#goku is a good father

[emmacornell]

alright i blocked the guy cause ngl i couldn’t handle it anymore but like

My Goku is a good dad posts attracts all kind of people which i expect and can handle except for the guy who tried to convince me Goku’s method of parenting is on par with Endeavor from MHA???? NO OH MY GOD DID YOU EVEN WATCH THE SAME SHOW???

This guy actually tried to push the idea that Goku, a guy who sacrifices everything to protect the people and planet (and fucking UNIVERSE) he loves, is the same as Endeavor, the guy who specifically chose a woman who’d spawn children with incredible strength and powers to carry on his own legacy.

Show me where Goku crafted a master plan to father children with Chi Chi for the sole purpose of fame and glory. Show me where Goku manipulated Gohan and Goten breaking them of any sense of spirit and joy and free will for the purpose of growing their strength, completely without any regard for their mental and emotional health. Show me where Goku disregards any of Gohan’s or Goten’s dreams or aspirations in life and enforces his own goals on them. Show me where Goku only sees Gohan and Goten as a means to an end for riches.

I’m fucking tired of y’all out here saying Goku is a bad father when y’all ain’t watched the show or read the damn manga in 20 odd years shut the fuck up sit the fuck down and look at the fucking source material.

Goku is a good dad.

[hi-there-buddies]

Goku may have made a mistake by not understanding his son’s drive in the Cell saga, but by God if he doesn’t understand his son now.

This man understands Gohan better than the fandom itself

(They’re talking about Gohan here btw)

[fabuloustrash05]

Here’s my Dragon Ball hottake (if it even is one in the fandom idk):

Goku is a better father than Vegeta.

Vegeta is a better husband than Goku.

[brucenorris007]

Goku: Raises his son with love in peace for four years, the first person Gohan reaches out for when he's scared. Gives his son Senzu and Kinto'un priority when he's injured.

Piccolo: Kidnaps and beats the shit out of a four-year-old who just lost his father for ten months.

Goku: Dies to protect Gohan twice.

Piccolo: Dies to protect Gohan once.

"Piccolo is Gohan's real dad!"

[dragonsballsz]

au where nappa survives

literally don't care about anything between vegeta not killing him and goku dying bc whether or not they legally got married, bulma and vegeta are considered husband and wife and i think it's vitally important that nappa would insist on a ceremony so he could walk vegeta down the aisle

yes he knows that that's what the bride's father does for her, but more importantly, he knows that vegeta doesn't know that.

and now i'm just imagining nappa and bulma's mom bonding over some kinda wedding-themed reality show

[grandtourz]

i have so many thoughts about gohan and goten its kind of unreal

[thecherrygod]

help a friend was like "i found some fucked up stuff on twitter, wanna see?" and i was kinda worried bc while he is a friend i still dont exactly know completely what his deal is

it was fanart of goku and sonic having a child and it was that one sonic transformation that looks like a super saiyan

[unclerippuascension]

nuclear take: but the people who say goku was a bad father to gohan watched way too much DBZA and DBS and now think that's just how Goku's character is/always has been and aren't like... a parody and shitty writing respectively.

[risingsouls]

[Vegeta stans man. 🤣🤣🤣

To sum up a small convo that thankfully got shut down immediately, even though the nimrod's point has nothing to do with the initial post:

VS: "If it weren't for Vegeta, Cell would have destroyed the planet." (I use better spelling and grammar but you know).

SB, who actually watched the series: "Dude, if it weren't for Vegeta, Cell wouldn't have made it to his perfect form. Sit down." (Paraphrased and emphasis added)

It's always funny to me because I love Vegeta, but goodness. At least I can admit he's a flawed shit lord who makes many many many many MANY mistakes, mostly because he's a cocky sonuvabitch with a massive ego. And sure. He deserves some credit for Cell's defeat because we can't know if Gohan would have pulled that off without the second Cell got distracted (which like...why did he? Is Vegeta in base form just THAT much stronger than Piccolo, Yamcha, and Tien attacking COMBINED? Big doubt but I guess it could have just been he didn't expect it from the side? Cell experts, help me out). But like...we wouldn't be in this situation if he just, you know, merc'ed semi perfect Cell and called it a day. I don't hate that decision for him, don't get me wrong; that was absolutely in character and he absolutely would want that challenge to test his new strength when he's clowning so hard on SP Cell. But don't use his one little sneak attack to erase the fact that he put the planet there in the first place (not that he cares in THAT way, but I won't go into that lmao).]

[t4tadrienette]

So I only watched bits of Super, and I find it funny how people are like, "Vegeta is a much better father than Goku," and then I watch a scene from Super, and I hear Bulma saying that Vegeta has been gone for six months, and Goku was still there with his family. Also, Goku definitely didn't spend 3 years alone training with Whis, Vegeta was there too. You guys saw cute dad moment with Bra and went "oh father of the year" when he literally fucking ditched on Trunks and Bulma, when he was a toddler and in the Majin Buu arc admitted to have never hugged Trunks, like you guys like to forget these stuff, but always gotta mention Goku's mistakes

[tigirl-and-co]

i like that every time they try to add backstory to dragon ball it makes things worse and everyone angry.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Father Son Kamehameha Dubstep Remix [LEZBEEPIC REUPLOAD]

Peak Gohan moment! Nothing can top this for Gohan! Goku being Gohan’s number 1 cheerleader is so heartwarming! Why was this not the last saga! Why did Goku stay dead!!!!?

[clannfearrunt]

i can’t keep listening to this pokemon trainer ass Kitaro hes doing psychic damage to me every time he opens his mouth

[paganminiskirt]

I also love how Vegito and Gogeta are not only distinctly different beings, and the former is conducted primarily by Vegeta while the latter is conducted primarily by Goku - but Vegito is clearly the more benevolent and emotionally involved of the two people, while Gogeta tends more towards frigidity and vindictiveness. Because as individuals, Vegeta’s “good side” is just as subliminal and rare to witness as Goku’s “bad side,” right; Vegeta is not a nice man by nature, and Goku doesn’t have a grudge holding bone in his body. Goku’s lack of any impulse towards vengeance is the only reason Vegeta is still breathing. This is well established.

But when Vegeta is shown to care for other people, it always manifests as him lashing out in defense of them against some greater source of cruelty - he gets pissed at Beerus for humiliating his father, he attacks Beerus for hurting Bulma, he freaks out on Cell for killing Future Trunks & knocks Present Trunks out immediately after hugging him for the first time, because he knows his son would insist on staying with him through his kamikaze attempt on Buu. Because Trunks is like that. Because Trunks is his son.

And Vegito takes that principle and drags it out to the extreme! The whole first fight with Buu is just him playing this sadistic cat and mouse game, very much in the arrogant style of Vegeta, but he also makes constant mention of the loss of Gohan, Goten, Trunks and the others - using the language of “stealing” “hunting” and “kidnapping” that brings to mind Vegeta’s own childhood trauma. He displays some aspects of Goku’s personality of course, with the playfulness and the attempts to get Buu to surrender, but Vegeta is obviously steering this ship. It’s his confidence and self-superiority that makes them lose the fight, and his belief in the necessity of a warrior’s “pride” that he explicitly cites as his reason for looking down on Buu.

Because this is what Vegeta’s attempts at “good” look like, right? Preternaturally violent and egotistical, but with a sense of protectiveness and paternity that renders his behavior heartwarming, at least enough to show you that he’s grown from the smirking, bloodthirsty garden gnome he was first introduced to us as. Underneath all the bravado, Vegito is aggrieved on behalf of someone else. He’s being kind in the only way he knows how.

Gogeta… is not that guy. He doesn’t do rescue missions, and he doesn’t feel the need to remind you of his superiority. He portrays himself as an avenger, not a defender, with lines that evoke a sense of justice and consequence like “it’s over, I’ve come for you” and “your own bad energy will be your undoing.” He snidely tells Frieza he’s coming back for him after he’s done with Broly, even though he’s visibly incapacitated and not really picking a fight. He forgoes Vegito’s up-close and relatively simple combat style in favor of these dramatic, wide-ranging attacks, more like an act of god than a natural disaster. And while Vegito allowed Buu to play with him a bit, postponing the end of the fight to sate his own lust for battle, Broly doesn’t even get to touch Gogeta once he goes super saiyan, his dedication to the pursuit reminding you of Goku’s final battle with Frieza.

…Except Goku offered Frieza clemency, and looked genuinely disappointed when he rejected it. Gogeta does no such thing. The audience gets to watch, half in awe and half in horror, as he renders this uber-aggressive Saiyan attack dog into a flailing, incoherent mess, not bothering to stop and ask him to surrender even though the updated Broly is a much more sympathetic character than Frieza or Majin Buu ever were. He enunciates the final kamehameha with such gravitas that you actually feel scared for Broly - and in the older movie, when Janemba switches back to his original form, he takes one look at Gogeta’s glowering face and scurries away in terror.

Hey, remember how Gohan fled in fear when Goku (under extreme duress) threatened him during the fight with Frieza? After he transformed into a super saiyan for the first time, guided only by mindless rage after Frieza’s pointless killing of Krillin? During a fight which only began after Vegeta, someone who caused him immeasurable harm in the past, told him to avenge the killing of both their families & the genocide of their race? All of which took place on a planet which the earthlings only had to travel to in the first place because the Saiyans killed several of their friends - a slaughter which Goku witnessed the aftermath of, at which point he told Nappa “there will be no mercy for you, you bastard” in the original manga?

Goku gets slotted into this role quite a lot, doesn’t he. He’s a protector, but also a savior, a planner, a consoler, and an avenger. He does his best to help people and he raises hell when he can’t, but he’s not vengeful by nature. Quite the opposite. See how he treats Vegeta in the Namek saga, smiling at him and bantering with him like he’s a coworker, and not the guy who crushed his bones to dust while cackling with sadistic delight.

But that’s because Vegeta only did that much damage to him. Nappa killed all the others - with Vegeta’s eager permission, yes, but that’s still enough distance to allow Goku to psychologically seperate him from those crimes. Goku’s clemency initially emerged as a byproduct of his desire to help people, but we have seen that same drive give way to brutal punitiveness when he fails, and somebody he loves dies. You can argue that it's misdirected self-hatred, anger at his own inability to be the hero those people trusted him to be - Krillin died screaming “Goku!” you might recall. The removal from other people Goku grew up enduring feeds into his sense of responsibility for the community that grew around him as an adult. He knows how important he is, and it hurts when he comes up short.

And I think that, understanding Gogeta to be primarily led by Goku but still notably impacted by Vegeta, that intense drive towards retribution the fusion displays takes on more meaning. Vegito exemplifies Vegeta’s better impulses, which are brought out in full force by Goku’s influence - Gogeta exemplifies Goku’s ugliest inner desires, with the leash he usually keeps them on loosened by Vegeta’s influence.

Because Vegeta was knocking down 100+ sentient creatures per day as soon as he could walk. He spent most of his adult life as a pampered slave, he murdered one of his oldest companions without a second thought, his introductory panel shows him munching on a severed limb, ffs. Vegeta has been through a lot, and I'm the last person to downplay that, but he hasn’t been going through it emotionally involved. He's used to this. He had to be. If he wasn't, his whole psyche would've collapsed by age twelve tops.

But Goku? Goku had to do all of that with his feelings turned on! And he chooses to remain steadfastly good and give second chances no matter how bad the situation, and that’s a healthy enough way of dealing with all this horror. But a side effect of being guided by that choice is the knowledge that he could be worse, he could be crueler. He’s a lot like Gohan, in that sense.

And Vegeta used his dying breaths to beg Goku to abandon that long-abiding impulse to show mercy. Goku might believe in forgiveness, and he might’ve let Vegeta go because of that belief, but Vegeta is a stubborn little bastard. He thinks that it’s holding him back, allowing people to slip through the cracks; to get hurt. And we’ve established that these two are both capable of misdirecting self-anger at others, though Vegeta does it much more often than Goku.

So when Goku’s mind is merged with Vegeta’s, and he’s forced to look back on his decisions to allow horrible people to live not with pride, but with regret and disgust, it manifests as Gogeta. A walking overcorrection, the sentient reconciliation of these two belief systems. Who doesn’t forgive and doesn’t forget, self-assured and bitter and terrifying, like Goku was for the first twenty seconds after he went Super Saiyan. Like he always told himself he wouldn’t be.

[saiyanmazen]

Parenting styles in Dragon Ball Z (and Super)

You know, to me, the interesting thing about this scene (and the one where they could to the aforementioned park) isn't the fact that Vegeta keeps his promise.

It's the fact that he uses positive reinforcement to motivate Trunks.

Do you think Vegeta was ever rewarded for landing a good hit? Definitely not. It was expected of him.

As an expert in children's development, I find it fascinating to look at this example of Vegeta parenting Trunks and what it says about his parenting style. I've seen headcanons that go from calling 'Dadgeta' authoritarian to neglectful, but I disagree.

In the following, I will briefly describe the four styles of parenting with focus on the authoritarian and the authoritative styles. I'll also compare them to how DBZ parents appear to raise their children, but mainly focus on Vegeta.

Authoritarian:

This is the old school parenting method where restrictions and punishments go hand in hand. The parents expect the children to obey rules without a clear explanation as to why and corporal punishment is used when the children overstep.

Unsurprisingly, it seems like a lot of people believe this is how Vegeta raises his children (If he is even involved; I'll address this later on.) It was likely how he was raised.

However, the only parent we actually see using this style is Chichi. She's not entirely unreasonable, but we do see her expect things from Gohan without explanations and she has a lot of restrictions set up. This might have something to do with Goku's parenting style, but more on that later.

Piccolo also uses authoritarianism with Gohan, but he isn't trying to parent him, just train him.

What's really interesting is that children raised in a household practicing authoritarianism tend to hold a lot of anger inside. They also have low self-efficacy and high self blame. Remind you of someone?

Indulgent

Here we see nurturing, accepting parents who don't have behavioral expectations of their children. They are responsive to the children's needs and wishes, but do not expect them to be the same toward other people. The parents want to be the child's friend rather than a demanding parent.

Children of indulgent parents tend to grow up without a sense of others' boundaries and generally have less discipline than their peers. They lack impulse control and are often irresponsible.

In DBZ we do see signs of this parenting style, but only limited. It's not commonly used in Asia and therefore, Toriyama didn't add it. In GT it's obvious that both Trunks and Bulla seem have been parenting this way by Bulma. It's also why many doubt that Vegeta has been much involved.

It's also easy to argue that Goku parents this way, although it's up for discussion.

Neglectful

Although many think that the indulgent parenting style have created a generation of undisciplined young people, the neglectful parenting style has actually had a greater effect.

The parents are either more interested in themselves and their own goals than their children's. (Although sometimes it's because the parents struggle with stress or depression) Children of these parents are usually lonely and melancholic, often have very low self esteem and are needy after affection and approval. This leads them to be easily manipulated and they are at a higher risk to end up in abusive relationships.

I think many of the Vegeta antis and those claiming Goku is a bad parent would place the two Saiyans here.

However, Goku is clearly involved in Gohan's upbringing, albeit choosing a more casual approach than Chichi, and returns after being dead for seven years, ready to be involved with Goten (and Gohan if he wants it). The reason that Goku mainly focuses on training isn't just because it's his own interest. It's what he knows for sure how to do.

Most importantly: it was how Goku was raised himself. First by Grandpa Gohan and later from his other father figure, Master Roshi. It isn't just in his blood; it's in his upbringing.

And then there's Vegeta’s parenting style which was my main focus for this post. It got a little out of control, but we have finally arrived at the last parenting style:

Authoritative

This is the most modern parenting style, even though it isn't really new. It's been used for years in well functioning familes. This type of parent is both demanding and nurturing, being present and engaged in their children's lives. They explain things to their children, teach them how to regulate their feelings and therefore expect a mature behavior from them.

Children of authoritative parents tend to be more successful in their adult lives, capable of discipline and well-liked. Because they aren't constantly being restricted, they naturally develope autonomy within set boundaries and learn to respect others, regardless of authority.

So, what does this have to do with Vegeta and Trunks?

As I mentioned in the beginning, in the scene in the Gravity Chamber, Vegeta uses positive reinforcement to motive Trunks. Positive reinforcement has proven to be a healthy way to motivate children (and animals) and is a part of the authoritative style. By using it, Vegeta provides Trunks with rules that foster motivation and discipline in the child. The fact that Vegeta knows about the amusement and can use it as an incentive also shows that he is involved enough to know what may get Trunks to do his best.

But the most important thing we see is that Vegeta upholds his promise, despite hating every second of it. It shows that he respects Trunks' efforts and achievement. By honoring his word, he also teaches Trunks to do the same.

Of course, this is a small scene and we don't know how Vegeta behaves otherwise in regards to Trunks. But it's safe to say that Vegeta does take his son's wishes into account and uses it to encourage him to move beyond his limits.

I admit that I'm not a fan of GT and don't consider it canon, especially because of Toriyama's lack of involvement. So, while I dislike many aspects of DBS, I do think it's the best representation of the characters.

In Super, both Goten and Trunks are well adjusted boys who both have discipline and test the boundaries of their autonomy. They act like boys their age, albeit with incredibly strength, and it goes to show that their parents have raised them well.

Of course, it's also important to remember that both DBZ and DBS (and even GT) are a product of their time and the parenting styles reflect that. DBZ is from the 80's where the authoritarian (Chichi) and indulgent (Goku) styles were the most common. GT is from the 90's where the media started to focus on indulgent and neglectful parents - even though it wasn't a new thing - and it's shown that Trunks, Bulla and Goten have grown up as spoiled and undisciplined. DBS shows that the parents in the show have become authoritative and their children's behavior reflects that.

It's clear that the parents are doing their best and that the fathers have become more involved nowadays than before. This is the case in modern parenting as well.

Anyway, this is the end of my long rant. I think, as both an expert in children's development and as a parent myself, it's interesting to look into the relationships between the characters, especially the father-son interactions which are explored the most. There's no doubt that Toriyama knew the importance of being a father and wanted to portray it, mainly in Goku and Gohan's relationship.

I don't think Toriyama saw Goku nor Vegeta as bad fathers, but he knew that everyone has different strengths, even in parenthood.

[saphirafoxgirlspost1]

(Open Rp) DBZ X KP Crossover Christmas Rp in "Love in White Christmas"

Long time ago, In the Small town of Middleton and it was a Sophmore year For Saphira While she was in the relationship With Her boyfriend Who is Constantly..Stood her out Name "Ronald Stoppable", Now She and Ronald had Been First met since 1st grade..and been together in middle school too..but now..During highschool, Ronald had been Acting distants towards her..and During the times..she lost her 4 unborn children…but One month later, She hears From the school that they're having a new students from west city…Then the next day in Highschool…She saw a hot bad boy name Prince vegeta and goku the sweet guy, Big Tough but quiet guy name broly..and much more…Saphira got excited to meet them..But During the sophmore year…Saphira founded out that she's pregnant with serena…But..after the mission, saphira was at the hospital For the 123rd time..and Ron..Still never showed up..until Someone coming to the Hospital..as it was…The Bad Boy Prince vegeta, Who comes in with a lovely roses..and all..Saphira was pretty suprised that Someone actually came…but he's not alone..goku and others came with flowers and all..and then..3 months later..she saw Ron and Kim kissing together near the lockers…All Saphira sees right now is Red, and She storms in after kim left..and she Slammed the locker door Shut and shouted,

Saph:"RONALD!!"

Ron Jumped and startled and then she said,

Saph: "What The Hell Do you think your doing with kim!?, So this is what you do when You Stood me out alot lately!? cheating on me with kim!?"

Ron:"Look please..I can explain!"

Saph:"Explain what!? I am Pregnant With your Child and Now you"ve been Kissing my best friend!! Are you serious!?"

Ron:"Please Its just One kiss, nothing more I swear!"

Saph:" You listen here ya cheating bastard..I'm giving you a Choice..So you BETTER Choose,, It's Either Step up, Act like a Father and set a good Examples to this Child, Break up with kim and Never Come near her again! OR I'm Kicking you out of my house, Making you Pay Child support, and You'll never come near my child again! I don't want my child to be stain with your cheating Filth! So..you have until midnight…but if you don't decide, I'm kicking you out and I'm telling your parents about this, So you better Be prepare to get an earful from your parents!"

So saphira storms out of anger and Head home…and that Night, Saphira was Sitting Down on the couch… and ron came home..and he told her that he broke up with kim..and then she said,

Saph:"You better be Lucky I would've Kick you out of my house clean off, Your going to sleep on the couch for tonight!"

After times…When saphira was into labor..but Somethings not right…after serena was born…Saphira holds her daughter close and then she sees Serena passed away from her last breath…Saphira cried in a broken heart, and after being discharge..Ron was Nowhere to be found..Saphira was Pissed off…and she got upset…and then..She hears someone..as she turns around and saw…