?

Kyoko, Nagito and Kokichi:Nah fam, we gonna make you work for it

280 notes • Posted 2021-08-10 19:36:47 GMT

#3

Nagito:I am truly in love with the Hope that grows inside of you

Hajime:What does he mean by that?

*Meanwhile outsidd the NWP*

Makoto:Hajime is a great and smart guy but boy is he dense when it comes to love, how could he miss that?

Kyoko, who's sending non stop hints to Makoto for a while, trying not to strangle him:...It's truly a mystery

Byakuya:*Laughing his ass off*

363 notes • Posted 2021-08-15 22:46:18 GMT

#2

Fuck it, Full Halfa Fenton Family AU

Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom

Pretty much same powerset as canon

Ice Core

Has Less baggage because his whole family is roped into this so he isn't alone, he actually thinks being an Halfa is kinda cool

Still feels guilty cause he Kickstarted the accident that Half killed them all

Gets along better with his mom

Maddie Fenton/Maddie Phantom

Didn't care much for names so she choose to follow the same way her son names himself

Ice core

Her attacks are more focused/practical but doesn't have much creativity. Reflecting on how she's better at the fighting part than the inventor part

The best fighter of the four, has the most skill

She's excited to be a ghost because now she can study them better but worries the effect it has on her family

Wants to leave her kids out of Ghost Fighting but Danny insist on joining in, she teams up with him the most, although Jack and Jazz are pretty up there as well

She doesn't think the Ghost are pure evil anymore and is ashamed of thinking that now that she's one of them, she also feels ashamed that it took becoming one of them to understand that

Feels she and Jack are to blame for all of this, Danny disagrees and she disagrees it's his fault

There's no divide between her and Danny because the whole family is roped into this, they're closer than ever

Jack Fenton/Jack Jack-o'-lantern

Name is an alliteration because of course, Danny says that's lame but secretly thinks it's genius

Fire Core

Can't sense Ghosts because doesn't have an Ice Core but on the upside his Fire Core let's him teleport while Danny and Maddie can't because they have Ice Cores

Frequently comes up with new attacks or thinks up new powers reflecting on his inventor side, they range from flashy but impractical, flashy but practical, goofy and goofy but ridiculously useful

Basically the performer to Maddie's Technician

Thinks being a ghost is awesome, internally feels immensely guilty for Half-Killing his family by creating the portal even if it Maddie and Danny also had a hand on it

Much like Maddie he no longer has his toxic views on Ghost, he doesn't show guilt on having them as Maddie does but rather does something similar to what happened with Vlad:Tries to be as supportive of them as possible to make up for his former views, though isn't as overbearing about it, partially because he never actually hurt a Ghost before being an Halfa

Closer to Jazz like in canon, wants to make up for turning her into a Half-Ghost, she eventually reciprocates, it's kinda like the Vlad situation in canon

Has arguments with Maddie about if having a Fire Core is better than having an Ice Core

Power and skill wise seems like the clumsiest of the four, but once he gets serious he kicks ass hard reflecting on his canon counterpart

See the full post

380 notes • Posted 2021-08-07 20:01:11 GMT

#1

I know it's popular to portray Danny has having scars and all, that's fine by me.

But considering Ghost Regeneration in the series is busted (like they regenerate from nearly everything) image just Danny shrugging immensely fatal injuries and be like "well that's annoying" everytime while everyone else freaks out.

782 notes • Posted 2021-11-04 03:41:21 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[darklymelanatedstories]

You will be mine (ft Piccolo&ChiChi)

Part 1

Everything went downhill when he left. When he died at the hands of a monster, who the police still could not find, and left Gohan and I alone, along with another baby already on the way. Having one more mouth to feed while working at my horrid job just to make ends meet and make sure my baby boy doesn't go to bed hungry.

Goku wasn't the most involved parent but he kept us living a comfortable life. He kept us safe and happy but now he's gone and we couldn't even give him a proper send off because the detectives still haven't found the body of my supposedly deceased husband.

"There was blood all over the scene. The DNA match, it's your husband. But there's footsteps leading away from the scene but they stop at a dead end."

How could his corpse just get up. Was he still alive?

"An anonymous witness said that they saw his body there before we arrived. The footprints match with the sneakers he wore."

It doesn't make sense. He couldn't have just walked away and vanished of the face of the earth.

"It's no doubt that this is a suicide. There isn't any evidence of another human being that was at the scene of the crime."

They say it was suicide but I know my Goku. He was too happy to have taken his own life. He had so much to live for. He had his life, his friends. He had us...he had me.

No. Someone must've done it. For some reason Goku's good nature got him more enemies than friends. Someone must've done it.

"Alright, ma'am. Since you keep pushing for this, who you do think would want your husband dead?"

A lot of people. The people that couldn't get rid of Goku just as he couldn't get rid them.

"Frieza? You better have some pretty tight evidence and a lot of guts to be accusing one of the most powerful people on Earth for murdering your husband."

"Cell? Cell has been locked in holding for years. He couldn't have done this and the androids have done their time. Your husband even fought for their freedom, remember?"

"Chi Chi, you honestly think the husband of Bulma Briefs could have done this? If it were Vegeta we'd have known by now. I know this is a hard time but you should stop wasting our time and going around accusing people. You have a child to look after. You don't wanna have anyone suing or pressing charges."

Could even be one of his closest friends. These guys weren't always angels when they met Goku. But maybe they were right. Maybe I let Goku's death get to me. I can't worry about that now. I have a child to look after and soon I'll have two.

Speaking of which...

"Hey mom we're back." Placing the sparkling clean plate, from my absentminded cleaning, back into the sink, I placed a smile on my face before turning to my little boy who was already running to me to trap in one of his powerful bear hugs.

"Sorry we're late. We got held up a bit.",he said.

"It was my fault." The sound of the deep baritone voice echoed in the kitchen as he stepped in with one hand stuffed in his jean pocket and the other one clutching something tightly in his palm.

"We thought we'd get you something nice." He looked at Gohan, giving him a smirk. "Right, Gohan?"

"Yeah!!" My little boy started jumping up and down excitedly then grabbed my hand impatiently to drag me to the outside.

"Ok calm down! What is it you wanted me to–"

My eyes widened. In front of me was a big red capsule Corp brand car with a large white bow on the hood. Probably a newer model since I haven't seen much of them driven around.

"What a beautiful car." I was about to ask why piccolo suddenly got himself a new car when he came up next to me swaying the keys on his finger.

"And it's all yours."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Mine?"

"Yep. I figured it'd help that you don't have to take the bus to work everyday plus it'd save you alot of time on your errands."

I was stuck between feeling happy and grateful for the thought and amazing gift, and feeling insulted to be thought of as a charity case. I don't know how many times I've told him that I was fine. I wasn't a damsel in distress that needed saving. I could do this one my own but–he's so sweet.

Ever since Goku "died" Piccolo has been nothing but helpful despite me practically chasing him away whenever he offered his services or money. Goku wasn't a very wealthy man and he didn't have life insurance so when he died he left us high and dry, but Piccolo would always be there...for some reason.

Always coming around whenever he had the chance to spend time with Gohan or just to keep me company and be my shoulder to cry on whenever I missed Goku.

Maybe it has something to do with him being very close to Gohan but I can't complain. Out of all the people I know, Piccolo proved to be the one I can trust.

"So, do you want to try it out?",he asked. I was so busy with my own thoughts I didn't even realize that he had opened the door for me.

"Uh," Gohan suddenly had a nervous look on his face. "Are you sure about this, Mr Piccolo? Mom is a already a force to be reckoned with, now imagine what her with road rage would be like."

Piccolo's eyes widened looking as if he paled at the thought. "On second thought, it's getting dark. Maybe we should try it out another–"

"Nope, too late!",I shouted, jumping into the driver's seat and clutching the steering wheel just in case the boys would try pulling me out.

Piccolo got into the driver's seat and we noticed the little scamp trying to creep away.

Piccolo honked the horn, startling him and freezing him on the spot. "Gohan, get in here!"

"But I've got homework–"

"Oh no, it was your idea to go car shopping. If I die, you're dying with me."

I rolled my eyes as I turned the key. "Jeez, you don't drive for a few years and now people are afraid you might kill them."

Hearing a laugh from my passenger I turned to find his obsidian eyes staring back at me. His eyes were filled with something, something I can't put my finger on.

I noticed his lip twitch a bit before he turned away from me and put his seatbelt on. "Let the kid stay home and I'll judge your terrible driving myself."

"It's passengers like you that make me wanna crash the car.",I teased earning a growl and slightly terrified look on his face. I rolled down my window and told Gohan to stay safe and that I'd be back soon.

Piccolo scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, covering the Namek logo on his white T-shirt. "He'll be fine, it's me I'm more worried about."

•••

"So how was that?",I asked with a smug look on my face as I parked the car outside his home. Hey, he had to get home somehow.

He grunted. "I'm surprised I made it in one piece."

"Listen, if you're too chicken then don't ride with me next time."

"Very funny.",he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Raising my head up with a smile I replied with, "I know, I'm hilarious."

He gave me a scowl to which I just laughed at because I couldn't take him seriously no matter how intimidating he might seem.

"Thank you.",I said once I regained composure. "For everything. I really appreciate you helping our family out."

He flashed me a rare smile. "Well it wasn't easy, what with you threatening to end my life with your murderous frying pan and all."

I nudged him in the arm. "Leave my frying pan out of this."

I took his hand in mine, feeling how he stiffened lightly at my touch. He looked at me and I gave him a warm smile. "Goku was right about you and I see why Gohan loves you too. I'm lucky to have a friend like you, Piccolo."

He sighed, it sounded...sad. Maybe it was because the mention of Goku.

"Yeah, friends.",he muttered. "That's what they're for, right?"

I squeezed his hand gently and I felt him do the same. There seemed to be a lingering before he let go and got out of the car.

I said my goodbyes and drove off for home. I'm about to have another baby in 8 months. I have to find my husband's killer, with or without the stupid police. At least I know that I'll have Piccolo by my side to help me.

_________________________________________

Intoxicated, he stepped into the dark room where the only light source was coming from the open door from which he came him and the windows where the curtains weren't shut. Finishing his glass of whiskey in one chug, he manoeuvred his way to his bed, the torturous words still replaying in his mind.

When he neared his bed, he noticed the box on his dresser. The box he forgot to put back in his hiding place. The box he didn't want to put back. He loved looking at it. The box brought back that loving memory.

The box that contained the ring.

The ring of the man he had murdered.

A devilish smirk shaped his lips as he opened it, the moonlight shining on the gold ring.

He held it up to his face as a chuckle left his lips which immediately turned into a deranged cackle.

Phase one was complete.

"You will be mine."

[duhragonball]

#10?

10. The Dragon Ball series isn’t exactly known for being consistent with its story, its characters, and various other things. Which inconsistency irritates you the most?

I suppose GT is the one that I keep coming back to. I'm thinking about doing a liveblog of GT and Super next year, and I keep wondering how I'm going to cover GT Episode 1 without going into a long, long rant about all the plotholes involved with the Black Star Dragon Balls. The idea of defective Dragon Balls might have some merit, but what drives me nuts is how those things have supposedly just lain around for years without anyone ever mentioning them. The people who should know about them seem unaware, and the people who do know about them shouldn't be aware of them at all. But that's a discussion for another time.

Turning to Dragon Ball Super, it irks me how casually they keep abusing the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, despite the whole gimmick of a person only being able to spend no more than two years inside the thing. I assume that someone decided the rule no longer matters because of how Buu discovered you can escape through the power of screaming, but the bigger problem is that characters will spend years training in there and never seem to get much out of it. Like, the big development in the DBS manga is that Frieza recently spent a whole decade training in a HTC-like environment, so now he's presumably ultra-mega-super strong. And that's fine, that's how Dragon Ball works. But sooner or later the next bad guy will show up, and the next power-up will come along, and it'll make Black Frieza seem like a minor upgrade from Golden Frieza. And that's fine too, except it'll look really stupid that Frieza spent ten years of his life working for such small gains.

Other than that... one thing that really grinds my gears is the way fans refuse to accept that the original Dragon Ball and Z aren't all that inconsistent. A story like this is never going to be airtight, but a lot of the supposed inconsistencies are due to filler scenes produced by people who didn't know how the story was going to play out, or fan misinterpretations.

For example, I remember being on this discord server a couple of years ago, and someone was running down all these plot holes in the Cell Saga. I went through each one, explaining how they were actually pretty easy to rationalize. Why didn't Trunks kill 18 instead of fighting Semiperfect Cell? Because as much as Trunks hates the androids, he's a good man who couldn't bring himself to kill a defenseless person. Why didn't 18 blow herself up when she had the chance? Because... she didn't want to die? Why didn't Goku take the medicine when Trunks told him to? Because he told Goku to take it when he got sick, and he didn't get sick until the day of the battle. Stuff like that. But I didn't really convince anyone, because they'd rather be smug and pretend they poked all these holes in the thing.

Another example, I just saw a twitter thread of people arguing over whether Goku turned Super Saiyan because of Frieza killing Krillin or because of Frieza threatening to kill Gohan next. And it's like those things literally happened one right after the other, so I'm pretty sure it can be both. But it's not even a dialogue for some fans. They just want to pick sides so they can dunk on the other side for being "wrong".

Oh, and the whole Power Level thing. Vegeta demonstrated the futility of scouters way back in 1989-- The Z-Fighters can raise and lower their fighting power at will, so the readouts on the Scouters are useless. Vegeta destroyed his scouter as soon as he reached Namek. Ginyu stole Goku's body but couldn't replicate the same power levels that Goku had just used. Frieza claimed he had a power level of one million, but he had no technology with which to measure it, so how would he know? Goku became a Super Saiyan in spite of the testing performed on him as a baby, which predicted he would be a low-class fighter. The whole thesis of the Saiyans-Namek-Frieza arc is that you can't reduce battle power and fighting spirit to a number, and every character who tried ended up getting killed. And yet this point continues to sail over so many fans' heads.

But it is what it is, I guess.