#Goku saving everyone

[queen-drawing]

I did this tiny comic like 2 years ago, it was back that time the meme of goku appearing a saving people was popular, so i did this in 2 days bc i thought it was quite funny and people from r/mipha liked it, maybe ill do someday a remake, but for now, have another piece of my autism (me encanta PADRE BALL)

[clouwncoree]

*he might like stardew valley idk guys i love this trio so much

*they're all transgender btw they told me i love these three so so much its insane

*yapfest under the cut and individual doodles

*guys guys i love them they're everything to me

*im gonna lose my mind my friends got me on my stardre valley grind and now i necer stop i love this game

*thw things sdv does to the neurodivergwnt mind is so crazy dude

*one day ill get over my beef with shane im slowly getting over it right now dw guys onw day i wonr hate him

*also will get arouns to drawing all the marroage candidates because i love them so so so much

*happy pride to neurodivergwnt queers btw

*this will not be the end of my stardew valley art.

[shannonsketches]

Every time I talk to a DB fan who doesn't know or doesn't agree that the whole franchise is an adventure comedy first and an action series second I feel insane but then I find an old Toriyama interview,

You made some comedic scenes where you have minor villains Pilaf & co. appear; how did you come up with a balance between laughs and fierce battles? Do you pay attention to the difference between comedy and battle in making a work “entertaining”?

I believe that, when you combine comedy and serious battles, both of them might come alive even more. As for me personally, though, I much prefer drawing dumb jokes to battle scenes.

as a bonus, every time I'm like 'idk I didn't really like most of the DBZ movies prior to Yo Son Goku and Friends Return and BotG,' and get the 'whAAaaT they're so gOOD' (from my brother, tbh askdjs) but they all seemed really Action-Drama and About the Fight Scenes and I'm like 'meh kinda boring tbh' I get to gaze upon,

In the latest movie, Toriyama-san, you participated in the production from the scriptwriting stage for the first time. What is the reason for that? Was there anything you noticed in coming face-to-face with the work after so long?

I was told about a project for Dragon Ball in its first animated film in a long while, and I read the story outline; while the beings “Beerus, God of Destruction” and “Super Saiyan God” (which goes above Super Saiyan) were interesting, the themes were heavy, and I felt that the world was a bit different from Dragon Ball. Rather than telling them about this or that problematic spot, I thought it would be faster if I just wrote it out concretely, and while I had intended just to give them a model―”for example”―my hand wouldn’t stop, and ultimately, I ended up writing almost everything, including the dialogue. I am reflecting on the fact that I did something terribly rude to the scriptwriter.

Akira "It was bad so I fixed it, oops" Toriyama, Absolute Legend

[surskip]

My laptop might have just kicked the bucket for good😨 it made a weird crackle noise and it died instantly and produced a weird smell. I took the battery out and there’s no smoke or anything but …. Maaaaaaaan I really hope it’ll be okay because most of my files arw not backed up or anything and I don’t know how to retrieve them OTL☹️ of course it’s on me for continually putting it off but it still sucks, right? That’s like. 5+ years

[omakosohc]

if my gojo goes away, i go away

so he’s not leaving cause i know they cant let me leave

[fabuloustrash05]

Dragon Ball GT Shadow Dragon arc would've been so much cooler if each fighter got a chance to fight their own dragon. Like the fighters all split into groups of 2-3 and go off to find and fight a Shadow Dragon and retrieve the dragon balls. Especially if they fight a dragon that is tied to them in some way.

Goku goes with Pan and they fight Rage Shenron, who's tied to the wish to revive Goku after his fight with Raditz.

Vegeta, along with Bulma who tags along cause its Bulma, fight Naturon Shenron who is tied to the wish of reviving all the people Majin Vegeta killed. It would've been a good character moment for Vegeta to reflect on his past and even Bulma to an extent since I believe she was the one who made the wish. This confrontation also would've been a better build up to Vegeta unlocking SSJ4, maybe Naturon captures Bulma and Vegeta transforms for the first time in order to save his wife.

Gohan and even Videl can join him (cause she deserves more chances to kick ass instead of being benched to the sidelines) and they fight Nuova Shenron who is the four star dragon which is an important heirloom in Gohan's family but also the wish Nuova is tied to is King Piccolo's wish for youth, tying into Gohan's friendship with Piccolo.

Uub could fight Eis Shenron because he's tied into the wish to have everyone forget about Majin Buu and his evil deeds. He just deserved more screen time after all that build up for his character.

Maybe Trunks and Goten fight Haze Shenron, tied to the wish to revive Bora, a call back to the very first series and parallel to the adventures Trunks' mom and Goten's dad were on together back in the early days of dragon ball.

And for fun, Oceanus Shenron targets Oolang because she's the underwear wish that he made and maybe it's Yamcha and Roshi who have to fight her. Maybe also Krillin and Android 18 get involved (I know Krillin is dead by that point but with some rewriting he could just be there to help out). Plus she's an ocean themed dragon, the fight can take place on Roshi's island that is literally surrounded by the ocean!!

And then by the end, everyone comes together to take on Omega Shenron, the finale dragon.

[tobiasdrake]

What do you think of Gohan and Piccolo?

There is a fandom war over whether Goku or Piccolo is Gohan's "real dad" and the honest truth is that Gohan's upbringing is very much "It takes a village to raise a child". He is the product of Chi-Chi, Goku, Piccolo, and to a lesser extent Krillin's influences.

But. Also. Though Piccolo and Gohan develop a strong emotional bond, it warrants noting that Piccolo's initial contribution to Gohan's upbringing is pretty monstrous, as befits the reincarnation of pure evil.

There's a tendency to be more critical of Goku's choices than Piccolo's because Piccolo was a bad guy and Goku was a good one. Generally speaking, we tend to give characters a pass for behavior that's... within their narrative wheelhouse, if that makes sense.

When good guys are being good and bad guys are being bad, we consider that business as usual. That's just what they're supposed to do. If Vegeta kills a bunch of people, nobody cares because Vegeta is a bad guy. Bad guys kill people. This is not a worthwhile observation on his character.

So there's a tendency in fandom to hyperfixate only on the good parts of bad guys, and on the bad parts of good guys - and to ignore the rest. Those are the only parts that we consider noteworthy, because they're the areas where the character is going against their mold. It's important, I think, not to do this with Piccolo when talking about Gohan, because while we all love seeing Gohan's innocence reach Piccolo and redeem him, the darker aspect of his earlier choices inform his later growth and development.

We need to learn how to consider the villainous part of villains and the heroic side of heroes in equal measure to the villain's redeeming qualities and the hero's flaws.

By the time of the fight with Raditz, Piccolo is less evil than his previous iteration. According to Gohan, that's Goku's assessment of him. Implied to be Goku's assessment of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, as that's the only time the two have met since Piccolo's reincarnation, prior to Raditz's arrival.

This is a fair assessment. I've talked about it before, but reincarnating as a flesh-and-blood Namekian with a complete range of morality rather than simply being the embodiment of one guy's evilness had an effect on Piccolo.

Piccolo opposes the Saiyans because he wants to rule the world and doesn't want them killing everyone he means to govern. But Daimao's plan for world domination was just to inflict a 40-year extermination on humanity. Piccolo's original incarnation was just evil, incapable of really thinking about his own ideas and why he wants them the way the newer form of Piccolo has.

Daimao would never have teamed up with Goku to save "his subjects" from extermination. He wanted to kill them all too. This capacity for growth and change was already in motion, already forcing him to reconsider what he actually wants from his own ambitions, from the moment he awoke in his new body.

But he was still a bastard. He'd been Evil Incarnate for 300 years; You don't get over that in an afternoon. He still had all of his memories,a ll of his knowledge; There was a lot of wickedness baked into his personality from the get-go.

Since he was no longer Mazoku, he had a brand new range of moral depth to engage with. But he didn't have the luxury of getting to start over as a brand new person. No clean slate for Piccolo. Now that he was capable of change, he still needed a reason and a will to experience it. Circumstances that would force him to re-evaluate his relationship with himself, others, and the world.

The threat of the Saiyans provided that impetus, by giving Piccolo a plan. A nasty plan. A plan based on strict utilitarian assessment of Gohan's involvement in the preceding fight, with no regard to the fact that this is a four-year-old child.

Piccolo, in this moment, sees Gohan as a resource to be used. He has zero empathy for him or for anyone else.

Of course he doesn't. He was the embodiment of selfishness and cruelty for 300 years. He has a capacity for empathy now but has never been put in a position where it might begin to develop. As he says to Gohan in his dying moments:

"You were the only one who ever really talked to me."

Like. Let's not sympathize too much here; this is more on him than anyone else. He tried to reconquer the world and tried multiple times to kill Goku, the only person he has any sort of relationship with. Even the attack he used to kill Raditz was designed for killing Goku.

The reason nobody ever "really talked to [him]" before Gohan is because Piccolo's only interactions with other people were verbal and physical violence. This is what I was getting at earlier. The guy, at this point in time, is a villain existing in uneasy alliance with the heroes. Let's not forget that. In fact, even his relationship with Gohan is verbally and physically violent.

That sweet scene up there where Gohan confronts Piccolo with the fact that he's not such a bad guy? This is how that scene ends.

This is what we tend to give Piccolo a pass on because we expect this behavior from villains, but it needs to be said that Piccolo's approach to Gohan's training is cruel and abusive. The development of their bond has more to do with Gohan's purehearted innocence than with Piccolo's changing outlook.

That's not a slight against Piccolo. It's the setup. This cruelty is what makes it so meaningful when he does change. It's why this moment is so powerful.

The reason this is such a moment that Toei can't stop trying to remake it is because it comes on the heels of all of that cruelty and dismissal. That he would even do this is as much a surprise to Piccolo as it is to everyone else. It violently contradicts and recontextualizes everything he and Gohan have been through for the last year.

Gohan's innocence won out and it changed Piccolo in ways he didn't even realize were happening. When Piccolo says that no one ever really talked to him before, this isn't an indictment against the world for mistreating him. Piccolo is not the Warriors of Hope from Danganronpa. It's validating Gohan for having the courage and empathy to reach him despite it all.

Gohan's training was an idea born of cruel arithmetic. Gohan himself gained some rudimentary martial knowledge but didn't get much else out of it - because Piccolo himself was unsuited to the emotional guidance that Gohan needed. When the Saiyans arrived, he was woefully unprepared for the task that Piccolo expected of him.

What did you expect? It doesn't matter that you taught him how to throw a punch; That boy is five years old. Piccolo pays for this mistake with his life.

But what he does get out of it, what he and Gohan both get out of it, is the development of an emotional bond that will last the rest of their lives - with his dying moment, his sacrifice for Gohan, being what truly kicks off their relationship.

That sacrifice is the reason Gohan goes to Namek.

Gohan, innocent and kind, doesn't resent Piccolo for the things he did. Quite the contrary, he respects Piccolo a lot. By his own admission, he has the same admiration for Piccolo that he does for Goku.

Gohan and Piccolo's bond is now pretty tight, and it remains so through the Namek and Android arcs.

Piccolo grows from his mistake, lets his ambitions for world domination slide away, and he and Gohan now have each other's backs in earnest. The respect and empathy Gohan needed is now there.

It's from that experience (and the wisdom of God now joined into him) that Piccolo's later able to call out Goku for his mistake in the Cell Games.

Piccolo sees the flaw in Goku's plan because he's been Goku. He's stood where Goku's standing, waiting with baited breath for a warrior's hunger to suddenly awaken inside Gohan and for him to fuck this guy up. He had to learn the hard way that that's not who Gohan is, and he brings that development to the table here. He's projected onto Gohan the way Goku now is, and it cost him his life.

Neither Goku nor Piccolo is entirely right here. But neither is entirely wrong either. Goku's plan does ultimately work, but only because of the effort Cell and 16 put into correcting Goku's bad assumptions and finding a trigger that will set Gohan off.

This, I think, is what gets lost in the "Real Dad Goku vs Real Dad Piccolo" debate. It's too binary. Gohan cares a great deal about both of them, they're both prominent influences on him, and they both had a formative effect on his childhood. If you asked him to pick one, he'd probably look at you like you're crazy. The correct answer is:

That panel, that entire panel, is who Gohan's primary male role model is.

Though if you want to know whose kid Gohan really is more than anyone's, it's her:

No matter how distasteful Vegeta might find it, Gohan is his mother's son. He's sensitive, kind, curious, and far more interested in academia than in martial arts; All the qualities Chi-Chi wanted to instill in him. But he nonetheless has a lot of admiration for Goku and Piccolo too, and he carries their influence with him all the same.

(Also, as an aside. Like. Krillin? Kindly fuck off. Gohan may not be as badly hurt as Goku but he was still beaten half to death by both Nappa and Vegeta over the course of this battle. He couldn't even stand up under his own power anymore before he became the Oozaru. Also, he's five and Chi-Chi hasn't seen him, her baby boy, in a year.

It is absolutely valid for her to be way more concerned for Gohan than for Goku.)

But I digress. Point is, Piccolo and Gohan got off to a rocky start and I think that Piccolo's behavior during that time shouldn't be ignored, but also he changed dramatically due to Gohan's influence. Piccolo shaped much of who Gohan was as a fighter in his early years, but Gohan did far more for Piccolo by making him part of a family despite himself.

Now he's in Gohan's wedding photo.

And Chi-Chi isn't for reasons that can only be attributed to Toei's utter disdain for her character.

And he's teaching martial arts to Gohan's kid, with a much gentler hand than the one he once used on Gohan.

There's a real argument to be made that Gohan did more to shape who Piccolo became in the years following their training together than Piccolo did to shape Gohan. Sometimes the master learns as much or even more from the apprentice than the apprentice does from the master.

[redhoodieson]

As someone who has been brainrotting about a lot of stuff, I'm in a specific dragon ball hole where I keep on thinking about the Son Family, specifically Goku's thought process throughout Z and oh my goodness I want to dissect his mind so bad because most of the fandom focus on powerscaling, fights and forms so like, this is me wondering in my little chaotic wonderland why he decided to do the thing in the climax of the Cell Saga and how it impacted the rest of the plot, most especially on fighting involving his children.

The main thought that keeps creeping into my mind is: Goku is passively suicidal, and the events of the Android/Cell Saga and Bulma's comment on how he attracts trouble for everyone involved cemented his belief that he's better off dead than alive, which he uses as the main reason for staying in Other World during those seven years.

Now, of course, this is just something I headcanon, but I think about it all the time because while he doesn't make his actual deeper feelings obvious despite being usually blunt (he is a simple person after all), imagine that your family and friends died/almost died, all because of him?

Pre-Z, he was living peacefully with his family for five years. Then the Saiyans came. He learned he is one and his mission was to destroy Earth (in reality his parents sent him there so he can live), and the Saiyan who informed him of this is his brother he didn't know he had. At this moment, even though he didn't know it before, the trajectory of his and everyone close to him changed.

Gohan got kidnapped, he died protecting his son, and since then, the thought of "I need to get stronger" is permanently etched into his character. Yes, it is wired in his genetics to seek fighting and get stronger, but I can't help but think that he also thinks that he wants to train to get stronger so he can be powerful enough to beat his opponents to protect his loved ones.

But also, his enemies keep getting stronger and stronger. The Saiyans. Frieza and his forces. The Androids. All of them are linked to him one way or another. The Androids in particular were created to kill him because he defeated the Red Ribbon Army.

And then that scene in the Cell Games where he sacrificed his life and died for the second time, you can see him completely accept his impending death, as if anticipating that he would die in the aftermath of the Cell Games one way or the other, that's why he spent the remaining days before the Cell Games with his loved ones.

And unlike before, he did remain dead. For seven years, because he believes that everyone would be safer if he's dead than alive.

Was he proven right? Honestly, I don't know (actually no he's wrong because in Future Trunks' timeline, Buu Saga still happened). During the seven years of peace, there was no world threat, which for Goku, means that he was right. Nothing bad happened. Then, the one time he decided to return to Earth for one day, the Buu Saga happened, which eventually caused the end of the world (that was eventually saved).

Imagine his thought process throughout the saga. He just wanted to participate in the tournament and spend his remaining time with his family before he returns to Other World, but no, a lot of shit happens after he gets back.

I can't also help but think that he feels that he always put his family in danger, and when his sons had no choice but to fight, he apologizes, like with Gohan during Moro Arc. Goku absolutely loves his family, so imagine his turmoil when enemies keep on appearing even in Super because of him (Frieza again, Goku Black).

Does he think of himself as a burden to his own family? No, of course not. But like, what if he does, even subconsciously/he doesn't know? His family died because he wasn't there, wasn't quick enough/stuck in a hard place (in the case of Gohan and Goten, but it's either them or Dende and Mr. Satan, which makes this also a sadistic choice). I think Buu Saga in particular must have been a very bad time for him mentally.

That's also why he keeps on finding his successor as Earth's protector. From Gohan, to Goten and Trunks, to eventually Uub. He doesn't force his children when they express the lack of desire to fight (in fact, he always supports them no matter what). He feels he needs to find one so Earth would have people to protect it once he's dead for good. That's why he left at the EoZ to train Uub.

But, since this is a shonen series and Goku is the one doing most of the pep talk (particularly for Gohan, hence why he's always more confident when Goku is around than without), it's just, ahdkdkdkdj what goes inside your head man I want to know 😭😭😭

[starberry-cupcake]

I could have just gone ahead and finished the book, but I adult life is interrupting so I stopped mid-fight and that's what you're getting, since I think it'll be a more sensible length this way.

previously, in gideon the ninth

this happened (also, this is the tag for all of the stuff)

currently, somewhere before ending the penultimate chapter, I think:

WELL, WELL, WELL

GUESS WHO WAS RIGHT ABOUT DULCINEA DEL TOBOSO SORAYA MONTENEGRO SEPTIMUS

I GOT YOU, BITCH

YOU DIDN'T GET PAST ME

ok, let's back it up a bit, but I needed to get that out of my chest for a sec

out of my guts, like the key she hid in the 5th necro bride's body

(too soon)

anyway, after yandere simulator w/inner chad left the room, gideon, harrowbean and my qp wife realized palmolive was gone

and everyone knows where he went because his dick has been a compass the whole time

or, like gideon puts it, he's been a weenie

camilla, the light in the dark, the sun to my moon, tells gideon and harrow that palmolive has been corresponding with dulcinea since he was like 8 and she was like 15 and he's been in love with her the whole time

and that he's made his lifelong purpose to save her life

there are many levels of Issues here

but at this point, we don't have time to unpack any suitcases

all this just proves to me that camilla has been carrying all the weight of the world on her shoulders even more, but anyway

they also feel confused as to why dulcinea has been ghosting palmolive massively since HE PROPOSED TO HER

palmolive, my man, my dude, just...what the fuck is your life

what are you doing, my guy

anyway, I immediately started thinking some soul possessing or some stuff like that could be going on, like she's not herself, but there's no time to theorize much

gideon feels terrible because she's been flirting with dulcinea in front of palmolive's salad all along and says something like "why do I have to be so attractive?" to which harrow answers something like "if you weren't, people would deck you after 5 minutes" which is a very good read

so gideon goes to find palmolive and he stops her with necro magic and enters dulcinea's room and outs her as the murderer

who is surprised??? not me, of course

so, basically, ducinea The Real One died at some point before arriving like protozoa, and this bitch here is a previous lyctor whose name I cannot remember so we will call her not!dulcinea

the real dulcinea was the other roasted body in the furnace

and protozoa was killed by her also which, again, the sword through the heart was a good indicator it wasn't an accident, but harrow was the only one who saw the body

non!dulcinea is a lyctor of the seventh that served the emperor and did the soul slurping thingy and already has her cav within her ("inside her" sounds...not great)

and she wanted to stir some shit up to get the man of the hour to show up and get revenge and whatnot

the emperor, coming back to canaan house from some holidays that took longer than he expected

it's not totally clear, because there's still a lot we don't know, but it sounds a bit like a toxic relationship with an authority figure

palmolive then proceeds to immolate himself like superman going super solar flare, but not being able to heal himself after, unlike superman

after that, all hell breaks loose

not!dulcinea tries to kill gideon

camilla tries to kill not!dulcinea

harrow also enters the fight and brings gideon's sword

like, the real one

you can hear the audience cheering when she catches her sword like it was filmed in front of a live studio audience

gideon and harrow team up against the mega massive monster junji ito concoction that killed isaac

they do the mind mesh thingy

harrow unlocks a new power

like in the sims

she also passes out for a bit

gideon gets her knee and shoulder fucked up

camilla is amazing and does amazing things

non!dulcinea seems to be too tough to win against

yandere simulator twin w/inner chad enters the chat

they fight like goku and vegeta for a while but non!dulcinea ends up using her like a battery

which is, to me, the revenge of duracell bunny nephew from beyond the veil or wherever he went

like, poetic cinema fate

I have no idea where regina george twin is at this point

last we saw of her, she was crying in a corner

which, mood tbh

so, where I left off for now, we've got three survivors accounted for: gideon, harrowbean and my qp wife, there's a lost twin somewhere in there and then there's yandere simulator twin being used as a charging pad by non!dulcinea

I want to take a moment to point out something, though

I want to briefly point out how MASSIVELY FUCKED UP EVERYONE WAS COMING INTO THIS

like, harrow was "oh no, we mustn't let people know you're not actually my cavalier and that I puppeteered my parents and that there's a frozen barbie in the ninth" and gideon was "oh no, I mustn't let people know I'm not a ninth cav and I don't use a rapier and I have a complicated relationship with my necro"

and everyone else LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE WAS BEYOND FUCKED UP

maybe the second weren't because they were ignorant asshats, but EVERYONE WAS MESSED UP

NOBODY HERE WAS FINE

you got the third, with a non necro princess and a feral real necro doing the work of both and chad as their support, look how that turned out so far

the fourth, who weren't tall enough to reach the top shelf and weren't even allowed their keys

the fifth who knew too much so they were goners after throwing a party

the sixth, with a guy who had the hots for a woman twice his age that he had a grey's anatomy fantasy to save that powered his entire reason to be there (and a cav who didn't use the right equipment but is great 10/10 no notes)

the seventh, who's THIS MESS

and the eight, who were doing the creepiest thing possible at all times and couldn't even do it properly

the only ones here who came in without dirty laundry were the second and that's why they were easy targets

everyone else was shady af

the best reality show you've ever watched

anyway, see you for the next one when we'll know who wins between one old lyctor and 3 bad bitches (or 4, if yandere twin is still alive, or 5 if regina george twin shows up again)

[pleasantspark]

Oh Mary, Contrary How Does Your Garden Grow? Vegeta x Hanaki! Reader

You had felt desire and love from Vegeta for years, and stood back to allow Bulma to take him. Unfortunately, this leads to dire consequences in the form of small Dahlia Petals.

Warnings: Major Character Death, Pining, Angst

You were hurting. 

You don't remember how long you've felt this way for him, but it had to be when he first arrived on Earth. You've been tagging along with the Z-Fighters since you were a kid. This led to you being welcomed into the group effortlessly. While you were just a human. And weren't pretty nor rich like Bulma you were very kind and understanding. 

Then, Vegeta arrived. 

His presence made you feel like you were on cloud nine. You could be yourself around him. Bulma however; gauged your attraction very well, and when brought up you'd deny feeling that way. 

You regretted not acting on those feelings. 

This led to Bulma and Vegeta going out and while you tried to be happy for them both you couldn't help but hurt, and your insides felt like they were twisting. Rapidly changing. 

Then, it got worse. 

Bulma announced that she was pregnant with Trunks. You tried to remain happy as you want to be supportive of your friend. But you... You couldn't. You declined the offer to attend the baby shower. 

It was a good thing you didn't attend. 

You were... sick... something was not okay...

While Bulma was suffering from pregnancy related ailments. 

You were suffering from your own ailments. You began to isolate yourself from everyone. You would also gradually distance yourself from Bulma and Vegeta. 

People suspected something was wrong, you reassured them, nothing was wrong. You just needed time. By the time Trunks was born you cut both Vegeta and Bulma out of your life. You couldn't stand this pain any longer. And something told you, this was going to kill you. 

During the Androids attacking. You finally made an appearance, everyone was happy to see you, but for some reason. You didn't look like yourself. Your once vibrant (Skin Color) has turned pale, your shining (Eye Color) eyes became dull and lifeless, and to top it all off, vines with Dahlia's littered your body. There was cause for concern when these vines extended near your eyes. 

You'd tell them your fine. 

They didn't believe you. You couldn't do anything without your body wanting to give out. To give up on you. When Cell attacked, you wanted to throw yourself at him to get rid of the searing pain in your lungs. 

"What a miserable creature." He would sneer, and you'd take it. It was true, you were miserable. You wanted him to put you out of your misery. You coughed up more petals, and blood. Your vision became hazier... more... Distant. 

You could hear Gohan, Goku and... Vegeta? Calling for you. But their voices seemed so far away. 

He was devastated. 

There was nothing left for him to do, once the Cell Games concluded, he demanded to get you help. Instead of the Hospital, he took you to Dr. Briefs who informed Vegeta that you were gone. There was simply nothing he could do to save you. 

Goku reassured him he could revive you with the Dragon Balls, but Vegeta knew, he knew that you were gone and no wish will bring you back.

Bulma was unhappy. 

She knew of your feelings and blamed herself for the death of you for a LONG time. She should've been more pushy. She should've gotten you to confess to Vegeta. This led her to being heartbroken. 

Piccolo was confused. 

For a while, he spent time with you. You'd always felt happy that Bulma and Vegeta were together, but your look betrayed your feelings. It pains him to know he could've asked you further on your feelings. But chose to stay a bystander. 

Goku was conflicted. 

He knew you were struggling. And wanted to help out, he was one of the very few people who stuck around to check on you. The one to try and cheer you up when you were down. But now, now, you are gone. 

And lastly, Vegeta was... He was Disappointed in himself. 

He spent the last few months noticing the changes in you, while you slowly drifted away from him and Bulma. But didn't know why or even notice. Bulma told him everything, from your feelings for him, to how selfless you were. 

This was all his fault. 

He spent his whole life with a woman he liked. 

It undeniably caused the death of someone who he perceived to be average. 

It's all his fault. 

Bulma's Sad. 

Goku's Sad. 

Piccolo's Sad. 

Gohan is even sad. 

What was he going to do? He should move on, but no amount of moving on will ever fix what he's done. 

And he's paying for it.

[carnal-lnstinct]

Change The Fate's Design

Pairing: Goddess!Reader x War God!Goku Content: au: CLAMP’s RG Veda-inspired fic. afab reader. established rivals. love confession. hinted unrequited love. angst. hurt/comfort. possessiveness. A/N: This is just a retelling of one of the plot twists from RG Veda so spoilers but I doubt anyone is going to read that old manga. I recommend it if you like beautiful, dramatic characters and pain of which you can never recover from! But also, it's CLAMP so it has its...problems. For context: There is a prophecy that the unborn heir of the War God will awaken as the God of Destruction destined to destroy all the realms, and the War God knows.

“...Do you think destiny can be changed?” The golden-eyed war god asked suddenly.

A brow arched in response, followed by an unimpressed stare. Odd. 'You are asking me', she thinks to herself. Fate has never bound her to anything to expect anything in return from it. Everything she has, she has earned by the will of her own heart and the strength of her own two hands. Something troubles the War God to ask her of all people such a thing. Moving confidently, her feet shift around as she turns to face him with a soft, yet arrogant grin.

“To get what I want, I would rearrange the stars themselves.” Boldly left her lips without a hitch nor a blink of an eye.

Goku does not flinch at her callous answer, either. The god of war stares back and slowly a smile forms, breaking the melancholy of his expression. However prideful and selfish her intentions come across, she speaks with a sureness that came as a comfort to him, clearing his fears to reveal a path of hope for a future untethered by the stars. A better future for his son. For that wish, he will become just as selfish as the goddess— if not more— for what he is willing to attempt to save the future prince.

It felt like an affliction in his soul, worse than any atrocities the most wicked creatures could conjure. Weighing all of the heavens against the life of his innocent child, desiring the latter at the risk of calamity befalling everyone else. Including himself. But he does not waver, nor stall. Goku steps forward closing their distance to speak in confidence, sharing his forbidden words.

“Then…Would you lend me a hand in changing the path of the stars?” He asks, a gentle cant of his head as he watches her with a solemn gaze. It is just as bold to ask this much of anyone to join him in sin, let alone a court rival. And damn foolish to assume a prophecy can be changed when the stars have never been wrong. But he needs to try.

Does this push them all towards the path of the prophecy or set the stage for a more desirable future for the heir of his kingdom? 

The incredulous look he gets in return for his plea says it all. Even without sharing the context of his wish to change fate, he must know how ridiculous that sounds. For one such as herself who did not believe in fate's direct hand there has been some truth to it, crediting the natural powers of heaven itself. But... she does not need to believe in it, nor does she require the reason. It was enough he groveled to her for his fool’s errand. Desperate.

The Goddess’ arrogant grin grows and she steps closer as well, lending her attention to his cry for help and smug as can be. There’s a wicked glint in her eyes.

“Will I get what I want if I lend you my strength?” She asks, coming in closer still.

“What is it that you want?”

Her touch is soft and it surprises him, suddenly, gently, resting along the curve of his cheek. Golden eyes widened looking down at her and her own eyes were gentle and reverent of the form before her like he had never seen before.

"...You." There’s a longing in her tone, as well as a demand. But not her ego anymore.

Her intentions are clear but Goku is stunned, to say the least. She hid this well behind her arrogance and duty, perhaps biding her time for the right circumstances of just him and her. Yet, it was only for a moment he hesitated as he took in her sincerity. He understands the opportunity it gave him. 'Anything for Gohan.'

“...If fate can be changed…” His voice trailed off, eyes faltering in concede making his head lower away but her hand shifted to cup his jaw, lifting his head to bring his eyes back on hers.

“I will rearrange the stars to get what I want.” She declares. The silence stirred between them now, unwavering eyes watching the other. And then her other hand grasps his face as she lures him down into a kiss, sealing their fate. Permitting his selfishness and his foolishness to disrupt the will of the realm. They could be selfish fools together.

[goodboyaudios]

Karmor at full power vs Goku

who wins

Karmor could alter reality so that Goku's ship crashed into a star, killing Goku and thereby ending the lives of everyone he saves.

Would he do that? Sure. Karmor's kind of an asshole lol

[shannonsketches]

Something I really, really love about super's manga and what I think is so appealing about Vegeta's character arc in general is that it's, in my opinion, good, earnest restorative justice in fiction.

Vegeta has no say in how he's raised, he's conditioned to have a certain mindset and worldview that he has to put in the work to pull himself out of. It's messy. It's ugly. He relapses. He faces it. He works on it. He learns that death and justice aren't the same thing, even when it comes to himself. He grows.

But his backstory never serves to excuse his horrific actions or his shitty behavior. Not by Vegeta himself, and not by the narrative. (At least not in the manga.)

It's never used as a sob story excuse about why he's allowed to be like this. It's never used to explain away why he's a bad person or imply that everyone needs to be nice to him. It's never, as my friend puts the trope, 'Aw, poor little war criminal.' There are people who forgive him and there are people who don't. Obviously the forgiveness of his immediate community affects him in a positive way, but the lack of forgiveness from people he's harmed also affects him in a positive way, and the narrative slowly rewards him because he's making the decision to do and be better, regardless of whether or not anybody claps (in fact, there's a whole bit in BotG that he does not like it when people call attention to and quite literally clap for his decision to do and be better).

He gets an arc about how that has no bearing on his decision to do better. He asks, point-blank, if someone is still angry with him for a horrible thing that harmed them. He's given an honest answer. Rejection doesn't change his determination to help the people who are left to save, not even for a moment. He accepts that it's permanent damage, keeps helping, and does not bring it up again.

The narrative tells us it's no one's responsibility to forgive him, and more importantly the narrative tells us he knows that, and knows that it's entirely his responsibility to keep trying to do better for the people who are still here.

He gets a minor plot bringing attention to the fact that he bears the weight of his father's legacy, and while he gets to deny that his fathers decisions were not his responsibility -- he gets a follow up plot that addresses that he was (and was wholly intending to be) just as bad, if not worse, given a seat of power.

He gets that whole arc to explore how there's nothing he can do to change his past. He is not responsible for the sins of others, but the burden of his past is something he has to take with him into his future, and that guilt is not entirely a bad thing. The guilt is something he chooses to embrace. It gives him empathy he didn't have before. It gives him awareness of himself and his power from the new perspective of self-imposed kindness, and allows him to help someone much like himself be less alone and navigate the anger without making the same isolating mistakes.

(Toriyama's version of) The story starts rewarding him (in terms of his stated, consistent goals) when he starts actively, knowingly, and willingly pursuing kindness toward others on his own, and it becomes his natural response. He's never going to be a sweetheart like Gohan, or the Fun Opponent like Goku, but slowly he becomes the best version of himself, while still very much being Himself. And it's only after his goals are completely freed of malice and insecurity that he's able to meet them.

I just think that's a neat moral and a really well-done way to write restorative justice.

[bahnloopi]

Nobody takes advantage of the fact that S Broly literally grew up with zero knowledge of the modern world. I guaranteed you that man punched the fuck out of a mirror the first time he saw his reflection, and sometimes still does it. Freaked out the first time he ever had soda because Goku’s evil self got him a McDonald’s Sprite and genuinely thought he was gonna die after he inhaled the entire thing in one go. Fascinated with plushies cause he never had anything soft besides Ba’s ear and just has a bunch of them, even names them. The first time he ever used a fork he accidentally applied too much pressure with his teeth, so everyone at the table just heard the loudest *CRUNCH* and watched in horror when only half a METAL fork exited his mouth, cue everyone trying to get him to spit it out. Had no water in Vampa, so bathing is not really his thing and doesn’t seem a priority either, more often than not Kale and others need to drag him like a feral cat to get him to take a bath (enjoys it after struggling).

How many times has he fallen victim to an updog joke??:

Z Broly (evilly): Damn you look like you could use some updog

S Broly (completely innocent): what is updog?

Z Broly: HEHHEHEHEHE

Man never stood a chance, please save him 🙏

I have so many of these in my mind, I’m rambling now. Love all of your art btw!!!

Ok, real talk, you cooked with this entire post because I have been dying laughing at the first few sentences.

But I actually do think about this a lot but only reason I don't tackle too much onto it is because now that SBroly is adapting to modern civilian life, people who read the manga up until that point will bombard me with the questions of why he's still being depicted as much of a caveman when he's kinda past that point.

Granted, I can still do what I want in that regard but it's in the instance where ppl wouldn't see the point or need to do it at this stage in the game with his development if that makes sense.

[canmom]

Animation Night 188: Gisaburo Sugii and his cat films

Let me introduce you to a fellow.

Gisaburō Sugii, born 1940, is one of the oldest school animators still working in the industry. His early filmography is something like a history of anime, or at least MushiPro: he started on Hakujaden [AN149] (where he did inbetweens), but he was one of the leaders of the Toei exodus over the rubbish working conditions and union busting (Sugii's close friend Rintarō was among the first to follow him), especially when Tezuka appeared on the animation scene with a place to land.

So from the earliest days of Astro Boy/Tetsuwan Atom, Sugii was a core Tezuka guy. (Thanks as ever to Matteo Watzky for presenting such detailed histories in English!) He helped clean up Tezuka's rough animations in an early form of the layout system, moving to his own satellite studio, worked on all sorts of projects. In fact, we saw a number of them when we watched Tezuka's short fims on Animation Night 83. For example, Sugii animated the moth in Tales of a Street Corner.

Before too long, Astro Boy was wrapping up, and the time came for Sugii to direct his own series: this was Goku no Daibōken and in the words of Matteo Watzky, it represented "a complete and unconditional rejection of everything Mushi - or rather Tezuka - had done so far" - gags over story, extremely limited animation. Adapting Tezuka's manga version of Journey to the West, the project had some rather grand ambitions:

It was rather in the writing and direction. Sugii was extremely ambitious: not only did he want to do a complete break with what Mushi had done before, he wanted to broaden the general “animation culture” in Japan [14]. He therefore focused entirely on the gags, trying to make them all as absurd as possible and breaking all sense of narrative continuity. This was the reason he had chosen Boku no Songoku in the first place: the road trip structure made it possible to completely change the setting each episode and make things different each time [15]. He refused to compromise on anything and was an extremely harsh director: he himself admitted how many conflicts he had with scriptwriters and storyboarders, whose work he kept rejecting until it had lost any semblance of sense or continuity [16].

Goku no Daibōken's story touches on another major figure of anime history: Osamu Dezaki (AN95) appears here as an episode director, though you'd likely not recognise his work - he closely followed his mentor Sugii's wacky style. Unfortunately, the show did not really do much to broaden anything, and was pretty roundly rejected by audiences, and even Tezuka himself publicly said it was too avant-garde and needed to change and the show ended up a sore memory for everyone involved.

But Sugii did not quit, and continued to work with the increasingly ailing Mushi Pro up through Belladonna of Sadness (AN69). This last-ditch effort was not enough to save the troubled studio (a story told elsewhere, check Watzky's articles for a very detailed version) and MushiPro went under. So, coming into the 70s, Sugii left the anime industry to go travelling.

But not forever.

Now, let me introduce you to a book.

Night on the Galactic Railroad (銀河鉄道の夜, Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru) - written in 1927, and published posthumously in 1934 - is a classic Japanese fantasy novel by Kenji Miyazawa in which two boys go on a strange journey across the galaxy. It soon becomes apparent that the train that the boys ride on is kind of a psychopomp train. It has that fascinating blend of early science and odd religious overtones you often get in novels from the early 20th Century, with such themes as the difference between Buddhist and Christian ideas of heaven, as well as all sorts of odd adventures.

It does not star anthropomorphic cats. But then again, it doesn't say anywhere that its characters aren't anthropomorphic cats, right? If you're Gisaburō Sugii, that's enough!

In the early 80s, Sugii returned to Group TAC, a studio largely consisting of former MushiPro staff, full of memories of travel. He started out directing adaptations of the baseball manga Nine, but soon he ended up directing an cataptation of Night on the Galactic Railroad, which came out in 1985.

Jokes aside, the book is deliberately ambiguous about what its characters look like, so Sugii came up with the cat thing as a way to preserve Miyazawa's intent. His approach to direction heavily emphasises the landscape, embedding the characters in dark spaces that reflect their feelings and build the generally omnious mood as they journey into death. And it works! The result is a film widely regarded as a classic by those who've seen it.

One notable feature is the film's fascination with the constructed language Esperanto, among the earliest aspiring universal languages. The film features all kinds of Esperanto text and an esperanto subtitle track, and even has an alternative Esperanto title, Nokto de la Galaksia Fervojo. This was a fascination of Miyazawa's, though I don't believe it features in the novel particularly prominently, but Sugii evidently wanted that to be part of the tribute...

In the wake of that, Sugii... went back to directing sports anime, this time the series Touch about Tennis, as well as a number of other projects including a Street Fighter film in 1994. He didn't abandon literary subjects though, adapting the Genji Monogatari, a foundational work of Japanese lit, in 1987 - though I can find little more about this adaptation. He even directed a Lupin III film! But none of those films are about cats, so we're gonna skip right over them.

In 2012, Sugii - now 72! - returned to books and cats with The Life of Budori Gusuko, adapting another novel by Miyazawa - this time at MushiPro successor Tezuka Productions. The animation is certainly more elaborate...

The film follows abandoned child Budori Gusuko in a world frozen by strange storms. Left to fend for himself, Budori's problems mulitply as his sister his kidnapped, leading him on a journey into dreams as he tries to get to the bottom of all of it.

The story is notable for anticipating the idea of the greenhouse effect, albeit in a way that rings rather odd in the context of present climate change. It generally doesn't seem to be viewed quite as favourably as Galactic Railroad but it's too good a thematic pairing not to do, so tonight the plan is to watch both films! Elaborate old weird anime, we're so back. And not a boob in sight, so twitch should chill out.

All being well, Animation Night 188 will be starting at 22:00 UK time, which is about two hours from this post - we're back on twitch.tv/canmom, thankfully they didn't ban me for long. Hope to see you there!

[galexibrain]

Vegeta casually being added to the main cast is the funniest shit. His death on Namek would have been a fitting end to his entire arc, and no one would have complained if he hadn't been resurrected by Shenlong (simply count him as one fo Freezer's and he's a goner) but here he is, alive, on Earth, and everyone just rolls with it. They're probably used to Goku bringing in villains by now. What's one more?

It's been ... six weeks ... more or less ... since he came to Earth and almost killed everyone but no one seems too bothered about his presence. The Namekians glare at him a little but apparently he lived at Capsule Corp while they were still there too and nothing happened?

Even Piccolo vanished into thin air for a few years after Goku beat him at the tournament.

And Vegeta just accepts it too! Bulma invites him to come too and he does? I know the anime has him leaving Earth for a while but afaik he just stays there in the manga, save for leaving to train by himself.

Like yeah, man's been going through a small crisis on Namek and it's not like there anyone, anywhere in the universe he could actually go, so why not enjoy some good food (and sex) while he's at it?

Imagine Raditz, Nappa, Freezer, Ginyu Force ... everyone Goku was willing to let live do the same ... they would have to open a "former villain shelter" on Earth ... to be adopted out to the right owner. May bite. Misses a limb or two. But cute once you get to know them.

Anyways. Vegeta adapted to life on Earth so fucking quickly it's hilarious. We see him in casual clothing more often than Goku.