#HOLY SHIT LOOK AT HOW STRONG GOKU IS

[artbybai]

Do Bulma and Vegeta know about Baiya's crush on the kaioshin of their universe? And how "stupid"(or no) would this girl act around Shin during her crush phase before it passed? Your girl watches Goku grab the god of the universe like a little chihuahua dog, has she ever done the same?

Omggggg this is the funniest thing ever

Gosh… If I think abt it, honestly, I imagined that Baiya would’ve mostly been around Shin in the Sacred Lands during her training/studies under him and Kibito (let’s roll with it for now since I still need to bang out the how and why lol) so Vegeta & Bulma probably wouldn’t really be aware of what their interactions/Baiya’s attitude towards Shin would be like.

I think, at first, Baiya would be at least a bit nervous when she meets Shin and Kibito (bc holy shit, the Kai, and the SUPREME Kai, at that!) She’d likely default to her usual (attempted) diplomatic persona that Vegeta’s tried to train her for, as a Princess.

As Baiya eventually spends more time around Shin, I think he’d mention something along the lines of, “You don’t have to hold yourself back to appeal to me, as either a student… Or a friend. I can hear your thoughts, anyways, so there’s little use in denying them.” Baiya slowly gets more comfortable around him, seeking his counsel for even minor things, involving him more in her personal life (and… Learning to think a little quieter, lol.)

Of course… This eventually leads to Baiya getting her lil crush on Shin.

He’s got poise and tact, eloquent, traditional… Honestly, Shin could very much pass for a Prince himself! Along with his gentler approach to encouraging Baiya to reach her full potential, and to embrace her flaws and work with them instead of around them, she’d absolutely develop a strong attachment to him.

They’d have teatime in the Grand Temple Gardens. They’d stroll the grounds side by side, with Shin proudly showing her off to the other Kai as yet another of his various mentees, their arms linked together. Shin would teach her Kai history and language, their traditions, invite her to join him in various ceremonies or rituals… Inviting her into his world, literally and figuratively. That’d be pretty important to Baiya, who’s felt like a bit of an outsider since her creation, despite her loving family and friends.

Baiya would teleport to the Sacred Lands, happily running to join Shin in his study for their next week of training and studying together, joking and gossiping together, with Baiya informing Shin in return about life on Earth as a mortal…

And, maybe this would lead to Shin occasionally visiting Earth more often than most other Kai ever had before.

The first time Shin pays a visit to the Capsule Corporation household, I believe Bulma would treat him like most any other guest, or how she’d behave around Whis. Vegeta may not pay him as much attention at first, but he’d be respectful as he would be towards any of the gods. Then… Shin and Baiya greet each other with a hug, and she grabs his hand as they run upstairs together, and they dash out the door moments later with Shin dressed as ��incognito” as he possibly can be for a day out and about in West City.

Bulma and Vegeta look to each other, slack-jawed. Bulma would probably laugh it off as “puppy-love”, something sweet and innocent but destined not to last. Meanwhile Vegeta’s white as a sheet and can hardly believe his eyes. “She’s flirting with a god. My sweet pea dressed up a God of Creation like a legally-distinct Ken doll, to go out for whatever the hell “boba” is. How.” I have a feeling Vegeta would feel a mix of pride and mild fear.

Baiya would go so stupid for Shin at first asdfghjkl

AND she’d jokingly hoist him up and carry him around sometimes (…if Shin lets her. I kinda imagine that Kai can simply choose to be Immovable Objects™️ when it comes to mortals weaker than them, so… Technically, that’d mean that Shin would play along with it to an extent)

I imagine Baiya to be a “harmless prankster” type; bubbly and sweet with a dash of mischief. A playful older sister that’s still figuring out how the world works and how she fits into it, essentially. She’d enjoy teasing Shin, talking him into silly ideas, maybe even flopping onto her bed after a visit, hugging her plushies and kicking her feet excitedly, etc. So basically, Typical Girly Stuff™️.

Eventually, I imagine that Shin would recognize that Baiya’s caught feelings for him, and as much as he might even be flattered at her affection, he probably would let her down as gently as possible, or encourage her to pursue other potential suitors. Mortal suitors. Suitors that she might get to grow old with, even as a Saiyan, and have a “proper life” with… As much as it could pain Shin to admit. Baiya knows it, too, though.

Baiya & Shin would still absolutely be on excellent terms afterwards, and she’d continue to seek his advice and company. Tbh, this is the one friendship I think she’d build that rarely ever would have actual rough patches or strains between them… :)

Thanks for asking & thanks for listening/reading my ramble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Made my day to gush abt them asdfghjkl

[guiltygearofficial]

Guilty Gear Characters ranked by how high they look in their Accent Core Portrait

To celebrate 4/20, I will be ranking every single Guilty Gear Accent Core portrait from least to most blazed out of their mind!

23.Potemkin

Everyone else got so high that there was no weed left when Potemkin arrived, leaving the Zeppian soldier angry and weedless.

22. Ky Kiske

The illyrian king does not know what weed is and has taken an anti-drug pledge back in highschool. He refuses to even think about anything with caffeine in it, much less actual drugs. He is judging you.

21.Venom

Venom similarly did not get any of the weed, He’s similarly quite miffed about this predicament and is currently going for the kill.

20.Chipp Zanuff

The self declared president refuses to even try a weed, no matter what day it is. He looks down at you with scorn, ready to give you his own personal Drug Psa/Friendship Speech. Winners don’t do drugs, you’ve never seen Goku with a blunt, now have you?

19.Millia Rage

She’s judging you.

18.Zappa

Not actually high, arrived here while the weed was being handed out and got a headache from the smell. Left ASAP. 

17. Jam Kuradoberi

She made weed brownies as a 4/20 special and is currently checking your eyes to see how effective they are. She’s considering calling a doctor.

16. Testament

They are both judging you and trying their very best not to make it noticable that they accidentally ate a weed brownie earlier, because of which they can now see a skeleton dancing in the edge of their vision.

15. Baiken

Similarly judging you for being a lightweight. Took a few brownies herself to make Anji more tolerable. Is suprisingly less stabby than she usually is.

14.A.B.A.

Took her first weed a few hours ago and is currently suffering the after effects. Honestly just wants to go home. Doesn’t remember where she parked Paracelsus.

13. Faust

Got called in by Jam because her weed brownies are too strong. Impossible to tell how high exactly he is due to the bag on his head, however the glowing eye makes it likely that he snuck off with a little snack after he treated his patients.

12.Slayer

Ate the most weed brownies out of everyone but is very easily holding himself together. Has years of experience pretending not to be high. Is patting your back and telling you a story about how he and Nagoriyuki got absolutely blazed in a karaoke bar in the 19th century.

11.Order Sol

Just passed you the bong with an expression that says “here you go my man, this is the good shit.”

10.Johnny

Was right before Order Sol in the blunt rotation. Is currently thinking about women. The sunglasses are hiding it well but he’s completly out of his mind.

9.Anji Mito

Put extra weed in the brownies. Quite stoned himself but knows exactly what he did. Is not sorry for what he did.

8.I-no

Tripping balls. Is currently trying to remember if she turned the stove off before coming here. Is gonna return to a burned down home and an on fire Raven.

7.Robo-Ky

is a bong

6.Eddie

Did not realize corpses could actually get high and scarfed down an entire batch of brownies. Is currently on another planet. Does not remember his own name. Zato-one was never revived, Eddie is still high as of Xrd.

5.Dizzy

First time weed consumer and absolute light weight. Has no idea what’s going on but thinks everything is really nice. has been staring at her own tail swishing back and forth for the better part of an hour now.

4. Axl Low

Chewsday innit

3. May

Snuck off with Johnny’s bong. Can taste colors. Wil try to touch your face.

2. Sol Badguy

Stoned out of his fucking mind. Can’t handle weed as well as he could during his holy order days. Is currently drooling onto himself. There are no thoughts behind that headband.

1.Bridget

My daughter, she is sick. Her face, it is melting.

[d4rk-x-w0lf-17]

Poker Buddies AU as my favorite PurpleEyesWTF quotes

----------

Max: Do you think McDonald's is open this late? I need to get my Big Mac on.

----------

Brock: Just look on the bright side....How can this get stupider than it already is?

Max, elsewhere: HEY YOU KIDS WANNA BE ON FIRE

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Brock: Today is a good day to die! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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Max: I can live entirely on a diet of crayons and lighter fluid.

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Ash: OH BOOHOO! YOU'RE GAY, YOU'RE LESBIAN, YOU'RE STRAIGHT! MY PENIS DOESN'T WORK!!

----------

Sam: And suddenly from my perspective, things look awful.

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Claptrap: Have you seen a British person? I haven't, therefore they don't exist.

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Max: TYCHO! WE HAVE TO KILL THE TOOTH FAIRY!

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Claptrap, about GlaDoS: I just don't think she sees the real me.

Max: Yeah, no that's....whatever. Hey, you didn't happen to see Heavy or the charred remains of a helicopter anywhere, did you? Because at this point, either would be fine.

Claptrap: I can't say that I have.

Brock: MAX!!

Max: Oh I gotta go! *runs away* Cya later!

Brock, running past Claptrap: GET BACK HERE!

----------

Strong Bad: Ah yes. Swords. Nature's knives.

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Max: One time I swallowed a whole bottle of blush to get cover-up on my organs.

Tycho: I'll admit...That's one creative way of feeling pretty on the inside.

Max: Who said anything about feeling pretty?

----------

Tycho: Holy shit! Did you hear that?

Ash: Yeah. Somebody fucked a sheep.

----------

Tycho: Heavy!

Heavy: Huh?

Tycho: Who would win in a fight...Me or Goku?

Heavy: Goku.

----------

Random old guy: Get in the car and I'll give some you candy.

Max, giddy: Dumbass!

Max: You just lost yourself some candy!

----------

Tycho: Dear Micheal Bay,

Thank you for casting Shia LeBouf in the Transformers movies. Go to hell.

Love, Tycho

----------

Brock, staring Tycho in the eyes: The day I snap, you’re the first to go.

----------

Tycho: Well Max, it was great to have you over for dinner, although there was really no need for you to eat all the silverware.

Max: I need to be under constant supervision.

----------

Max: Thuuuurrrr....urrrr....

Ash: The.

Max: Fuuuurrrr.....rrrr....

Ash: Following.

Max: Following. Iuuurrr....iii....

Ash: Is.

Max: It’s not a damn race!

----------

Max: Ash. Tycho. Don’t worry.

Ash: Now I’m worried.

----------

Max: YEAH WHOO!

Ash: What the hell is going on?

Strong Bad: Max is drinking beer.

Max: I’M DRINKING BEER!

Ash: ...I thought we were going to go fight Skunkape.

Max: FUCKIN DRUNK!

Sam: ...Max is just getting ready in his own way.

Max: AW SHIT I SPILLED IT!

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, Vigilantes 60, Replies Part 1

1) “What. I find it difficult to think that those two would have trouble finding an agency, but there’s also the possibility they are like that for solidarity for Aizawa, so he doesn’t feel too bad. Or they are just lazy, that’s also an option.”- I mean, it could be both. They wanna stick by their best bud so he doesn’t get left behind in the dust, but at the same time, they lazy as balls and don’t wanna do their own homework, so they stick with him and help him improve as a hero, and he fills in all the paperwork for them. Lot of paperwork in the hero job, gotta have somebody who can navigate the forms

2) “Alright Aizawa, show them what you got. You’re like one of the most OP people there, it’s your time to shine!”-Future OP, yes. But right now, he’s struggling to keep up in the physical department and hasn’t quite developed his sick Ninja skilz and tools beyond the scarf, so his fighting abilities are way below what they’ll become in the future- and as useful as his quirk is, it’s not so great if you yourself aren’t physically capable of putting somebody down on your own without backup or assistance. In many ways, Aizawa is the scrawny nerd of the classroom, right down to getting bullied by the big strong Jock stereotype.

3) “Alright, not too surprising, Cloudy there dominates pretty much every single challenge sent his way, while Aizawa has to give 120% of himself to even try to catch up. Alright, okay, it’s gonna be some sort of Mirio x Amajiki tragic shit, I’m getting ready for it already,”- Though Ironically, it’s the Guy with the OP quirk that’s the dour one between them, and the bright sunny one that has the ‘useful but not so game-breaking’ quirk. I wonder if Aizawa gets reminds of hi prior dynamic every time he looks at them.

4) “This person has seen some horrible, horrible things, that’s for sure”- An excellent replacement for L’s ‘dawning realisation face’ reaction

5) “Also, I just realized that Cloudy does use a pole, I fucking knew it. Yeah, the Sun Wukong archetype it really too good to let slide.”- I wonder if it has extending capabiltiies, like Goku’s as well? Certainly would be within the capabilities of MHA’s technology to make a pole that can stretch to the skies.

6) “oh ho ho, you hit that nail right on the head Captain Circlet, this boy here has a lot of energy but little focus, and as such has trouble picking on something to do. Mic is an example of ADHD, meaning that he’s a foil not only to Jiro but to Kaminari as well.”-Hell, his eventually career choice is basically a mis-mash of being a radio Dj, a teacher and a hero at the same time, so he’s not even focused in his current employment.

7) “Oh right, Aizawa, sorry.

Yeah, there was a “but” after that, and it does relate how people look down on his quirk, but more than that, the question is that he’s still hesitant to take a step towards his future, and that’s what’s holding his development back.

But in all seriousness, holy shit I’m baffled that people consider quirks like Aizawa and Shinso’s to not be top-tier stuff. They’re so incredibly powerful, just because they are not as flashy they get the short end of the stick.”- I dunno if it’s even that it’s ‘not flashy’ but more along the line of it being a primarily support-type quirk in essence. Like, ok, you can turn powers on and off, but if you can’t do anything else, and especially not if you’re facing a giant hulking brute whose body is naturally like that from his quirk, you can’t actually beat him on your own, and heroes in general need to be independent and capable of fighting villains without support or they’re instead regulated as supporting characters and sidekicks, and as useful as the power if, it’s also undeniable that it’s OP in part because Aizawa trained himself to be able to fight effectively with or without the power regardless. Like Batman, he doesn’t need the gadgets or the powers to be a hero- he is a hero, even if he didn’t have his quirk, kinda similar to Knuckleduster after a fashion. 

The problem is that young Aizawa hasn’t yet reached that mental state currently, and is only able to equate his worth with what his quirk can achieve on its own, much like the rest of society, and since he can only ‘take’ powers, he can’t see the value in it or himself, and hasn’t yet had the confidence boost or training needed to become a hero in spirit, irrespective of whether he has a quirk to fight with or not. In an odd way, Aizawa is a lot like Koichi in the beginning, believing he’s unable to become a hero because he lacks a quirk that is useful on its own merits, and failing to understand that he just needs to apply himself more and trust himself to actually achieve his goals, that the walls in his way are not so insurmountable as he believes they are so long as he stops listening to others and starts listening to that small tiny voice inside of him that says ‘you can do it!’. Of course, said voice is so quiet that Shirakumo and Mic have to step in and pick up the slack for it

8) “Oh? We’re getting into a flashback inside a flashback? Strap in because Christopher Nolan got hold of this bitch and we’re about to dive in deeper”- Then there’s the inevitable upcoming flashback to how Shirakumo found this grouchy emo child at a playpark when they were kids and decided he was going to be best friends with him for life.

9) “Sure, Aizawa wasn’t at his prime here, he had too much self-doubt holding him back and he probable needs to perfect his scarf and his skill in a fight, but that’s not what we see being the problem, it’s always how his quirk isn’t that useful.”- The common perspective on one’s worth being tied to their power is greatly present throughout past flashbacks, and even by the present, it’s only really starting to slightly let up because of outliers like Aizawa helping to make things easier for the younger generation than they were for him. It makes sense in retrospect for Aizawa to be so critical of the UA entrance tests, given how his own experiences have made him well aware that there needs to be more to a hero’s worth than just having a flashy or useful power, but for young him right now, there is no ‘Aizawa figure’ looking to grade him on the sueful qualities he has outside his quirk, and helping to guide him into finding and overcoming his personal shortcomings. 

Not to mention, Aizawa’s confidence in himself being low means he also has lacklustre performance in battle, because even when he was getting the ever-loving shit beaten out of him by the OG Nomu, what made him really heroic was how he never stopped fighting back and doing whatever he could to keep the students safe, even as it was twisting his limbs into pretzels. In fact, I’m struggling to recall if he’s ever actually won any serious fight he’s been in in MHA cannon. Sure, there were the UA mooks and the Dabi clones, but those were intentionally disposable- but even if he never won the serious fights though, he still never gave up. Young Aizawa doesn’t see himself as somebody able to go that far in a fight, and so he doesn’t go that far in mock training. What made Aizawa formidable was his willpower, not his quirk, and until he finds that willpower he won’t start winning

10) “Okay see, this part is important, Aizawa will probably only get to truly master his fighting skills once he gets the wake-up call that losing his friend will bring him, this part is a problem, but the quirk being useless certainly isn’t, and sure, the johnny bravo motherfucker there is a bully trying to pull him down, but I feel like this is the general consensus of everyone that talks about his quirk”- Nobody really sees the value in a person in the hero industry at this chronological point in time- they only see the value in how useful their particular unique power can be to helping others and accordingly how the wielders should be trained in using it effetely to help others. 

People without perceived useful or directly-active abilities like Aizawa or Koichi are therefore looked down upon because people have issues understanding the concept that a ‘human’ can be a hero, even without a flashy superpower. It’s sorta a dark reflection of how AFO only sees people as repositories for useful quirks he can take. Therefore, it makes sense that Future Aizawa took a shine in his own way to Izuku after he demonstrated that he could be a smart hero who could work his way around a problem without relying on his in-born power- which just increases the irony around their original meeting the more you think about it.

11) “IT’S NOT THE FUCKING QUIRK THAT’S THE PROBLEM YOU GODDAMN DUMBASS WHY DOES NOBODY SEES THE ABSURD ADVANTAGE THAT HIS POWER GIVES HIM IN A FIGHT?!”- If it doesn’t let him punch villains into submission by empowering himself somehow, others can’t really see the value in it- Aizawa’s quirk is a ‘negative’ debuffer compared to everyone’s positive ‘buffing’ type quirks that enhance themselves or others around them, whereas Aizawa’s can only reduce a villains threat without actually ‘stopping’ said villain on its own- it required him to be good in a fight as well, ancillary to the quirk’s unique power. That said, it is ironic that nobody can see the value in his ability to take away powers, but on the other hand, given that freaks like the Nomu, who had multiple powers that put them beyond the ability of most heroes to handle, only showed up after Aizawa became a hero, and his powers made him the greatest defence against them, it makes sense that some people might not see how useful his ability to remove one person’s power for a short period would be, especially if he’s not yet good at keeping his eyes open without blinking for a long time. 

By MHA’s canon timeline, multi-powered outliners to the norm like AFO, the nomu and Izuku were showing up out of the woodwork, so the value of Aizawa’s power got really highlighted, but in the past, villains were overall weaker and easier to beat in a fight, and Aizawa struggled to win even against those guys on his own.

12) “Okay, seems like we’re done with flashback B, and returned to Flashback A… Where Aizawa is being part of the people that can’t see how fucking useful the power to nullify quirks is in a society where people rely on their quirks to fight.

God fucking dammit kid, I know you’re depressed and unable to see your own worth, but holy shit everybody took a idiot pill that morning and are just going “yeah, that power kinda sucks :/””- Really, the only reason Aizawa was at the press conference to make the public apology was so that Horikoshi didn’t have him fighting alongside All might and turning AFO’s final stand into an absolute joke- and by the same token it’s a damm good thing that AFO lost his eyesight when All Might ‘killed’ him, because even if he stole Aizawa’s quirk, he couldn’t use it. Aizawa’s the reason the heroes stand a chance against super-powered freaks on his level without All Might around, and it’s a right shame he has trouble seeing that at present.

13) “I find it really interesting the fact that this is pretty much the path that Aizawa followed, a hero focused on immobilizing his foes with sneaky attacks, but I can’t talk much about it since I just realized the ass-cat is back and now that’s all I’ll think about.”- I do wonder why he stuck to immobilisation-based fighting techniques though- like, ok, he fights with his hands and a knife he keeps on him, not to mention a variety of ninja tools, but would it have killed him to include something to help bludgeon his restrained foes unconscious with when they’re down for the count in case they tear loose from the bindings? Something like a collapsible steel pole for instance, for easy convenience when carrying around.

14) “THANK YOU CLOUDY, THANK YOU A LOT. YOU SEEM TO BE THE ONLY PERSON THAT REALIZES THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF THIS POWER, AND FUNNILY ENOUGH YOU ALSO SEEM TO NOT BE THAT BRIGHT IN A WAY THE SCHOOL VALUES. “- Sometimes it takes a dumbass to spot the obvious. A sort of recurring theme throughout both series is that everybody’s perceptions of reality have become warped by quirks and how they’ve affected everyday life, to the point of people not following common sense like reaching out to help somebody in need because they’re not a licensed hero. It makes sense for a quirk-focused society to be so dismissive of a quirk that runs ancillary to the mainstream interests, but by the same token, all it needs is somebody whose line of thinking goes outside the box to recognise its true potential, regardless of what others think. @thelreads

[57plusthree]

Stg every time I see any clips/screencaps on how Goku is talked about in Z as opposed to Super it always looks like:

Z: Wow you're so strong! You give us hope! You really are incredible! Thanks for saving our asses at the last second again! Haha wow you're a weirdo, but that's just how you are!! :)

Super: you are so FUCKING stupid oh my dog can you not SCREW UP ALL THE TIME? youre always chasing fights like a FUCKING IDIOT. holy shit youre so annoying

It's sad to see tbh. I'm sad

[duhragonball]

Krillin for the character ask :)

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: It’d be easy for me to say “he’s just a good dude” and leave it at that.   I think people would agree with that statement, but I think it runs deeper than that.   The thing that stuck with me about Krillin was when I was checking out the bonus features on the Movie 6 DVD I bought in 2002 or whenever, and they had an interview with Sonny Strait where he explained that Krillin only got into martial arts to impress girls, and that was the same reason Sonny got into voice acting.    Maybe I’m misremembering that, but it always stuck with me.   

Krillin wants things out of life, and unlike a lot of the other characters, he’s not looking to get them by wishing on a magic dragon.   He wants to become worthy of the things he wants, and he may not always be sure of how to get there, he knows that he has to become more than he is.  

Recently, I’ve been seeing excerpts from Barack Obama’s book, where he talks about reading up on subjects to try, unsuccessfully, to get girls to like him in college.    I think the idea was that he was trying to be self-effacing, but it hasn’t gone over very well.  I’m not sure if the problem was that he wasn’t being self-effacing enough, or if there’s something more sinister about reading Karl Marx just in case it helps your odds of getting noticed.    I’m not going to wade into that controversy, except to say that it reminded me of Krillin.  

Is it shallow to have self-serving reasons to improve yourself?   Did I just answer my own question?   The point I’m making here is that it’s a useful motivator.    Krillin has self-esteem issues, and he joined the Orin Temple and then Kame House to try to overcome them.   He thought “If I just get really good at this one thing, then people will like me.”   And we can say “Oh, no, it doesn’t work that way, Krillin, people like you because you’re a such a good person, and besides, it doesn’t matter how good you are at martial arts.”  

Okay, fine, let’s assume that’s true, and Krillin deceived himself by training in martial arts.    Oh no!   He put in all that work, and all he got out of it was... being the strongest human on Earth.   Shoot.    He made himself a better person for nothing.

The reality is that I don’t think he would be as well-liked if he hadn’t gone down this road, simply because people wouldn’t have gotten to know him.   That’s really what it’s about.   It’s easy to say that you’re liked for “who you are on the inside”, but what people really want is to be noticed long enough to be liked for who they are.    And sometimes you gotta take a long look at yourself and say “I need to do something to grab people’s attention.”

And sometimes, in order to motivate yourself into that kind of work, you have to play that trick on yourself.    “Just think, if I put in those extra reps in the gym, the ladies’ll be all over me!”   And it never actually happens, but it gets you through that workout, and the next, and the next, and the next.  

I think we can all relate to that.   I’m writing this because three people asked me to, and I’m sort of hoping a few more will see it and like what I wrote.   I try to get better, because I like the rush of validation that comes with it.   And if I don’t get it, well, boo-hoo, I wrote a few hundred words about Krillin, a subject I enjoy writing about.   It’s a no-lose situation, and there’s some non-zero chance that attractive single women might see this and decide to slide into my DMs.    It’s a tiny chance, hardly worth mentioning, but it’s a lot higher than if I just sit in my apartment and stare at the wall.   

Why I don’t: Ocean Dub Krillin really rubbed me the wrong way, because they wrote and voice directed the character to be really nebbishy.   That wouldn’t necessarily make him a bad character, but it definitely conflicted with what you see on the screen, where he’s stepping to Nappa, Vegeta, Dodoria, and everything else he has to deal with.    Once Sonny got the role, everything turned out cool.  Mondo cool, if you will.

I suppose I should point out the flip side of what I wrote above.  Krillin’s so focused on being worthy that he fails to recognize his achievements.   That’s admirable in its way, but it also makes you worry about the guy.    Like, he knows 18 is crazy about him, right?   Wait, does Obama know people like him?   Do I?  Oh I might have made myself sad there for a minute, excuse me.

Favorite episode (scene if movie):

Probably the moment he tries to take on Super Buu all by himself.   One of the cool things about Krillin is that he’s taken on every major villain from Piccolo Junior to Buu, despite being outclassed.    I think the Super Buu thing is the best one, though, because in that situation there’s literally no chance of anyone jumping in to save him.    His entire plan is to hold off Buu for a few seconds and maybe buy a few minutes for the others. He’s doomed and he knows it won’t even work as a diversion, but he still jumps in anyway.    It proves that this is who he is.    When there’s literally no one left to impress, and nothing left to gain, he’ll still play things out the same way.  

Favorite season/movie: The Androids/Cell Saga is probably his best material overall, just because of his conflicted feelings regarding 18, and the difficult choices he makes because of that.   You can make a strong case for the Namek Saga, where it’s literally just Krillin and Bulma and Gohan, so he has to take the lead by default, but I’m just not that into the Namek Saga.

Favorite line:

This is really more from one of the video games.   I think Budokai 3, but I’m not sure.   Piccolo demands custody of Gohan and Krillin’s like “No way, you’re probably gonna eat him or something!” and I’m pretty sure this wasn’t in the Ocean Dub, so it completely caught me off-guard, like it was the last thing I expected Krillin to say.   And then Piccolo comes back with “I’m not going to eat him!”  like he’s offended at the very suggestion.   As a runner-up, I dig that part in DBZA 54, where Trunks and Vegeta are both reeling from their losses to Perfect Cell, and Krillin reminds them that they don’t have to posture around him, because it’s just him... “Krillin.    Everyone’s friend.”

Favorite outfit: That’s easy.

Yeah, the Frieza Soldier armor looked mighty good on this dude, and the cop uniform does too, and the classic Turtle Hermit outfit is a signature look, but this, right here, is the Krillin for me.    My man’s got the blue shirt under his orange shirt.    No more of the Yamcha slipppers.   Those look great on Yamcha, don’t get me wrong, but Krillin needs those big chunky Goku boots, because they’re perfect for stomping those pesky girlfriend-exploding remotes.   Fellas, this is the ideal male body.    You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.   

OTP: Maron HAHAHAHAHAHA oh wow.   No. It’s 18, obviously.

Brotp: Clearly Goku is his bro, but it’s not surprising at all how effortlessly he gets along with just about everyone else.   He’s bros with the entire world.

Head Canon: I’m pretty sure the Maron/Marron thing was just a coincidence in real life.   Maron the girlfriend was a filler character, and Marron the daughter was introduced in the manga some time later, and both used the same naming convention to end up in the same place.   However, I choose to believe that Krillin actually named his kid after his ex, and he somehow convinced 18 to go along with that idea.   

By that, I don’t mean he had to sweet talk her into it or promise a bunch of stuff in exchange.    I mean he must have discussed what to name their kid, and 18 was like “Your ex-girlfriend?   Seriously?” and he was like “Yeah, I know she’s a ditz, but you gotta understand I was in a really low place and she helped me through it.”   Or something like that, where once he lays out the whole reason 18′s like “Yeah, you know what?   Okay.” 

Or maybe Maron helped deliver the baby or something.   Or she was the surrogate mother?   Holy shit I might be onto something.

Unpopular opinion: Krillin clanks when he walks, due to the solid brass balls he’s got.

A wish: They should do a movie where Krillin just fights Frieza and wins.   Decisively, undisputably, irrevocably.   Krillin is stronger than Frieza from that point forward.    I don’t care if that means nerfing Frieza or godmodding Krillin, but I just want it made plain that if they use Frieza from here on, it has to be with the understanding that Krillin can whip his ass at any time.  

That might sound silly, and I guess it is, but you see what this accomplishes, right?   It forces Frieza into a new character dynamic, so it’s not just the same old shit with him.    Or Toei collectively admits that they can’t use him anymore, which was what they should have decided in 1995.   I’m fine either way.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Don’t grow his hair back, okay? 

5 words to best describe them: Qualified to sell real estate.

My nickname for them: The Kriller.

[ahkaraii]

Belatedly answered ask responses

Thank you for anyone who has sent me stuff!! I LOVE reading them and I’m so sorry I’m awful at replying, but know that I love each and every one. Here’s my attempt to answer a whole lot :D

@doki-dream​ Thank you so much for enjoying my DBZ comics!! DBZ was my earliest “fandom”, as it were, from over twenty years ago, and it was so, so special to me as a wee child. I think it’s obvious how heavily I project onto Gohan, haha! But now that I’m an adult, it’s really fun to weave in all these ideas I had as a kiddo into a more seamless interpretation that works with the existing canon. I hope you continue to enjoy my interpretations  <3

@half-devil-in-red-leather​ Thank you so much for sticking around with me for so long!!  :D :D DMC still has a very dear place in my heart, and always will. As for Trunks and Gohan  -- they were my favourite characters, too!! Gohan moreso than Trunks in my case, but I’m awfully fond of all iterations of my purple-haired boy, and someday I’ll get around to drawing all of my Mirai!Trunks headcanons :) Trunks and Goten are fascinating to me as well, because they’re a Unit, yanno? In canon they were rarely seen without the other, and so their development as people is undoubtedly tied together, too. The differences between Mirai!Trunks and main-timeline!Trunks is FASCINATING, and speaks a lot to what are “core” characteristics of Trunks and what are things he’s adapted from his close peers over the years. Anyway, I love Trunks and Goten and Gotenks and rest assured I’ll be posting a lot more about them in the future.

@vejigante​ Unfortunately I still haven’t watched Dragon Ball Super beyond the two movies (Battle of Gods and Broly) so I’m preeetty much out of the loop as to who these guys are. Maybe someday :0

@katerchip​ :D :D :D =happy=

@yusuke96universe​ I don’t exactly take suggestions, mostly because I kinda draw whatever I feel like in any given moment, and drawing something based on someone else’s idea or suggestion is almost always stressful (”what if they don’t like my take” “what if I drew something they find gross” “what if what if what if” etc), but I can safely say I, uhhh, actually don’t know much about Tien??? I’ve skim read the original Dragon Ball manga, but I never watched the original Dragon Ball anime, so Tien is one of those side characters I don’t have a very good grasp on, or, frankly, much interest in. Maybe someday!

@shika-boom​ Fugaku and Shikaku were not friends, per say, but they were always peripherally aware of each other. They’re both clan heirs, for one, so you gotta know who’s who. Shikaku has always been a nosy nin who collects secrets, while Fugaku’s shameful secrets have always been painfully on display, so it’s not like they didn’t butt heads now and again growing up. I talk a little more about the topic here (x).

@darkblades75​ Thank you!! You can read the manga online here (x).

@hydrabellwolf​ Raditz is an interesting character I’m still getting a handle of, in my own interpretation, but I think he essentially has little to no attachment to his birth family and as a kid he probably thought Goku was pampered trash because Gine kept his pod at home. I don’t think Raditz ever made the connection that Gine sent Goku out to save him from the massacre, so I don’t think Raditz realized Gine “spared” Goku and didn’t think about him (Raditz).

Afterward, he only ever remembers Goku might still exist when he realizes he needs someone he can ally with against Nappa and Vegeta (after establishing he’s Alpha Dog, hence him stealing Gohan and talk-posturing at Goku instead of properly fighting from the start), so it’s not so much familial piety as it is convenience because he’s outnumbered and outgunned and outbullied by the only couple other Saiyan survivors.

@wardstoneus That’s a story for another day, and details I probably won’t get super into because I’ve learned my lesson about delving into unnecessarily dark themes in an ambiguously exploitative way. But, yeah, I have lots of Thoughts about Raditz’s distinctive hairline and how that looks more like Vegeta than it does Bardock, and how exactly that could’ve gone about.

It was not a consensual thing :/ Gine had a rough life, and not just because she was weak and also not very Saiyan like. Bardock married her to protect her after she was pregnant, and he got demoted to low class because of it. (That’s how I explain to myself how Bardock was apparently super fucking strong and yet inexplicably deemed low class).

@loyaltykask​ Tbh the only other Sakumo ship I find mildly interesting is Sakumo/Tsunade (you can kinda tell why I drew them together in the Five comic in the first place xDD), but, naturally, my take on Sakumo and the Sakumo that gets shipped with Orochimaru in fandom are very different characters with very different pasts that made them that way :’D So if I separate my take and just take fanon Sakumo as it is, there’s lots of interesting fics with him and Orochimaru and such. I don’t tend to read them though, because Orochomaru is never in character (as I interpret him, anyway), and that can be tiring XD

@pretty-rage-machine​ Thank you!!! I’m sorry (not sorry) that I jump around fandoms so much, my creative brain is stupid and it latches onto new things every 2-6 months without control and I’ve learned to just go with the flow, it allows me to create faster and better works if I let myself explore whatever topic has captured my interest at any given moment instead of forcing it to stick to one thing. Luckily, I am not a professional artist; if you are, don’t do this xDDD Maintaining discipline and motivation beyond personal whim is important in any job!!

That being said, yay!! I’m glad you like my stuff regardless of how much knowledge you have of the canon I’m messing with. Hearing my characterizations are grounded and relatable makes me happy <3<3

@poly-hebdo​ Thank you!!! :D :D Once again, I apologize for jumping fandoms like the attention deficit fella I am, but I’m glad you’re still digging my works regardless of the fandom!

@jkl-fff​ Ahh thank you, friend!! (Side note reply: I watched DBZ:A yeeears ago, and I have to rewatch it again STAT because I actually have gotten mentioned by MasakoX (voice of gohan and goku in DBZA) a couple of times now, once in one of his videos and twice on his twitter feed, so I’m like HOLY SHIIIIT!!!! because that’s some Senpai-Noticed-Me shit and eeeeeeek).

It may be obvious by now but I HEAVILY project onto Gohan, he was basically my mental self-insert as a wee lad, so my characterization of him is heavily tinged by that selfish nostalgia; part of the reason I’ve been drawing these comics is to seamlessly integrate that mental image of Gohan I have living in my brain to the actual existing canon, to make him a plausible version of Gohan that can exist between the pages. From that, a fascinating little narrative has been born and I’ve been having fun detailing out the characters that exist around the Gohan I’ve created :D Thank you for enjoying my hot take on it!!

And YES LAWD I am all for bisexual Gohan, he and Dende were totally a cute first romance thing as teenagers, though naturally it had to come to an end as they moved on with their lives -- Dende to proper ascetic Godhood, and Gohan to a more normal human highschool life. Maybe someday I’ll get into the nuanced complexities of that, though I probably won’t post it to twitter, where the audience there seems to crave more canon straight stuff than any wistful doomed gay sideplots (that seems more a Tumblr thing). Ahhhh so many ideas, so little time XDD

[mysterylover123]

Mysterylover watches Bleach episodes 42-43

1. RENJI’S BACK!! Feels like it’s been awhile. And...he’s being woken up by a monkey. Huh. Not how I expected this episode to open.

2. Back to Ichigo vs RukiBro. (Yes I know he has a name, Byakuya. But for now I prefer RukiBro). And the arrival of Yoruichi aka Hot Cat Lady. 

3. Um did CatLady just try to kill Ichigo? I thought she was on our side! Or is this a Genjutsu kinda thing? (a few seconds later) OK it’s a drug. 

4. Ooh so RukiBro and CatGirl have a history, huh? Dangerously tempted to start shipping them now. And their banter is pretty hot too. Also WTF? Another training montage? CAN WE JUST RESCUE RUKIA ALREADY DAMMIT

5. Is it me or is this Sentaro guy doing more to try and save Rukia then our heroes are right now?! The leads keep getting caught up in ego-fights or (I’m assuming) going out for drive-thru (Uryu and Hime Where the F are you) and the Reapers who like Ruki are like “We’ll do everything we can”. Damn. Sure are showing up our leads right now.

6. HOLY SHIT KNOCK ON WOOD THERE THEY ARE! Like 2 seconds after I complained about them missing again, there’s Hime and Uryu! It feels like it’s been forever. GET OFF HER COMMANDER CREEP. SHE’S GOT A WIFE BACK HOME WAITING FOR HER. AND ALSO SHE’S LIKE 16. GTFO.

7. Every word out of Orihime’s mouth is reminding me why I love her. And this plan was hers, of course, because she’s the smartest and the best. And I’m starting to think Uryu has a crush on her. (and who could blame him).

8. ”I learned some Karate from Tatsuki” YES.  “I was thinking I was with Tatsuki again” immediately starts stripping. Because Tatsuki is her wife. OMG I MISSED HER SO MUCH. Please go save Rukia right the F now. 

9. Isn’t this like the 5th time this arc that Ichigo has been so badly beaten he needs nursing? At this rate he’s spent more time in the hospital than Deku does and that’s gotta be a record. 

10. Dammit why do they keep talking up RukiBro like nobody could possibly kill him? Like, maybe he is super strong but they gotta at least try to save Ruki!

11. YES WE’RE OPENING UP EPISODE 43 WITH ORIHIME. Thank goodnes. Her fairy friend warrior is injured, oh noes. I mean they’re kinda dicks but they do help her out so I don’t want them to get hurt. And Hime is guilty about it!

12. Ooh and Hime’s gonna have a training montage too? YAS. This scene is so weirdly sentimental. “Not suited for combat”? Well he does have a point that Orihime is a bit of a pacifist. Though it’s a little annoying that the most OP badass member of the squad is getting benched from fighting, i’m guessing, cause she be a girl.

13. Oh man wtf did you creeps do to Hime and Uryu? And this squad of nice soul reapers?! And of course Hime saves everyone and feels bad about not saving enough people. Oh god I’ve missed her.

14. “Is she crying out of fear” bitch please Orihime knows no fear. She tried to save the enemies and is sad she didn’t save enough. Skullface has recognized that Hime is OP but is planning to experiment on her. So he’s cancelled, but at least he recognizes  greatness when he sees it.

15. Squad dude calls her a “delicate woman’ Hime promptly bites him. I’m starting to realize that she’s like the girl version of Goku. I feel like the series is going out of it’s way to get her out of the fight because if she was involved it’d be over too quickly. 

16. Apropos of nothing, Uryu and Hime look real good in those  Soul Reaper uniforms. Like, dayum. They’re already the prettiest characters and now they’re sharp-dressed too.

17. And skullface has hurt his lieutenant? and punched her? And doesn’t  care she’s dying? My god soul reaper society is so freaking cancelled. 

18. Wow Uryu. Like 5 seconds fighting without Hime and you’re basically dead already. Getting rid of her was such a dumb idea. Sure, get rid of your Shield and White Mage while you’re fighting an OP opponent. Seems like a great idea.

19. Uryu gonna protect the Lieutenant now? Yas. He and Hime being kind to to their foes, cause they’re the best.

20. OMG WTF?! “collecting bodies” experimenting, good god so fucking cancelled. and this guy killed Uryu’s master? PLEASE KILL HIM URYU. “MY NAME IS URYU ISHIDA. YOU KILLED MY MASTER. PREPARE TO DIE”. 

[arkus-rhapsode]

Rhapsode Reacts: RWBY Volume 3

Hey guys, Rhapsode here. So I’ve been on the record numerous times saying I haven’t watched the internet series RWBY. I haven’t. However, I have a rather close mutual @remnantoforario who tells me about most of the series and characters. Seriously, I basically have experienced the plot through osmosis. Now me and remnant work on a lot of fanfiction stuff and general discussions of video games and manga. And highly suggest anyone who wants a more in depth look at RWBY to please check him out. He’s great.

Now due to the fact he has basically told me the series up this point, its kinda been a bit frustrating when I forget something and ask him to reiterate. So I decided to knuckle down and watch some of the series.

I helped remnant get a non RWBY fan opinion, by basically live-blogging him in our PMs. And I thought I had some level of humorous reactions and Remnant had some witty observations to my reactions.

Anyway, if you didn’t catch it the first time, I must repeat, I’m not coming at this from the perspective of a fan. I have very little emotional or personal enjoyment going in the series up to this point. If I say something that offends you as a fan, I’m sorry in advance.

With that out of the way, let’s dive in:

Oh that’s a sweet scene of Ruby at her mother’s grave.

Why would you start Team RWBY’s preliminary fight in the middle of it?

the Vytal Festival feels like it should be reversed: you should start with 1, then go to 2, then for your finals, 4. Or just do a solid 4 v 4 all tournament

Remnantoforario: I dont know what the purpose of the tournament is, or why anyone would want to participate. There is no prize 

Me: Bragging rights I guess. But the whole point of the festival is to celebrate peace. Lets celebrate piece with a bunch of kids beating each other up .

Ruby has a line of "we did it?" like she was surprised. Was that a concern? 

Like I understand the festival has been built up since the second volume, but there's a reason most good tournament arcs ease you into the first round. Its to reaffirm character motivation and actually show you what a fight would look like 

  I do appreciate some of the “show don't tell” moments like the one girl using a heat crystal in her skate board to free her teammate

But usually even if the first round is jobbers, they're at least presented as a threat. I never really got that. The tide seemed more and Rwby's favor, but I can't tell if that was always the case because we started in the middle of the fight

the pacing just feels like you can't handle the story, so it wants to get to the fight scenes to keep your attention 

Emerald is actually really funny, holy shit 

“How can they be so happy?” And “It’s the heiress and the bimbo” 

Still Weiss and Yang, better savor this duo while I can 

Neo’s gothic Lolita is cute. Though I feel like their match should’ve gotten a focus 

Like I mean not an episode but if they started with the instant eliminations of 1v1, I could easily see this cool intro of Rwby has met Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder, but then is shocked at who this fourth member even is 

OK I feel like the scene with Rwby and JNPR should’ve happened before the first round.  Given Nora’s rant would actually tie to Ruby’s whole “we won?” Surprise

“Cinder: Even if you know how the story ends that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch.” I’d agree with you if you know the story wasn’t Rwby. And it’s not really that fun to watch a bunch of fighting with no weight.

OK team JNPR vs team BRNZ is actually a much better introduction to the tournament than Rwby vs Abrn

We actually see how the field is chosen and we actually get some genuine strategy and coordination. And before all this we actually get some motivation about how the characters feel going into this battle

Me: OK why are these not the protagonists and why was this not episode one?

Remnantoforario: questions for the writers 

I got admit I’m not very much of a fan of melee weapons that also turn into guns and just kind of makes the purpose of melee fighters and ranged fighters pointless 

Logically it makes sense that if you’re making a weapon you do want it to have multiple functionality but at the same time it kind of makes a lot of that fighting less fun 

I mean what do you want to see more a team complete each other or just one person who can just do everything with the right weapon?

  Ehh OK the team meeting joke is running a tad too long

Okay, that was what I was mentioning before... Just cut out Nora with missiles. I feels more like a give and take as well as more unique to have that moment with her slamming on the ground 

“Crow Bar.” Oh you go to the corner for that pun.

OK that joke with Weiss and telling Indigo to beat up Neptune was timed and delivered really bad 

Also port makes a point that Sun is from Vacuo. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the leader or any membr of Indigo actually did know Sun from Vacuo?

I say that because no member of team Indigo has said anything, and it would at least add something unique to this fight

OK I have to bring up the weird use of western cartoon comedy

Neptune running up the mountain it’s super speed is kind of funny but this is also a fight I’m supposed to take seriously 

Nora and Ruby kind of get away with it given their powers but Neptune just ran up a mountain like it was nothing

What is the tone here?

Sage went out like a bitch 

you know if you wanted to eliminate someone to make me feel for this team being in trouble why didn’t you just eliminate Neptune? 

OK scarlet’s scene actually really works 

That nut joke didn’t. Again, tone? 

Me: Why would you sacrifice the two characters we don’t know anything about just to do Neptunes stupid joke?

Remnant: COMEDY 

OK this fight was bad 

Me: I get the idea indigo was a bunch of jobbers so you decided to play the comedy angle. OK, well then tone down the serious rock music, turn down the cartoon physics

Remnant: For reference. That was a post Monty fight 

I agree with Qrow, that was a mess

okay introduction to Winter is pretty good. Shame we don't really get that "Novice victory" vibe from their fight. Maybe if it last for more than 8 minutes and didn't start from the middle... 

okay see, I don't mid Winter and Qrow having a fight in the middle of the square as it helps serve as an introduction to the characters and flexes their strength

though Im also starting to notice something else that bugs me in the fights, no banter or introspection or comments

its just fight moves 

like there's times that's god, DBZ did it tons of times when its just Goku making "Hiyah" noises but there was still a bit of time to get in a line that both broke up the action and highlighted how two characters felt or through thought was able to give us a peek into their head

watching rwby fights makes me think, "This be better as a video game" 

so... does no woman in this world wear a bra? 

 Ironwood: “If you were one of my men, I'd have you shot!”

Okay, that can't be legal

Ironwood is kinda becoming my favorite character 

He's a flawed human being, and the narrative shows that, but it also shows he has a point 

Okay, yeah I see what you mean, all this Fall stuff is happening in the background which is nice, but there's no real plot with the tournament 

Okay Mercury and Emerald vs Coco and Yatsuhashi is actually really good 

not much character, but its actually more intimidating seeing how strong these two are. Wish the music had a bit more ambiance 

Okay, that's an interesting plot point. Qrow explaining how beating one high profile criminal hasn't stopped crime. And the fact there is zero crime is concerning and relating it back to Ironwood

Wow, its almost when you just slow down and lt characters breath and talk to each other and have them be characters without shoving in a fight scene, its pretty good

Why is team Cardin fighting a non faunus team? Feels like a waste of characters 

disappointing that Ciel doesn't know Penny is a robot

mainly because the way its queued up with Ciel seemed like she was only spending time with Penny because ordered and her attention to the schedule makes it seem like she is a soldier just having to play dress up for the robot to make it comfortable 

Me: Wow Weiss's heels...  Never noticed them. I just thought they were boots

Remnant: Nope heels 

Also Neon and Flynt actually have a pretty good intro 

We know what Atlas is like seeing Winter and Ironwood, so Neon and Flynt make an interesting and immediate contrast

And it feels like there is something riding on our opponents side given Flynts history with the Schnee. Which makes him stand out from the other jobbers

And Neon's intentionally irritating personality actually is more character displayed by any other opponent character

I actually really like the OST in the fight too. This might be my favorite action scene 

Flynt actually has a really cool semblance too 

oh wow, some actual dread with Weiss getting eliminated 

Imma let you get away with that Hulk reference Port

I like how Yang beat Flynt, but if I was gonna beat Neon, I'd have Yang punch the ground and through her off balance 

Haha Ironwood doesn't have a heart, I get it, he's tin man 

least they didn't go with Ozpin saying Qrow doesn't have a brain 

Me: So... If Pyrrha is all these things, why aren't we following her team?

So abridged version of the four seasons story Four random chicks find a guy camped out in his house, be nice to him and he gives them super powers. If I were a kid being told that, I’d demand another story 

Pyrrha: like a semblance?

Oz: Like magic!

Me: Like a semblance

Qrow is right, this selection is stupid 

You’re keeping a woman in your basement in cryogenic suspension. Oz you and Rhea need to share notes 

Oh god... Adam. You can’t act

Adam seems already psychopathic Or maybe that’s just his acting

So this is the famous Yang punching Mercury... It works I guess

Actually getting a chance to see some Jaune and Pyrrha moments in v3 and it’s good 

Me: Velvet is British? Huh... never predicted that 

Remnant: Australian 

How can Ruby notice Emerald all the way across the arena? Actually wait she’s the only one not in a black uniform 

Why did they leave Mercury behind where anyone could find him? 

And Penny is dead and I do not care at this point

Cinder’s little speech is the first time I’m actually feeling like I’m getting a villain motivation out of her 

She talks about how Oz and the headmasters are just men capable of making mistakes But she’s someone who would embrace and all powerful godly being. Though that seems and odds with the presumed motive that she’s working with Salem to potentially kill the brother gods

Okay, Blake and Weiss have a pretty good scene when all hell was breaking loose 

Ruby versus the big ass bird was actually pretty cool and the scene of everyone’s lockers being what puts it down is really clever 

Oh really cool scene of Port and Oobleck. Hey the fall is turning out pretty decent

Ironwood killing the wolf was pretty good 

Roman is a breath of fresh air as a villain. And it’s namely his acting 

You know I feel like you could let the more tertiary characters fight the robots while Weiss and Blake fight WF 

OK I repeat this is just become a video game. Giant dragon that spawns mini monsters in a destroyed town 

The spectacle fighting actually really works when your opponents are mindless and faceless brutes

You have Adam in a school full of terrified people, why aren’t you showing his nuance by showing he won’t hurt Faunus staff and is giving them an out? 

Velvet’s scene be cool if it was powers she was mimicking. Looking at a lot of weapons really doesn’t do much for me.

That said, this could work if she ended up copying the mech and fighting against it

Okay I feel like Weiss finally being able to summon something should’ve been done with a lot more gravitas

And Sun proceeds to be the best male character 

Neo is fucking beast. Y’know what, let her be final boss

Now I just have this image of Neo flying through the air with a sign reading “I’m Mary Poppins, Y’all”

Wow, Roman went out like a bitch 

Like zero build up just dead. And his replacement is Adam... There is no justice 

Ironwood: someone has done the unthinkable and taken control of my machines!

Watts: What? Like it’s hard? 

Blake and Yang holding hands on the ground after Yang lost an arm. Yeah that’s pretty shippy 

Also, I feel like the animation really limits a lot of the characters expressions. Like the time Ruby spent dwelling on her sister being mutilated is well timed. But usually a lot of the emotional devastation comes down to the expression.

a lot of faces seem stiff in transition expressions. Or they have this doll like quality 

The most expressive person seems to be Emerald 

Pyrrha and Jaune’s kiss is actually really tender 

Me: Okay how the hell is Cinder’s dress still managing to cover her loins? 

Remnant: maiden magic.

And Pyrrha died 

Are you done with the whole line of do you believe in destiny was fine Personally I would’ve also accepted the Ted Kord response, Rot in Hell.

Ruby went super saiyan 

Tai being the first person Ruby sees is nice 

Yang’s bitterness works here. Though given how I wasn’t feeling too much of the sisterly bond between the two, it’s probably not as hard hitting as they wanted 

Salem’s introduction isn’t bad 

so after watching V3. my final opinion is meh 

Strikes me as they wanted to the fall, and the tournament was just a lot of window dressing. Because the stuff with the Fall is the best part, but everything else has felt dull and fillery.

Maybe I’ll do this for the next season of a series I binge. But till next time, take care.

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #116

Thurs Jul 25 2019 [06:01 PM] Wack'd: Yes, it's our first Doom team-up! But more importantly--holy shit is that a gradient on the title at the bottom?!

[06:01 PM] Wack'd: A bold new age of comic book coloring is upon us! [06:02 PM] Wack'd: Meanwhile, in the credits, Lee's title has been changed from "plotter" to "editor" [06:04 PM] Wack'd: The remaining three decide they need to make a plan themselves and I gotta admit? I'm surprised that this is our first issue where Reed literally can't work out the solution for them [06:04 PM] Wack'd: With this established a pattern, that's a good hook [06:05 PM] Wack'd: So it turns out the machine Reed slipped into earlier was radioactive [06:05 PM] maxwellelvis: oops [06:06 PM] Wack'd: And Sue determines that they might be able to trace that radiation signature to find Reed, using one of his gizmos [06:07 PM] Wack'd: (They can't use an actual geiger counter because, if an ordinary device could find the amount of radiation on Reed, he'd be very very screwed) [06:08 PM] Wack'd: Unfortunately, the landlord has got out and led the cops to the Baxter Building [06:08 PM] Wack'd: So Johnny fire-bombs them [06:08 PM] Wack'd: He fire-bombs the cops [06:08 PM] Wack'd: Normally I'd be all for this but, uh, time and a place, dude [06:09 PM] Wack'd: Good luck avoiding jail after that! [06:09 PM] Bocaj: Consequences are for people without superpowers [06:09 PM] Bocaj: like money [06:10 PM] maxwellelvis: "Fuck da police!" [06:10 PM] maxwellelvis: "Not now, Bic-head!" [06:10 PM] maxwellelvis: "JOHNNY NO!" [06:10 PM] maxwellelvis: "JOHNNY YES!" [06:10 PM] Wack'd: So rarely do heroes wading through the sewers acknowledge that actually it's not a fun time

[06:11 PM] maxwellelvis: Spider-Man grumbles about it all the time. [06:11 PM] Wack'd: So! Was Reed mind-controlled? Yes and no [06:12 PM] Wack'd: Reed's earlier boastfulness was him daring the Over-Mind to try and take him over [06:12 PM] Wack'd: Counting on the idea that he'd be able to resist [06:12 PM] Wack'd: And, well [06:12 PM] Wack'd: NOPE! [06:13 PM] Wack'd: Reed's arrogance gets his ass completely, thoroughly kicked [06:13 PM] Bocaj: Good [06:14 PM] Wack'd: Even the ol' "power of love" trick doesn't work!

[06:15 PM] Bocaj: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrvh_jB6c70 [06:15 PM] Bocaj: Hey this is some good imagery though [06:15 PM] Wack'd: It is! [06:15 PM] Wack'd: Buscema rules, actually [06:15 PM] maxwellelvis: Pretty sure that's why they got him to draw all those Conan comics [06:16 PM] Bocaj: I mean, he still can't draw children like a lot of artists can't [06:16 PM] Bocaj: Franklin is an unending nightmare [06:16 PM] Bocaj: Cherubic terror [06:16 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Reed is two seconds from being full-on mind-flayed when Johnny and Ben show up to kick the Over-Mind's ass [06:16 PM] Wack'd: Considering this went great when it was all four of them I'm sure this'll be no sweat [06:16 PM] Bocaj: wtf is sue? [06:17 PM] Wack'd: Glad you asked [06:17 PM] maxwellelvis: Getting backup, I think [06:17 PM] Wack'd: She's on monitor duty [06:17 PM] Bocaj: 😐 [06:17 PM] Wack'd: But seeing the guys getting their asses kicked she's like "actually, fuck this" [06:18 PM] Wack'd: And flies over to force-field Over-Mind into submission [06:18 PM] Wack'd: But hey, uh, remember last issue when he effortlessly broke her force field? [06:19 PM] Wack'd: And also how he just kind of in general is impervious to fire and brute force? [06:19 PM] Bocaj: yes [06:19 PM] Wack'd:

[06:20 PM] maxwellelvis: I was kinda hoping you'd say "Archie doesn't" [06:20 PM] Bocaj: So its not going great is I think what you're insinuating [06:21 PM] Wack'd: You know what? Picking up Johnny by the head *while he's flamed on* is one hell of a move [06:21 PM] Wack'd: Respect [06:21 PM] Wack'd: Also I initially interpreted this as Over-Mind hitting Ben with Johnny [06:22 PM] Bocaj: you gotta hit that motherfucker with this motherfucker [06:22 PM] Wack'd: Which also woulda been pretty cool [06:22 PM] maxwellelvis: You know, for a guy called "Overmind", he's surprisingly beefy [06:22 PM] Bocaj: Might overmind [06:22 PM] Wack'd: He was super strong first and then his entire race filed their brains into his head [06:22 PM] maxwellelvis: Ahh [06:22 PM] Bocaj: As ya do [06:23 PM] Bocaj: If you're a space nonsense [06:23 PM] Wack'd: So with Johnny and Ben out of commission and Reed being promoted to Over-Mind's second-in-command, Sue decides she needs backup [06:24 PM] Wack'd: (She also evades Over-Mind ordering Reed to kill her by taking her weird space bike as high as it could go, and then doing a hairpin turn which causes Reed to topple over, which is pretty neat) [06:25 PM] Wack'd: So anyway, about backup [06:26 PM] Wack'd: The Marvel Universe has conspired to that basically every single superhero has some out-of-NYC stuff happening in their own books [06:26 PM] Wack'd: (Or so the narrator claims--I'm certainly not about to go check) [06:27 PM] Bocaj: It was neat but probably unsustainable how the marvel universe used to do that [06:27 PM] Bocaj: If Iron Man was said to be too busy to do Avengers one month then his book tended to reflect that [06:27 PM] Wack'd: Huh! [06:27 PM] Bocaj: If Beast popped over to do an X-Men crossover, then he's not in Avengers [06:28 PM] MousaThe14: Yeah I’m relistening to Jay and Miles from the start again and it’s interesting to know that they at least attempted to keep that sort of thing consistent with Wolverine disappearing from the main book to have his own solo series and other such things [06:28 PM] Wack'd: Man Buscema out here killing it with the splash pages

[06:28 PM] Bocaj: I know that during Jim Shooter's era he tried to keep things organized like that so that the shared universe felt more unified. And with New Universe every book was supposed to progress a month at a time with every issue but not all the writers got the memo [06:29 PM] Umbramatic: oooh [06:29 PM] Wack'd: Kinda makes long-form storytelling tough [06:29 PM] Umbramatic: but huh [06:29 PM] Bocaj: It does [06:29 PM] Umbramatic: ye [06:29 PM] Bocaj: Its more manageable if the universe is smaller [06:29 PM] Bocaj: That space bike looks unnecessarily unergonomic [06:30 PM] Wack'd: And while I'm handing out kudos, the color department's doing killer work

[06:30 PM] Bocaj: Anyway, there's a website that tries to put all the marvel universe in a chronological order. I'll go check what they have to say [06:31 PM] Bocaj: (Huh, Franklin looks less horrific here) [06:31 PM] Wack'd: I feel like with Stan and Jack gone, everyone's starting to stretch their muscles a bit [06:32 PM] Wack'd: Or maybe it's just the natural progression of time, who knows [06:33 PM] Bocaj: Ok so the Avengers were busy with the Kree/Skrull War, including having to deal with the skrull cow loose ends that Reed left behind [06:33 PM] Bocaj: Thanks Reed [06:33 PM] Wack'd: Sue rolls a nat 20 on persuasion

[06:34 PM] Bocaj: Did she invent his honor and nobility out of whole cloth and mindfuck him into thinking thats who he was for decades to follow? [06:35 PM] Wack'd: It's been there in a few previous issues, though thanks to Stan it comes and goes depending on the needs of the plot [06:35 PM] Wack'd: I remember during the arc where he trapped them in Latveria the story couldn't make up its mind whether or not he cared if his subjects died [06:36 PM] Bocaj: Where he had the DOME? [06:36 PM] Wack'd: He also has a tendency to let the Four go when he's bored, which I suppose is kind of honorable [06:36 PM] Bocaj: if you think Goku is honorable [06:37 PM] Wack'd: But yeah, the idea that he isn't just an egomaniacal loon has kinda gently poked him on the shoulder now and again [06:38 PM] Wack'd:

[06:38 PM] Wack'd: "In about 20 other issues, but I don't recognize it either" [06:39 PM] MousaThe14: Old Man Johnny [06:39 PM] Wack'd: Doom and Goofy have the same dentist apparently

[06:39 PM] Bocaj: "I'm glad we don't have to deal with a bossy autocrat who tells us what to do everyday" [06:41 PM] Wack'd:

[06:42 PM] Wack'd: So Doom's plan is that Over-Mind will be too distracted by Johnny and Ben to fight Doom, who will use a "stop hitting yourself" device on him [06:43 PM] Wack'd: But anyway Doom does the comic book thing of announcing his moves [06:43 PM] Wack'd: And Over-Mind is, as established, not an idiot [06:43 PM] Wack'd: So he ignores Ben and Johnny and just wails on him [06:44 PM] Bocaj: Ha [06:44 PM] Wack'd: Sue was the contingency--she could use her force fields to protect Doom [06:44 PM] Wack'd: But, uh [06:45 PM] Wack'd: Well, he was supposed to take more of a beating first [06:45 PM] Wack'd: To weaken him [06:45 PM] Wack'd: So her force field does nothing and Reed is still convinced he needs to murder her, so [06:45 PM] Bocaj: This plan is butts [06:45 PM] Wack'd: It would've worked if Doom wasn't a boastful idiot! [06:46 PM] Bocaj: It was fundamentally flawed [06:46 PM] Wack'd: Fair

[06:47 PM] Wack'd: So! [06:47 PM] Wack'd: Doom is down. Sue is down. Johnny and Ben are worthless. The gizmo is broken. And Reed is more of a jerk than usual. [06:47 PM] maxwellelvis: Only the author can save them now [06:48 PM] Wack'd: Man, Archie Goodwin's way more buff than I thought he'd be

[06:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Oh no, not THIS asshole [06:49 PM] Wack'd: You're acquainted, I assume [06:49 PM] Bocaj: He's a gem fusion [06:49 PM] MousaThe14: The Stranger is looking less like a hobo than I last saw him [06:49 PM] maxwellelvis: He's the guy who basically heralded in one of the X-Men's lamest periods by literally spiriting away Magneto and Toad to his alien zoo. [06:49 PM] MousaThe14: But last I saw him was in an Essential X-men [06:50 PM] Bocaj: I like that his icon is his own mustache [06:50 PM] Wack'd: So turns out murdering Sue is a bridge too far for Reed, even as mind-whammied as he is, and he passes out [06:50 PM] Bocaj: They call that the ghola test [06:54 PM] Wack'd: Stranger: You call yourself unbeatable, and yet you are the sum of the Eternals, who were once beaten.   [06:54 PM] Wack'd: Over-Mind: By the survivors of Gigantus. What of it? [06:54 PM] Wack'd: Stranger: 😏 [06:54 PM] Wack'd: Over-Mind: well shit [06:55 PM] MousaThe14: The Eternals? You mean the Irrelevants? [06:55 PM] Wack'd: These Eternals will eventually be retconned to be those Eternals [06:55 PM] Wack'd: Don't worry about it [06:56 PM] Wack'd: Anyway the Stranger traps Over-Mind in the Micro-verse and pisses off [06:56 PM] MousaThe14: This is one hell of a deus ex [06:56 PM] Wack'd: It was actually set up earlier in the story! [06:56 PM] maxwellelvis: That's all the Stranger is is a walking deus ex machina [06:56 PM] Wack'd: It's more of a Chekov's gun, really [06:57 PM] Wack'd: If you put a race of beings capable of defeating your baddie above the mantle in the first act... [06:57 PM] MousaThe14: Oh well that’s fine. [06:57 PM] MousaThe14: Setup payoff, only the most basic form of storytelling. You’re free to go, F4 comic. [06:58 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Doom decides he's gonna go walk it off and next time, Richards! Next tiiiime, that whole bit. [06:59 PM] maxwellelvis: "Oh, by the way, Reed, I despise you, and all that you stand for, and oh you know the rest!" "He's a good kid" [06:59 PM] Wack'd: Johnny's pissed that the Stranger let them get their asses handed to them for like three issues when he coulda curbstomped Over-Mind whenever he wanted [06:59 PM] Wack'd: And concludes this was an act of deliberate malice on someone's part [07:00 PM] maxwellelvis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U96sqmTFsss [07:00 PM] Wack'd: For once, Johnny actually has a point before storming off

[07:01 PM] Wack'd: The Watcher, seeing this, decides "fuck it, I'm gonna make this mean something"

[neverwatchedonepiece]

611-612: "A Small Dragon! Momonosuke Appears!" and "A Deadly Fight in a Blizzard! the Straw Hats vs. the Snow Woman!"

Caesar’s Minion: “Wait... Didn’t Vegapunk leave a man made Devil Fruit here.”

Felt the pace across this pair of episodes was a bit slower. Not a problem, though, because all the loose ends must be tied up. To to this, all plot threads must be lovingly prepared and set in place before the final, arc-ending knot is tied.

So far, Oda’s been great at that, so I’m not worried. Even if some threads are left loose, they’ll just be woven into a future plot because he planned it that way. At least Momonosuke, the last outstanding plot point, has finally wound his way onto the stage. All that remains are those elusive sea prism stone cuffs.

But there was one Huge Reveal here...

MAN MADE DEVIL FRUITS.

THEY ARE A THING.

WTF?

Your Dad Talked Through His Farts

I loved this weird little meeting between Luffy and Momonosuke.

Luffy worked on his past experience with talking dragons on Punk Hazard. First, he thought  Momonosuke would be edible (nooooooooo!) Then, he figured the child’s voice was coming from someone who was stuck on the dragon’s body and maybe Momonosuke was talking with his farts.

“How rude!”  Momonosuke seethed. These samurai are very proper people, Luffy. Gotta show some class around them, I guess.

Then little  Momonosuke’s tummy rumbled and Luffy realised the dragon kid was starving. That was sad. Instant empathy for dragon child right there.

But Momonosuke was a samurai child. They did not get hungry after only ten days of fasting. (Only ten.)  He asked who Luffy was and why he was there. When Luffy introduced himself, Momonosuke didn’t think he could be a pirate, as pirates were “all big, heavyweight men. More violent and strong-looking.”

I guess he is from an isolated island and has never seen Buggy the Clown and Galdino: the Dream Team.

Once they talked a bit more, Momonosuke said he wanted to get out of the garbage dump to help save the kids trapped in the labs. Why? He overheard Caesar saying something shocking.

On the kidnap ship bound for Punk Hazard, the other kids tried to make friends with shadowy Momonosuke. But he was a samurai type and didn’t appreciate their attempts to “give alms”. Crucially, this meant Momonosuke did not take any of the candy Caesar and Monet offered. (Nice one, Momonosuke.) In fact, he escaped and wandered the lab corridors, looking for an exit, because he had something he needed to do in his home land.

He happened to wander into the Secret Room (that everyone knows about, lol). Starving, he spotted a suspicious looking fruit in a glass cabinet. He took one look at it, smashed the glass and scoffed the fruit.

I knew it was a Devil Fruit. It was purple and had those spots on it. But I was not prepared for what Caesar’s minions would reveal.  It was a Man Made Devi Fruit constructed by none other than Vegapunk himself! The minions heard it was a failure. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, as Momonosuke morphed into a dragon, freaked out and scarpered. Maybe like Caesar’s drug, the man made DFs only work on kids? Or Caesar was lying about the fruit being a failure (seems more likely, knowing Caesar).

But... this is huge.

Man made Devil Fruits. This could turn the whole power structure of the OPverse upside down. Rich pirates could demand and receive whatever power they want. Hell, the WG could have whatever power they wanted at their disposal.

I imagine a man made Devil Fruit could go pretty wrong too. Maybe some wicked side-effects.

Caesar has some world-shattering stuff in that lab. Now I get why he has such a great booze collection. He’s probably swimming in cash from Doflamingo, who is the one who’s managed to secure his services.

And now I know what you guys were talking about when you said to look at the texture of the fruits.  Momonosuke’s man made fruit was SMOOTH. The true Devil Fruit, the one Smiley had eaten, was swirly and textured.

Luffy listened to Momonosuke’s fruit tale and was like, “You’re a Zoan type. Why don’t you just change back?”

Momonosuke didn’t know he could do that. (Maybe he can’t with the man made type?) Still, it wasn’t a priority. He had to get out to tell the other kids what he’d heard.

Caesar Makes People So Angry They Morph Into Popeye

As Momonosuke was skulking about in his new dragon form, he walked past an open door and heart Caesar and Monet talking. 

“We have another group of obedient kids. The others are growing bigger without problem. But after all, this is an experiment to see the limitations of drug dosing. I don’t think they can take it that long. I assume they’ll all be dead in five years.”

“So we’ll need more kids?” Monet asked.

“Well, experiments come with failures. It’s a necessary sacrifice. Those stupid kids can help the world’s greatest scientist and do good for the world. Even if it’s a short life, they have to be happy with it.”

Holy. Moly.

Those poor kids. It’s lucky Chopper and Nami met them when they did. Hopefully, Chopper will help them get off the drugs and they’ll be well enough to go home. I wonder about the giant kids, though. Will they be giant all their lives? Probably.

Flash forward again and Momonosuke finished his tale. All he wanted to do was save the other kids. He thought Caesar was a doctor but he was a bad man who would let kids die. Momonosuke was on his way to save the kids but fell into the trash heap. It would be a disgrace to his honour as a warrior to not help them.

Luffy’s eyes were shaded. You know when that happens, he is maaaaaaaad.

He decided to climb out of the garbage dump and take Momonosuke with him.

Luckily, he didn’t have to climb anything. Momonosuke had a weird, triggering moment when Luffy said, “Stay with me...” which unleashed a Goku/Monkey style golden cloud power. (Everyone knows from DB and Monkey that you can walk on golden clouds. “Born from an egg on a mountain top. Funkiest Monkey that ever rocked. If you’ve never watched that show, hook yourself up with an episode. It’s hilarious.)

The luck, alas, did not last. Momonosuke came to his senses and they fell back down into the heap. At least Luffy is stretchy, right?

BREAKING NEWS: Caesar Sets Morality Bar Even Lower!

Meanwhile, Caesar had kicked back in his lab, waiting for the bottleneck gas chamber carnage to unfold. Little Mocha was tearing away from the other kids, who wanted to attack her for the candy.

Naturally, she was distraught. The people she had thought were so nice: Caesar and Monet, turned out to be the worst pieces of actual shit ever.

The flashback of Caesar from Mocha’s point of view actually made my jaw drop.

Every time I think, surely Caesar can’t sink any lower? No, it’s not possible.

In true scientist fashion, Caesar continues to push the boundaries of possibility.

Mocha was one of the first kids to be transported to Punk Hazard, including the blonde kid who’s name I forgot. (Sorry, blonde kid.)

Caesar came to meet them personally when they arrived. He ramped up the charm and faux-concern, of course. “I’m glad that you made it! Good to see you. My name is Caesar Clown. Call me Master. (First red flag right there, imo.) You two are a part of my first generation of patients. I’m looking forward to working with you.” Brief interruption for a hug. I cannot believe he even hugged those kids. He is such a SNAAKE. xD  “I bet you were scared and worried when you heard you were sick out of the blue. But everything is okay now. You don’t have to worry about anything. I will treat you at any cost!” (Technically true but, kids, you will not like the treatment.)

Then he dropped the bomb that actually made me gasp.

“To tell you the truth, I lost my only son to this disease. I never want to see another child suffer from it. I don’t want to see another parent lost their child and have to grieve like me! Oh... Oh, I’m sorry. How embarrassing. I shouldn’t cry in front of you.”

I just... 

I can’t even.

I mean, Caesar is a great villain and all, but damn, Oda,  that is low.

The morality bar has not only been lowered. It is buckling under the sheer weight of Caesar’s evilness and will snap at any moment.

Why Has Zoro Not Yet Kicked Ass and Taken Names?

Monet pretty much said what I’m thinking right now. She wasn’t sure she could beat Zoro: a swordsman who uses Armament Haki trained by Dracule Mihawk himself. But for some reason, Zoro hasn’t made a move. All he’s done is parry and protect the other Strawhats.

Then again, it is a dangerous environment with a lot of friendly fire concerns. 

The Biscuit Room has devolved into a freaking riot. There are crack-candy addicted kids charging about. Mocha, the one kid who is off the candy, is an ally, so they need to be extra careful around her. Sure, they’re not in the Biscuit Room any longer, but collateral from the fight could take them out. Sanji and his G5 army of fans have appeared. Nami, Robin and Chopper are still around and have been sealed in the room by Monet’s ice wall. 

Plus, Monet is no slouch. She has some blade skills and a good logia fruit to boot.

Nami could be an asset in this fight. The Heat Egg attack has been the only one that’s really put the hurt on Monet so far. (Zoro, use that haki please.) If Nami could power up a strong heat attack, she could take out Monet.

I loved it when Monet was monologuing, debating with Chopper about her being responsible for the kids. Who planted that rebellious spirit in Mocha’s mind? Then Zoro mercilessly cut her short. He does not respect villain speeches. xD

Monet called out the Strawhats for acting like pirates. “Every day we treat the children nicely and allow them to live in great comfort. What you people are trying to do is take away these treasures from us foster parents. You people are like pirates.”

Laying aside the awful issue of gaslighting children,  experimenting on them and claiming you are anything like a foster parent (that could be an entire post in itself), Zoro’s reply was ice cold and straight to the point.

“So you have no problem with it, right?”

There’s the awesome main-character grey morality again. I really do love that about One Piece. Zoro is like Luffy in that regard. The Strawhats are pirates. They will “kidnap” kids if they have to. Though this time, the Strawhats are on the right side of the moral divide. They’re counter-kidnapping the kids to return them to their parents.

But Zoro had better hurry up and make that move against Monet if he wants it to happen any time soon.

The G5′s Grand Entrance

And I totally was not expecting a comedy gold moment to interrupt a boss battle.

Just as things were getting serious, Zoro heard the sound of Sanji’s voice in the distance. Obviously, this turned Zoro’s head and he was greeted with the sight of Sanji leading a charge of G5 soldiers.

“WHY ARE YOU LEADING THEM?” Zoro yelled.

“Oh, there’s Zoro!” Sanji shouted. “Alright guys, stick out your lower lip and make fun of him.” xD

But Zoro knows Sanji inside out, so he said, “Oi, Nami and Robin went that way.”

Unfortunately, Monet, the feathered siren, proved a distraction. Monet’s flirtatiousness is a big part of her character (she flirted with Law and Luffy for fun). It must be pretty lonely being stuck in Punk Hazard with Caesar, so it made sense that she enjoyed the attention for half a second before getting back to business.

She burned through a couple of fodders with her Ice Form (freezing and biting a chunk out of one’s shoulder was savage).

Then Tashigi made *her* grand entrance.

And she can use haki.

That was a revelation.

She has always been several steps behind Zoro. Teaming up with him to take down a villain might boost her confidence. I sure hope so, anyway.

Meanwhile...

Usopp, Foxfire and Brook (or should I say “Corpse-dono”) are still charging about, hunting for sea prism stone cuffs. Shinokuni gas is now following them, so they’ll be caught up in Caesar’s bottleneck gas chamber plan.

I’m guessing that’s where they’ll find the cuffs. If Tashigi and the G5 also end up there, Usopp could pilfer or borrow some cuffs from her. I’m just assuming captain-level Marines carry cuffs on them here. The fact Usopp willingly initiated a “let’s split up” plan and offered to work alone was pretty brave of him. Usopp definitely has got stronger and more confident in his abilities.

Must also say there was some really nice art in the Smoker vs Vergo short update in episode 611. Not an artist myself, so I don’t tend to notice or be very good at critiquing these sorts of things. But even I noticed the quality this time. Good job, whichever team worked on it. :)

There goes the morality bar again, slip slidin’ right into hell...

[ssj4]

Sorry to bother you, but I keep seeing posts about a future Goten AU and I keep getting really curious! However, when I try to find links to anything about it I end up at some abandoned URLs.

SECOND TIME TRYING TO ANSWER THIS CAUSE MY IDIOT ASS FORGOT I HAD ONE TYPED OUT AND CLOSED EVERYTHING :)

some disclaimers im getting most of this from an old draft i had written about the au, i havent watched the specific scenes in dbz and dbs that these are based on in well over 2+ years so i dont remember the timeline of events that well so im sorry if some of it just straight up doesnt make sense lol

this whole thing did start out as an excuse to replace the romantic scenes with mai in dbs with goten actually so the truten themes are pretty significant but that aside future goten is a very good boy with a much different personality and outlook on things… much like how future trunks is compared to his main timeline counterpart :3c the whole thing was developed by me and my gf together and we never rly posted too much about it and the broken links you did end up finding were probably from like the one or two times we did but here u go im glad u asked 

I HOPE THE READ MORE LINK WORKS ON MOBILE IF NOT IM SORRY

the big change is it starts out with chi chi getting pregnant before goku dies of heart disease or whatever in the android saga instead of the cell saga, so even after he dies in that timeline she still has their 2nd son and he grows up in the future timeline with trunks.

when they were kids (like 10-15) goten was stronger than trunks just bc gohan and chi chi were there to teach him just a little bit. trunks and goten sparred a lot though so he was able to keep up but never really passed him. (that part isnt really important but i figured it was a nice detail that made sense)

thats when history of trunks comes into play, and they both get really serious about gohan training them. the scene in the movie where gohan knocks trunks out before flying off and getting killed is the same except now he just knocks out 2 kids instead of 1 i guess. 

i feel i gotta add that this au was created when the future trunks arc in dbs was airing, and mai was introduced as his love interest, and honestly in my opinion the scenes were written really well but i just wasnt digging the fact that before she was granted a younger appearance she was already middle aged, like she was old enough to be his mom if that makes sense. so it really isnt a dig on mai at all cause i love her and id die for her its just the romantic plot that i didnt like. so when that was airing i thought “WELL what if that was someone else” 

she’s still with them though in this timeline and she still has her younger appearance! 

the future timeline is still progressing the same as it did in canon, the androids still wrecked the place and no one was strong enough to do much about it so trunks is still set up with a time machine to meet with the other timeline. goten stays back and does his best to protect everyone while hes gone just in case

some stuff happens in between here but skip ahead to trunks coming back from the trip after the cell games i guess! lots of stuff happened obviously like trunks literally dying, spending years in the time chamber with his dad, meeting a whole gaggle of clowns that he’d only heard stories about, seeing gohan as a preteen. hes got a lot of stuff to share!!! now hes back and he can take care of the androids + cell + and goten can catch up and lifes pretty good over there! 😇

during the rebuilding period goten would spend a lot of time with chi-chi and ox-king and still slept over there occasionally which she really appreciated, and he invited trunks and bulma over there with him frequently.

despite this he wasnt present when she died as no one really expected goku black to wipe out the landscape so far from the city, but she and ox-king died along with more than half of the population. (ugh god im so sorry queen i love you😓)

as i said before mai is still here and she’s still the leader of the resistance!

events of future bulmas death is the same as well as mai originally intending to go with trunks when they meet up together in an abandoned building. goten is already there as the three of them rest up a bit and start making their way to capsule corp. goten was planning on staying behind anyways but he wanted to see the two of them off. when goku black interrupts them as they arrive, trunks and goten encourage mai to escape, seeing as she only has a gun and everyone already knows bullets arent gonna work. 

this scene is the same as it was in canon, where trunks tries to rush black but gets beaten quickly. mai trying to buy him time to let him escape is replaced with goten actually fighting him and taking a hit for trunks but getting knocked out as mai did. trunks under extreme stress from already losing his mom today assumes hes dead instantly, (he has dumb bitch disease, he didnt even check for a pulse in canon!🤔) and fires a masenko to escape into capsule on his own 

after trunks pops back in time and black is focused on searching for him, mai sneaks back in to retrieve goten (even though they told her to leave she really just ducked behind some rubble and stayed close, because she wasnt just gonna leave them!)

she takes him back to an underground bunker with other members of earths resistance and when he wakes up she tells him that trunks made it to the time machine and that hes presumably in the other timeline now. 

idk if yall remember it well but i rewatched some of the episodes just for this, and trunks in the main timeline believing goten was killed and mai is alone and he wont be able to get back is so sad. and when he spent that day with gohan and his family and cried thinking about how if black hadn’t have shown up, he couldve had a family too… he doesnt deserve to be this sad 😥

skip to when he’s finally able to get back home with goku and vegeta with him and they make their way to the bunker where he sees mai and goten together! the scene in canon where he rushes over and starts spilling his heart out is the same, with him telling goten he thought he died

they get a really sweet hug moment here when theyre both happy to see the other is still safe and it gives both goku and vegeta some Food For Thought, because goku actually didnt know there was a goten in this timeline, and he doesnt really recognize him at first. vegeta has the idea in his head that this is probably goten.

goten never really had any sort of real attachment to his dad. it makes sense hes never met him, hes only ever really heard about him through others, (his mom, his brother, trunks, and probably bulma has mentioned him as well) so he definitely knows OF him its just that, he doesnt know him. so when he sees the real goku standing there for once a lot of thoughts run though his mind, like, “that looks A LOT like goku black!” “thats definitely my old hairstyle” and “holy shit is that my dad?” but the first thing he actually says out loud is “Holy shit its goku orange” and vegeta really almost loses it because cause any doubt in his mind about this kid being related to kakarot just went right out the window cause only someone related to him would say that

and as you probably know a lot happens after that with them all finding a way to defeat zamasu but i dont want to include all of the rest when you can probably just interpret which scenes were changed  

ANYWAYS now instead of trunks surviving the apocalypse its trunks and goten surviving the apocalypse. thats why its not a really super romantic deal like Who has time for dates when goku black Might possibly be hiding in this abandoned olive garden?? so theyre just very close and privately affectionate

the ending where trunks and mai get to live in a new world with their counterparts is the same except gotens there with them of course, dbs left their ending pretty open 

so that takes care of the story changes, heres some additional details and information on gotens character in this au! 

heres his design, drawn by my girlfriend @ssj2 uwu !! 

he kept his natural hairstyle for a while, but i think he changed it sometime during the rebuilding period after the androids and just let it grow out a bunch. up until then he kept his natural style purely to honor the guy he’s heard so fondly of even if it brought him a lot of mixed feelings when people said he looks just like him. a really distinct feature about his new hairstyle is that the spikes look like horns and i love that a lot !!

and the shawl he wears was the same one chi chi wore 

some personality traits for future goten is that he has a habit of bottling up his negative emotions and has trouble taking care of himself, as hes always more focused on the well being of his loved ones. he can be mischievous and cocky but hes not overconfident (or he hasnt been since gohans death) however in some situations he can be charismatic and assertive which works really well imowhen their timeline is erased and theyre temporarily in the main timeline, goten gets to meet a bunch of people like gohan and his family, chi chi, and even his counterpart 

sorry if this post was messy i wasnt really sure how i wanted to make it look and im kinda bad at dumping information out so if any of its confusing just redirect me to it and ill try again gdjfksjdgsfk 😭❤

hmmm anyways thank u for reading!! its an au we made years ago and we love a lot and i hope u do too! be nice pls!! and send asks about it if you’d like cause its fun to think about! 

[doubleddenden]

So I ended up shelling out $4 to rent Dragon Ball Super: Broly on Youtube. I still have it for another two days or so, and I might go back and rewatch it. The beginning is... Kinda strange. Not gonna lie. I don’t know if I’m a fan of the new Bardock backstory when the original renegade badass out for vengeance was such a cool one, but I will say I do kind of dig that they bothered to include Gine in it.

Other than that? It fixes a lot of issues I had with the original Broly trilogy. I’ll go more in depth in a read more, but I think this is now my favorite DB flick for a number of reasons.

Okay, so the original trilogy starts off with Broly basically hating Goku because he was a crybaby and kept Broly awake when they were literally babies. That was entirely it. And while as children my friends and I were like HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO COOL HOW WOW in hindsight its rather... Dumb.

The new backstory is essentially this: King Vegeta found out that Broly was stronger than his boy, and knew that he would have difficulty controlling his power one day. So, KV sends Broly, as a baby, to some very arid and hostile planet intending to have him die there. Paragus decides to go find his son, and swears revenge on KV. Their ship breaks down on the planet, and Paragus raises Broly on this hell world to be a malicious fighter, and keeps him in control in very harsh ways. In fact, Broly is indeed strong, but he really just wants a peaceful life. There’s actually a reason for that fur belt of his, which I won’t spoil.

As a matter of fact, Paragus’s bullshit is so bad, we have Chilei, aka resident green waifu of the movie and some other guy whose name I forget try to talk Broly into ditching his dad, after the two find the two on the desolate planet and decide to enlist them in the Frieza force.

Frieza is alive and at the helm of his army again, btw. That’s a bit of a dumb, imo, especially knowing the heinous bullshit he’d do, but whatever, Super wants to pull the Goku is a fight maniac who only cares about fighting card, so screw the lives of innocents i guess. Anyway, Frieza promises Paragus his revenge on Vegeta as long as he can control Broly. Which, surprise, when Chilei takes away the remote that shocks Broly into submission, he can’t.

The rest is basically a gorgeous fight scene that sort of explains why the ice caps are melting. The animation is so. So beautiful. It’s so fluid and lively and looks SO authentic compared to most of Super. It actually looks a lot more like a fusion of Buu Saga Z and earlier Z in terms of art style. The colors are way better than usual, yet also look so authentic. Not to mention the explosive colors that the energies give off is so amazing I wanted to cry. If you’re looking for plot, well this is a DBZ movie. You’ll get a tiny bit more than usual, but not much. The fight though? The best it’s ever been. It’ll be a shame when the series has to go back to 5 frames a minute after this. I’m already sad thinking about it.

The thing too is this: Even though it’s an action movie, it’s just as much a comedy. Honestly there’s a few parts I shouldn’t have laughed at but I did, especially when it came to how Broly turned Super Saiyan for the first time. Not only this, but how Frieza’s actually a source of comedy relief in the most ironic sense possible at times. Certainly not intentional, but it’s honestly the hardest I’ve actually laughed at this series in quite some time. There’s more, particularly with fusion, but I won’t spoil that for you.

I think though my favorite bit is the new ending they gave for Broly. Unlike Broly 1, 2, and 3, Broly isn’t destined to die a mad devil. No, Broly gets to have a happy ending with friends, and it’s honestly super nice and refreshing the way they are repainting his character. Not only this, but it actually gives me a LOT of hope for the direction Super could go if they just follow this correctly, especially with one vital bit of info Goku drops right towards the end.

My few issues with the movie is sort of my issue with Super as a whole. Retcons in favor of story telling are okay if done right, but again, I feel as if Bardock’s original backstory suited him more. I do love Gine, and I do like that they genuinely cared for their children, but they could have mixed the two together a bit better for my tastes. Again, Frieza as well. I understand Goku feels a bit of a need to repay him for helping to save the Universe in the tournament arc, but allowing him to live after the events are said and done, let alone resurrect the Frieza force to resume intergalactic terror is... So uncharacteristic, to me. Finally, I think my final issue is this: WHY DOES SHENRON ONLY GRANT ONE WISH? I don’t think I missed the part where they suddenly took away one of his wish grants. No, I’m certain that he can actually grant three wishes, two if it involves reviving a lot of people. I understand that if you get 1 wish granted, it only takes one or two months to renew if memory serves. Like you can try to explain that not enough time has passed for it to regain that much energy but like... It probably has? It was honestly probably for plot purposes, but still it bugs me to no end.

But as a whole I do like the movie. Again, probably my favorite one out of the entire series now. Also I love the ending song. I had it on loop for a few months before I finally saw the movie, but the ending credits went with it so well.

I guess I just have a few questions left now:

1. Will we get to see Broly and Chilei again? The ending hints that Goku wants to see him again, so I honestly feel like its a possibility. I just hope Super’s poor ratings doesn’t crush this possibility. In any case, I love this man and this green woman and want to see them again.

2. Will Frieza ever be killed off for his heinous deeds?

3. Will we ever get this quality animation ever again? I honestly don’t know if I can ever go back to Super’s style after this. I love this art style so much. It feels and looks so good and true to the original series versus how cheap and artificial Super feels.

4. Who is Berryblue (or however you spell her name) to Frieza? She seems very... Tricky. Yet Frieza acts kind of odd around her. His nanny or something?

5. Since Broly’s movies have been retconned and he is now canon to Super, will any other DBZ movie villains receive this treatment? Personally I’d love to see them try to breathe fresh life into Janemba or Android 13, and I definitely want them to bring Tapion into the series.

Anyway, I like this movie. 8/10. Please. Please give us more like this. No more I WANT PUDDING OR I DESTROY THE WORLD or HEY LETS ENDANGER EVERYONE IN THE UNIVERSE FOR A TOURNAMENT LOLOL, and definitely no more scenes where I can count the frames on one hand. I don’t care if Super has to effectively become a movie based series from now on, it’s so much better this way.

[duhragonball]

Bulma

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: Somewhere around 1998, Kurt Busiek took over as the writer for the Iron Man comic.   This was back when Iron Man wasn’t particularly popular and the last two attempts to reboot the guy had failed.   I read an interview in Wizard Magazine where Kurt promoted his upcoming run, and he explained the character this way: Tony Stark is a superhero, an inventor, a ladies’ man, and a billionaire.    You could have a blast writing a comic book about any one of those four things, but he’s all four.    I may have gotten those four items wrong, partly because it’s been 22 years, and partly because it was more famous when Robert Downey Junior echoed that pitch in 2012.    Take away the armor, and what is he?   A billionaire genius philanthropist.   

My point is that this is the appeal to Bulma as well.    When we first meet her, she’s an adventurer, but then we find out she invented the device that lets her locate the Dragon Balls.  And her mission is a romantic quest, so she’s like the heroine in a romance story.    Then we meet her parents, and it turns out she’s a wealthy heiress.    Well, I’m assuming Dr. Brief doesn’t plan on leaving his fortune to all of his pets, but you get the idea.  

There’s a lot of versatility to the character.   Some arcs barely make use of her, but others take full advantage.    You can plop her in almost any scenario and it works.    You want to write her at a fancy charity dinner?   She’d fit right in.   You want her teaching shop class in your high school AU?   No problem at all.   You want her to seduce a bad guy?     You want her to shoot a bad guy?    You want her to be the bad guy?   It all works.  

The main thing people dislike about Bulma is the way she treated Yamcha when they were together, and she’s kind of a jerk a lot of the time.    Fair point, but I think this adds to the character.   If she were sweet as could be and a rich, attractive polymath, she’d be downright insufferable.    Also, her attitude plays off of the compassion she shows through the series.   I can’t explain her behavior around Yamcha, but she did offer free room and board to the entire population of Namek, so I feel like that needs to be taken into consideration.

Why I don’t: In the first... hundred or so episodes of DBZ, Bulma doesn’t get a lot of chances to shine, despite all the screentime they gave her.   Early into my DBZ-watching experience, I found her to be something like a shriller version of TMNT’s April O’Neil, a sidekick whose job was to look cute and get into danger so the good guys could save her.   She really doesn’t get back into her groove until she returns to Earth, and once I saw those episodes, and her time in the original Dragon Ball, the character began to make a lot more sense.   Really, the Bulma in DBZ #1 through 108 was probably intended to demonstrate how out-of-hand the situation was.   She fixed the scouter and then it exploded.   She fixed Nappa’s spaceship and it exploded.   She fixed Kami’s spaceship and then Namek exploded.    She just couldn’t keep up with the crisis. 

Favorite episode (scene if movie):

Not exactly any one episode, but one of my favorite bits in the Red Ribbon Army Sagas is that the RRA has their own Dragon Radar, but it’s not portable, or anywhere near as precise as the one Bulma invented.    It’s Goku’s biggest advantage during that conflict, and when it breaks, there’s literally no one else who can fix it.    Those magic babies from Arale could make a new one, but I’m pretty sure they only did that by copying the design or something.   And the RRA assumes that Goku must have an entire team of scientists providing him with logistical support, and that Master Roshi must be their leader, since he’s so old.  

Also, near the end of the arc, Bulma needs to call Yamcha on the phone, but Roshi doesn’t have one, and then Turtle suggests that Bulma should just build one from scratch, since she had just finished building a robot drone a few episodes earlier.    And she’s like “Oh, yeah, I forgot I knew how to do that.”

Favorite season/movie: The Androids/Cell arc is a big deal because it has two Bulmas, and her son is in it too.   

And this is what I mean when I talk about versatility.    That Super Dragon Ball Heroes series has two Gokus and two Vegetas, and I have no idea why, because they’re exactly the same, except one pair does SSJ4 and the other does Super Saiyan Blue.   Bulma’s got more layers, so in a story like this, you can have 30-something Bulma care for an infant son and tackle logistical problems while she figures out her relationship with Vegeta, while the 50-something Bulma in the future can be this strong-yet-gentle post-apocalyptic survivalist, who hopes for a better tomorrow as she longs for her fallen friends.  

Favorite line: I’m gonna stray from the canon for a minute, because I’m having trouble coming up with something, but in DBZ Abridged, when she’s arguing with Vegeta during his training session, they just start shouting “Fuck you!” at each other.    Then she stops and says: “My room.    Ten minutes.” 

And holy shit, the delivery on that line was incredible. I knew they’d try to do something to set up their relationship, but there’s no footage to do that with, so they did it all with one line and some killer VA work.

Favorite outfit: This is a big, big wardrobe to choose from, but I’m partial to the one she wore in the Imperfect Cell Saga.

I can’t really explain the appeal, but I like this hairstyle and the clothing looks like authentic stuff you could actually buy at a store, which just makes it feel more real, even though it’s not any more detailed than her other outfits.    I’m not sure that makes any sense.    The trucker hat looks cute on her, let’s leave it there.

OTP: You know, there’s a lot of chemistry between Bulma and Yajirobe, and even though it’s kind of a rarepair, I can’t help but-- Okay, it’s her and Vegeta.   I’ll stop messing around.   

Brotp: Definitely her and Goku.  I’m imagining the set up to the DBS Broly movie going like this.

“Hey, I’m gonna invite Goku along on our trip.    That way you can fight him when you get bored.”

“Why do you keep asking him to tag along I can’t stand him.” 

“Yeah, but I like him and I paid for the resort, so I guess you gotta deal with it.” 

“...”  

Then he shows up and she sends him on some ridiculous mission to search the ocean floor for sunken treasure or something.   

Head Canon: Future Bulma does tech support in Toki Toki/Conton City, because Xenoverse is canon and the Goku Black Saga can just bugger right off because it never happened.   

She shows up from time to time to check on all the Capsule Corp tech in the city, and she drops by just to say hi to her boy, and also she has coffee with my Mary Sue OC, because Future Bulma appreciates how tough and cool my writing is.

Unpopular opinion: The Vegebul ship probably gets way too much attention.  Not that it’s a bad ship or that it doesn’t deserve the attention, but it feels like a buffet where all anyone gets is ranch dressing.    They just ignore the rest of the spread and fill an entire bowl with ranch and head back to the table to drink it.   Then they come right back and line up for another helping.  

I’m not knocking it.   I have a Vegebul calendar in my kitchen.   But it reminds me of how the “comics fandom” in the late 90′s was really just an X-Men fandom that acknowledged that other comic books hypothetically existed.

They’re gonna come after me now, aren’t they?

A wish: A lifetime supply of strawberries does sound kind of nice...

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I hope we’re done with Bulma’s Resurrection F outfit for good.   The cowboy boots, no, we’re done with that. 

5 words to best describe them: Five would never be enough.

My nickname for them: Don’t have one.   Vegeta calls her “woman”, but I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well if I started doing that.

[ladyvegeets]

Letting Go - 6 - Guilty Pleasure

[Read from ch01 here] For @tpthvegebulsmutfest

Agony. Vegeta was no stranger to the concept, but Bulma was testing his limits of endurance as she ground her little hips against his lap, her lips brushing achingly sweet over his mouth.

He did his damnedest not to take control. That would defeat the purpose of the exercise. Let go. Let it happen. Be in the moment.

Easier said than fucking done. His fingers twitched, impatient to end this slow torture and throw her down on the bed for a good hard fuck. Her eyes were an electric storm, darkened by dilated pupils. Grinding against his erection, tiny whimpers of need escaped her, calling to the caged beast in him — long overdue to be set free — begging for him to rut with her. 

“You’re burning up,” Bulma gasped against his kiss-bruised lips. She wasn’t wrong, he felt on fire, but so did she, a fire nymph disguised in water colors. She pried herself off his torso and, grabbing the hem of her shirt, lifted it over her head to give him an unobstructed view of her breasts. Rose-petal nipples perked cutely up at him.

Holy shit… What did you do when faced with two perfect pale breasts? Vegeta didn’t know and couldn’t think of anything because all the blood in his brain had committed mutiny, leaving his thoughts to flatline. Tearing his gaze away, he looked up at her face in helpless appeal.

A confident smile curled her lips. “Now we’re equal,” she purred, stroking his bare chest. They were both topless, but there was nothing equal about their situation, not when he was pinned under her and shackled by some arbitrary rule not to take control. His internal agony must have shown because she took pity on him, wrapping her slender arms around his neck and allowing her soft breasts to graze against his pectorals. A shudder of pleasure went through him. 

“Fuck,” he groaned. Nerves ignited at the touch of her soft skin against his rough, scarred body. In all his years of planet purging, he had never encountered anyone like her, so untainted. What the hell had he done to land this rare treasure in his lap?

He grabbed her hips before remembering he wasn’t supposed to, and let his hands fall away. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You said I had to let go.” 

She nuzzled his jaw. “I meant let go of your obsessive control issues, not for you to go limp on me.” He scowled. He was anything but limp. Bulma encouraged him to put his hands back on her waist, all the while her warm breath tickled his cheek. “Mm, that’s better. I like your hands on me.”

These hands? That had killed so many, destroyed so much? There was something seriously wrong with her, but he gripped her tighter nonetheless. 

“Besides,” Bulma added. “The real issue is you’re still controlling yourself, aren’t you? Holding back.”

Goddamn her. “If you’re so fucking smart, then tell me what I’m supposed to do,” he snapped, glaring at her in frustration.

The smile she gave him was equal parts sweet and sin, and made him swallow nervously. “What do you want right now, more than anything else?”

He glared at her with suspicion.

She laughed. “C’mon, homeboy. Confess.”

Hadn’t they just been over this? “The Super Sai—”

She pressed a finger to his lips, stopping him mid-sentence which he thought was awfully rude. No one shut him up. “Liar. That’s your dream, but that’s not what you want right this second, is it?” As if to prove a point, she began a slow roll, grinding up and down the length of his erection. He bit back a moan. “There are more pressing matters than besting Goku right now, aren’t there?” she teased. 

“Tch.” Fucking hell…

Pressing her breasts snuggly against him, Bulma let him go and started fingering the hair at the nape of his neck. “Let me guess… You want to do something to me?” 

 Visions of her spread under him as he pistoned in and out filled his mind. He refused to answer her, but she didn’t need him too, continuing her slow torture against his straining need. He swelled, growing heavier by the second. Throbbing. Fuck. 

“Would you like to cum inside me?” she whispered hotly against his mouth, her eyes pinning his.

A strangled groan betrayed him. She grinned in triumph. Fuck her, fuck this. Why had he agreed to this moronic exercise?At least when he trained he knew the suffering that he was getting himself into. This, this was cruel. 

“Or maybe,” she purred, licking at his mouth, “Maybe you want me to do something to you? I recall you enjoyed my hand.”

God, no. He wouldn’t last seconds if she did that, not now, as hard as he was. But she had already opened the zip to his shorts by the time he thought to protest. Slender fingers slipped inside and found him. His cock jumped in her hand like a puppy eager for its master’s touch. 

“F-uck.” The word was torn from between his clenched teeth as she started stroking him.

“Shh, there’s a good boy,” she soothed. 

Normally he would tell her to fuck off calling him of all people ‘good’ or a boy, but his vitriol abandoned him, dissipating like smoke in the wind as his whole world centered on what she was doing with her magic fingers. She pressed on some sweet spot that caused him to buck and whimper humiliatingly against her cheek, his cock drooling over her hand.

“Mm, that’s it,” she crooned. “Doesn’t it feel good to let someone else help you? Just give in, Vegeta. Let go.”

A soft growl escaped him, a tortured thing, a mixture of frustration, pain, and helplessness. He struggled with himself to do as she said, warring with his better nature to keep his walls up, to take the lead, to not use her and just… enjoy. 

His mind and heart might have been conflicted, but his body wasn’t. She played him so expertly that within a minute he felt a familiar swell rushing towards him. Her other hand dragged fingernails down his chest, and her mouth whispered sweet nothings in his ear, telling him how hard and strong and magnificent he was, and he was done done done. With a strangled cry he grabbed her and thrust up, spilling himself all over her hand and his shorts.

And there, just for the briefest of moments, floating, barely perceptible, he felt something he had never felt before. 

Free.

“Oh, good boy, you came so quickly for me,” she purred, still easing him through the aftershocks. Her honeyed words rolled over him like a summer breeze. How badly he wanted to believe them, and he felt instantly ashamed for doing so. 

Breathing heavily, he grabbed her hand to slow her down. “I am not a good boy,” he hissed, his voice hoarse and deeper than usual.

Bulma laughed, a warm, breathless sound. Pressing her silken breasts to his sweaty chest, she husked, “Prove me wrong.”

Even the smell of his freshly spilt seed couldn’t mask how badly she wanted him. Lucky for her, Saiyans recovered quickly. His lips curled up in a sadistic little smile, and he scooped her into his arms, carrying her over to the bed to show her just how much of a bad man he could be.

 ~xox~

 Of all the people in his life, Vegeta supposed his father had been the most gentle, if you could call the King that. Bulma wouldn’t, in fact she would be appalled to learn all the things that his father had put him through, but next to others like Zarbon and Frieza, his father’s brief guardianship had been the most lenient. So it wasn’t that surprising that Vegeta didn’t understand the concept of a nurturing mentor. Experience had been his teacher, and it taught him cruel but valuable lessons. Strength meant power. Power meant control. Control meant freedom.

And above all else, he had learned to never rely on or trust anyone. Ever.

Except Bulma was turning those theories on their head. Vegeta wasn’t sure how much he bought into her way of thinking, but he was willing to explore their possibilities, especially if the payoff meant gaining the Legendary.

Bulma was a much different teacher than he was used to. She nurtured him, guiding him with her body as much with positive reinforcement. It was unsettling to always wait for ridicule or pain, for the other shoe to drop that never did. Little by little, his reservations started to crack. Learning from her was… nice. Or maybe that was just the sex.

Holy fuck, the sex. It wasn’t some quick passionless fuck to scratch an itch. He came to appreciate her lessons. A lot. From the first time he pinned her to the bed he was hooked, devouring her, his nose leading him between her legs to lap at that exquisite smell she gave off around him. She liked that, squealing and grabbing his hair, rutting herself against his mouth like a cat in heat.

He finally sank into her, fulfilling his promise to come inside her, all the while her eyes desperately locked onto his and her body shivered under him like a broken bird. Drowning, he lost himself in her for just a moment as she clung to him for salvation. Him, save something. Ridiculous…

Yet he dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, she was right. He could unlock some hidden part of himself, whatever that elusive component was, and reach the Super Saiyan form. It was there, right there. With her help, he could touch it. 

She was his tool, a stepping stone in reaching his goal. Visiting her was nothing more than an exercise. After practicing his katas in the GR, he would visit her to practice ‘letting go’. That’s all it was, just training. Nothing more. It didn’t matter that he found himself looking forward to the evenings, that he started ending his training earlier to meet her, that he lingered longer and longer in her bed afterwards, sometimes sleeping there until dawn, waking up with his arm over her tiny waist and her nose buried against his chest. She could have killed him in his sleep but he had trusted her not to, and she him. He refused to acknowledge the guilty pleasure she had become. What of it, so long as it gave him what he wanted.

The Super Saiyan. It was there. Right there…

He grew stronger, by day he pushed the limits of the GR and his body, and by night he learned how to make her arch and claw the sheets and scream his name until the whole house rattled with it. But months dragged on, and time was running out.

…It wasn’t working. They had already lost half the time before the androids were due to arrive, and as far as transformations went, he was still impotent. Every day, every hour that he didn’t change added to the weight on his shoulders that he bore in the burning red intensity of the GR. He couldn’t make it happen. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t fair. How had Kakarot done it? HOW?!

The screen in the GR came on. Turning angry eyes to Bulma’s projected image, his body buckling under 450 times Earth gravity, Vegeta snarled at her disruption. “What is it?”

“You missed dinner.”

Was it that late already? “That’s what you’re interrupting me about?” he snapped.

She hesitated. That was unlike her. “…Are you joining me tonight?”

He looked away and grunted. “Later.”

“Okay…”

The screen turned off, leaving him unsettled. He pushed through training for another couple of hours, just so Bulma didn’t get the impression that she could command his time. He tried to clear his head and find that quietness where he just was, the same feeling he got when he spent himself inside her, panting raggedly against her pale throat. He powered up, charging his ki and building his rage. I AM VEGETA, PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS. I DEMAND MY BIRTHRIGHT! The GR trembled. Drones shattered and the lights flickered, but all he managed to do was exhaust himself.

God fucking damnit.

After a shower where the water felt tepid next to his burning frustration, Vegeta made his way to her room. She was in bed, her naked shoulder peaking out from beneath the sheets. It was all the invitation he needed. He stripped off and climbed in next to her.

“How was your day?” she asked, turning to greet him, reaching out to brush her thumb over his furrowed brow. 

He grabbed her hand and pinned it down because she liked it, and because he was in no mood for tenderness right now. Ignoring her question, he dived right for her throat and bit her this side of too-hard.

His reward hit his nose as her pheromones burst to life. She moaned and tried to fight him off. Cute.

“W-wait, Vegeta, I have something to tell you,” she protested weakly.

“Later,” he snapped. Licking up her beating pulse, he found another of her weak points right behind her ear and grazed it with his teeth, pressing her into the mattress with his body. Her shiver of submission ignited his own lust.

“It’s important,” she whined, but her words were already breathy, her legs falling apart to allow him between.

What could be more important than this, then helping him achieve the Super Saiyan? He pushed inside her, filling her in one rough thrust, and didn’t stop moving.

“Ah! Not so rough—” she protested, so he kissed her complaints away but didn’t slow down. He was frantic, manic, driving himself into her in search of an answer he couldn’t find inside himself. She was such a vulgar thing and came quickly, her insides contracting tightly around him. He did not cave, fucking her even harder than before until she crumbled and sobbed and came again, and this time he followed.

But there was no peace, no floating euphoria. Only a grey buzzing noise filled his mind, and a sick weight grew in his gut.

He pulled away and left her there, wet, used, and gasping in bed as he retreated to the privacy of the bathroom. His reflection in the mirror glared back. 

It was a lie. It had been a lie all this time, one he had foolishly given himself in to. How did he think he was supposed to find the answer of a Saiyan legend between the legs of some pathetic human woman? She wasn’t helping him, she was sabotaging him. All this time he could have been training longer and harder, but instead he distracted himself with pleasures of the flesh. How pathetic did she think he was, wrapped around her little finger?

His hands gripped the bathroom sink, and the porcelain cracked under his grip. 

Enraged, he grabbed some tissue and wiped away the evidence of their sex, throwing the used paper in the trash where it fell on top of a strange plastic strip with two blue lines that smelled vaguely of ammonia.

He stormed back into the room to grab his clothes.

“You’re not spending the night?” she asked, the blanket pulled over her waist but her breasts were on full display. He kept his eyes averted, his mouth turning down sourly.

“I’m leaving,” he said as he pulled on his pants.

“Wait, leaving? Vegeta, I have to tell you—”

“Tell me what, Bulma?” he exploded, teeth gnashing. “About how much of a colossal waste of time this has been? I tried it your way and it failed. I won’t have you holding me back any more, understand?”

He glanced at her to make sure she did. The look in her eyes haunted him all the way out into space. 

~xoXox~

[beardmasterlegham-blog]

Let’s talk about my boi Vegeta and DBS Episode 122

This is probably one of my first times weighing in on anything Dragonball in any public medium, and hoo boy it’s a long one so strap in.

(TL;DR: My theory is that Vegeta is going to attain an alternate form of Ultra Instinct that will grant him the power of Accelerated Probability)

Let me just start off by saying that while Vegeta is my favourite character in all of Dragonball, I stand firm on my belief that he will NEVER surpass or even match up to Goku’s raw fighting strength. In all honestly I’ve accepted this, and am honestly fine with it.  It's not that he can't. It's that he shouldn't. 

Goku's character literally boils down to "I wanna fight strong guys and get stronger." That's basically it. It's the mantra that drives practically every action he takes, and hell it even drives the narrative to an extent. (he is the titular character after all) The Tournament of Power would not exist if not for Goku wanting to fight strong guys. That's why Goku HAS to be the strongest, because without that his character is essentially nothing. 

Meanwhile I am more than content with Vegeta being put on the backburner when it comes to epic fights, because they are replaced with touching moments in Super that show how much his character changed over the years.

Compare that to DBZ in which even later on in the series he was practically always angry about something. Vegeta is one of, if not the most well-developed characters in all of anime in my opinion, and honestly I'm content with just that instead of wanting him to be #1 strength-wise. 

Another reason why I never understood fans wanting Vegeta to attain Ultra Instinct is that the form really just does not suit his fighting style, or him as a character. The first time we saw Goku use it, he was basically some kind of vessel for this higher power; hell the guy had to fade out of consciousness to even achieve it. There’s something uniquely primal about it, what with the roars of other voices combined with Goku’s voice in its debut, and just the fact that Goku wasn’t making any sort of preparative motion to attack or seemed to think prior to acting at all. 

When you consider all that, it’s a perfect match for Goku. Whis foreshadowed it waaaaaay back in Resurrection of F, hinting at a level of power where one could have their body move on its own appropriately. He also stated Goku and Vegeta’s respective shortcomings, saying that Vegeta was too tense and thought too intensely in battle, whereas Goku was absentminded and careless despite his amazing natural instincts.

While Vegeta has shown to have improved his high-strung attitude and even gone so far as to slouch in battle in an attempt to loosen up, I feel as though his tactical prowess and ability to analyze and adapt to his opponents techniques  is something so fundamental to his character that I would be shocked to ever see it change. It’s what makes him Goku’s foil, and it’s a huge part of why so many people love his character.

Which finally brings me to what I wanted to talk about in regards to Episode 122, as well as that spicy preview for the upcoming Episode 133.

The preview for 122 had everyone hyped, since it showed two major things: Vegeta landing two impactful-looking blows on Jiren in just SSJB, and him using the Final Flash. After having watched the episode, the way these events play out pretty much solidified my belief that Vegeta will not get Ultra Instinct. Or at least not the same UI as Goku did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLj_oT1zYvg

The way he lands his first hit on Jiren was far more interesting than I expected. By observing Jiren’s attack, he is able to predict the movement patterns of his recycled animation--uhh I mean flurry of punches, and go in for the counterattack.

Now hear me out. Vegeta is very observant. But there is NO WAY you can just see the exact positioning and trajectory of each punch in a flurry of probably hundreds of punches, occurring in the span of like 2 seconds. Let alone the first time you’ve seen it. Not to mention, why only that attack and not any other of Jiren’s attacks? If Vegeta could just see through him that easily, couldn’t he have been doing it consciously the whole fight? Could it be that this is a new ability Vegeta has within him that he has yet to truly master, but is bubbling at the surface?

The combination of these factors leads me to believe that this is the first step towards Vegeta obtaining a new form that suits him better than UI, and him being able to see Jiren’s movement patterns so clearly in this episode is the first inkling into what that might entail. 

Before I share my prediction for this power, I wanna point out one last scene that really sold me on Vegeta achieving something other than UI. (Also I really just wanna talk about this scene because it’s great)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrq2uDEQWxI

Besides just the moving soundtrack, the incredible visuals, and of course the nostalgic throwbacks to Vegeta’s Final Flash against Cell, two lines in particular spoke volumes to me:

“I can never throw away who I am!”

“Kakarot can have his Ultra Instinct! I’ll defeat you in my own way, Jiren!”

Do you think someone who owns his arrogance unabashedly, proudly proclaiming that he’ll never throw away who he is, would ever truly want a form that may remove the user from full control of themselves?

After this scene it felt wrong to imagine it. I might be looking too deep into it but it’s not a form I can see fitting him with this in mind. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITeApg8_w2Y

Now everybody who watched the ending credits and the preview for 123 know 2 things: 

1. Vegeta is going to “awaken to an amazin’ power beyond Super Saiyan Blue” (And it ain’t Mastered SSJB, cause that would be a pretty weak payoff for all this build-up and that ship has long past sailed in the manga).

2. This form will allegedly have the same pupils as UI, but different hair, very similar to SSJB but darker, and it’s aura looks to be darker as well with some tinges of purple thrown in there.

My prediction for what new power this form will give Vegeta? 

Accelerated Probability

In this new form, Vegeta would be able to see all the potential movements of his opponent in a span of milliseconds, before they even take those actions. He could then use all these variables presented to him to determine the best course of action he should take to succeed. Something like this seems like the most logical step. This way, the separate forms of UI can have this opposing duality while playing to their respective users greatest strengths. Goku has the form of the Body, while Vegeta would have the form of the Mind. It fits them both well, and it would make Vegeta predicting Jiren make so much more sense. 

Wow. This took a long time to write, and probably a long time to read. If you did read it all, then holy shit you rock, thanks for sticking with me. And keep in mind, I am in no way claiming that this is exactly what will happen, just a neat little theory. I suppose he only way to find out is to tune in to DBS next week!