#Toki Toki City

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (212/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball,  which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made  on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story This story takes place about 66 years after the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[21 April, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

Trunks lay on the stone tiles surrounding the Time Vault. Beside him, Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time, tended to his injuries. He was always reluctant to receive her healing power, since it required her to take on his battle damage for herself in exchange. But now that things had settled down, Chronoa decided that it was safe to continue healing him.

"You were awesome, Trunks!" said Goku, who hovered over them. Chronoa had brought Goku in as a last-minute recruit to counter Demigra's attack on the city. He was weary from the effort of repelling Demigra's final attack on the Time Vault, but he had only gotten a few bumps and bruises from the battle.

"Thanks, Goku," Trunks said. "But all I did was lend you my power to save the Time Vault. And I didn't have much to spare, unfortunately."

"Aw, that's only because Luffa beat you up so badly before, when that Demigra guy used his magic to turn you into a bad guy," Goku said. "After all that, it's impressive enough that you got back up at all!"

"You all did well," Chronoa said. "But it's not over yet. If Demigra had succeeded in destroying the Time Vault, all of history would have been erased. So the fact that we're all still here is a big win, but he's still got Tokitoki, and he could easily come back and try to finish what he started."

"What about Luffa?" Trunks asked. "You said she followed him into that portal he created."

"Yeah, that was weird," Goku said. "Demigra took us both down with those energy spears of his, and we were both stuck to the floor. Then suddenly she's up in the air, helpin' me get loose. Does she know a technique like Instant Transmission?"

"I don't think so. To be honest, I have no idea how she did that," Chronoa said. "But I'm sure that Demigra went back to the Crack of Time. It's the only place where he'd be safe from the destruction of the Time Nest. And if Luffa followed him there, she'd be facing him on his home turf."

"Then we've got to go after her," Trunks insisted, but when he tried to get up, he winced with pain and regretted his sudden movement.

"We've got to regroup," Chronoa said firmly. "If we go to the Crack of Time now, we'll be leaving the Time Vault undefended. We'd be playing right into Demigra's hands!"

"She's right, Trunks," Goku said. "You need to take it easy. Getting all worked up won't help anybody. I just wish I'd brought some senzu beans so we could heal you up faster. Maybe we should get the rest of the Time Patrol. I mean, this is a pretty big city, right? So where is everyone?"

"I teleported most of the Time Patrollers to a different planet before you arrived," Chronoa explained. "Demigra had put them under his spell, and he threatened to make them kill each other to stop Luffa. I was going to bring them all back once it was safe, but after what we've just been through... Well, I probably won't have enough power to make the trip for a while."

"Hmmm," Goku said. He stood up and looked around the Time Nest. The entire structure was shaped like an enormous birdcage, and the only view from beyond the gleaming metal bars was an eerie green sky with several planets floating in the expanse. "Hey, maybe I can save you the trouble, Supreme Kai of Time."

"You think you can bring them all back with Instant Transmission, Goku?" Trunks asked hopefully.

"Yep," Goku said with a smile. "Well, maybe. I mean, your pals are pretty strong, right? And there's a lot of them all close together, so I oughta be able to sense them. Then again, I've got no idea where we are right now, so it might be too far away..."

"We can't take the risk," Chronoa said. "You might not be able to find your way back, and Demigra could show up while you're gone."

"Oh, right," Goku said. "I guess I should stand by then."

"We need to be ready for anything," Chronoa warned them. "Demigra made a big entrance before, but now that he's lost the element of surprise, he may try something sneakier like--!"

"What's wrong?" Trunks said as she looked up from her work.

"That energy," Chronoa said. "It's Tokitoki!"

"I don't sense anything," Goku said. He began to look around in every direction, wondering what he was missing.

"It's a temporal signature," Trunks explained. "The Supreme Kai of Time can detect things like that, but we can't."

"Oh, I gotcha," Goku said. "Hold on... I thought you said Demigra turned Tokitoki into a piece of candy and gobbled him up."

"That's right," Chronoa said. "Demigra must be using his power to come back here. He's going to attack again!"

The three of them braced themselves, though they had no way to know which direction to look. Then they saw a flash of light coming from near Chronoa's personal quarters. Something materialized into view, and as they watched with bated breath, Goku smiled broadly when he finally recognized them.

"Well hey!" he said. "All right!"

It was Tokitoki, just as Chronoa had said, but there was no sign of Demigra. Instead, it was Luffa who accompanied him into the Time Nest. As she walked towards them, Tokitoki flew around her and made a shrill-but-affectionate cry.

"Tokitoki!" Chronoa shouted. "You're okay!"

"Luffa!" Trunks said. "Then Demigra is--"

She raised her thumb and then held it up to the side of her neck, and drew it melodramatically across her throat. If the meaning of this gesture wasn't clear, her victorious smirk told the rest of the story.

"I knew it!" Goku said with a cheerful laugh. "Then we won!"

The three of them went to meet Luffa and Tokitoki, and the bird perched himself on Goku's arm while they talked.

"Looks like you held up your end of things, Kakarot," Luffa said as she glanced around the yard surrounding the Vault. The grounds were a mess from the fighting, but at least it was all still there.

"Thanks, but, I had a lot of help from the others," Goku said. He looked her over and nodded when he saw the scrapes and bruises on her face and arms. "Looks like Demigra gave you a little trouble. Did he get stronger in that Crack of Time thingy?"

"He transformed," Luffa said, though she didn't elaborate. "It made things more interesting, but nothing I couldn't handle."

"Nice!" Goku said. "It's too bad, though. I kinda wanted to take another shot at him myself."

"So what now, Chronoa?" Luffa asked. "Demigra's beaten, and Tokitoki is safe, so that's it, right?"

"We still need to clean things up here," Chronoa said. "I have to retrieve the rest of the Time Patrol and then we'll repair the damage he did to the city. After that, maybe we can get back to normal around here. Demigra's gone, but there are still time anomalies that need to be handled, after all."

"Not to mention Towa," Trunks observed. "Luffa defeated her, but she's still out there, probably plotting her revenge. I think it's safe to say we haven't seen the last of her."

"And we need to get Goku back home," Chronoa said. "Wow, we've really got our work cut out for us, huh?"

"Oh, that's right. I guess you need to get back home to your own time too, huh?" Goku said to Luffa.

"Uh... that's kind of complicated," Luffa said.

"Huh? How come?" Goku asked.

"Sending me back would cause a lot of problems with the time stream," Luffa said. "I think I understand that a lot better now than I did before. But now that Demigra's dead, I don't know what else I'm supposed to do..."

"If you'd like," Trunks said, "maybe you could help us from time to time. The main threat has been dealt with, Luffa, but I could still use your help."

"Seriously?" Luffa said. She raised an eyebrow at this. "I figured you'd be glad to be rid of me, Trunks. Now that Demigra's out of the way, that wish you made to Shenron has been fulfilled, right? You can get someone else for whatever comes next."

"Maybe so," Trunks said, "but as far as partners go, you're the only one for me."

Luffa was speechless. "I... well, okay," she finally said. "Thanks. I guess I can stick around and see how things go. Sure."

"That sounds nice!" Chronoa said. "With the two of you working together, I'm sure we'll do well."

"Does that mean you'll be sticking around for a while, then?" Goku asked.

Luffa shrugged. "I guess so," she replied.

Goku's eyes lit up when he heard this. "In that case," he said excitedly, "Maybe we could have a match before I leave? You know, if you're not too busy or anything..."

She looked over at him and her eyes went wide with anticipation. "Is that a challenge, Kakarot?" she asked.

"It sure is!" he said. "The Supreme Kai of Time told me about you, but I didn't get to see much of you in action so far. So how about it? Are you interested in a little fight with me? I want to see your power. Show it to me!"

"That sounds like fun!" Trunks said.

Luffa was surprised to hear Trunks' enthusiasm for the idea. "You don't have a problem with this?" she asked. "You didn't approve the last time I challenged him."

"That was because you were in the middle of a Time Patrol mission," Trunks said. "If you fought Goku in the past, it would change history. But since the Supreme Kai of Time brought him here, to Toki Toki City, he's in our present, so it should be okay."

"Well now," Luffa said. She widened her stance and raised her arms as she stared Goku down. "That's just what I wanted to hear. I've been wanting to do this for a while, Kakarot. I was starting to think I'd never get the chance. I was worried Chronoa would send you back before I could give you a proper sendoff."

"Is that right?" Goku said. He raised his left fist and angled his shoulders as he inched closer to her. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's do this!"

"My thoughts exactly," Luffa said. "Let's see if you have what it takes."

They each smiled as they prepared to do battle, but before they could begin...

"Wait! Don't do it here!"

Chronoa was suddenly between them, and she held out her hand at Luffa as she scolded them.

"If you two break the Time Vault," she warned, "everything we've just been through will be for nothing! We don't want that!"

"Oh, right," Goku said sheepishly. "Whoopsy daisy!"

He began to laugh, and Trunks joined in, then Chronoa as well.

"Hmmph. It's just as well," Luffa said. "I did just get back from fighting Demigra, and I could stand to freshen up. I've waited this long. We might as well do it right. Get some food, rest up."

"Exactly," Chronoa said. "You two have helped us a lot today, so you deserve to have some fun, but we need to work out the details and make sure the city won't get torn up any more than it already has."

"Where do we start, Supreme Kai of Time?" Trunks asked.

"There's still some Majins sleeping in their quarters," Chronoa said. "We'll wake them up and they can help us get the city operational again."

"Wake them up?" Luffa asked. "My roommate's a Majin, and she's an incredibly sound sleeper. If she slept through this entire battle, what more can we do?"

"Remember how I used my power over time to make Bulma's hair grow faster?" Chronoa asked. "It'll be like that. They'll sleep for days, but to us it'll only be a few seconds."

"Gosh," Goku said, awestruck by what she had just said. "You can really do that? The Supreme Kais I know weren't anywhere near that cool."

"Oh, that's nothing!" Chronoa said. "Altering the flow of time is child's play. What I'm really known for among the gods is my culinary skills."

"You don't say..." Goku said as he followed her toward the portal leading back to the city.

*******

With Demigra defeated, things moved quickly. Once Chronoa's full strength was restored by one of the Majin healers she had awakened, she performed several divine rituals which confirmed that Demigra was truly dead, and then she proceeded to return the injured Time Patrollers to Toki Toki City.

Trunks quickly took command of the handful of Majins from Gamma Shift. Among these was Dr. Reca, a Majin female who had tended to Luffa once before. She now examined Luffa at a secluded spot near a large chunk of the giant hourglass that had once floated in the center of town.

"Word travels fast," she said as she placed her hand over Luffa's forehead. "They're saying you killed Demigra."

"That's right," Luffa said. "I'm fine, really. You don't need to--"

"You're not fine," Reca said. "I'd need to run some tests, but I can sense a lot of temporal shifts in your ki. It's like you aged two months since the last time I saw you, and that was only a few days ago."

"I've been busy," Luffa said. She suddenly realized that only two days had passed in Toki Toki City, while Luffa had spent weeks in other time frames. First, Chronoa had sent her back in time to deal with the Ruby Loop, and then Demigra put her in that alternate version of Luffa's own past, a world where the Tikosi had never provoked her into becoming the Super Saiyan. And while the combat had been intense, she had managed to stay relatively healthy throughout the fighting. Still, all of it had taken a toll. It wasn't until Reca said anything that Luffa began to notice how tired she really was.

"This will help you for now," Reca said as her hand began to glow. "But you're going to need some rest later, and then I'll want to perform a more thorough examination later, after we get the city up and running."

"Fine," Luffa said. She was in no mood to argue, and the relief she suddenly felt in her bones and muscles was enough to convince her of Reca's point. "But what about the others? There were guys in a lot worse shape than me..."

"You hero types are all alike," Reca said. "Always telling me to work on someone else instead, like I don't know how triage works. Well, for your information, I've already seen to several other Time Patrollers, including a few Namekian healers, who are probably working on some other healers as we speak. So I've got plenty of time to work on you, okay?"

"Sorry," Luffa said. "I keep underestimating doctors."

"We'll have the whole Time Patrol back on their feet in a matter of hours," Reca assured her. "Then we'll start repairing the damage to the city. And before you get any funny ideas, when I say 'we', I mean me and everyone else in the city besides you, okay?"

"Okay, okay," Luffa said. "I'll go straight to bed, I promise."

"Are you single, Luffa?" Reca asked.

The question caught her completely by surprise. "Huh?" was all she could say.

"I only ask because people will start asking me," Reca explained. She fished a lollipop out of the pocket of her white coat and stuffed it in Luffa's hand before she could object. "I've seen this sort of thing before. One of you hotshots does something big and important and soon everyone wants to know all about you. People still ask me if Trunks is dating anyone."

"It's... complicated," Luffa said.

"Of course, of course," Reca said. "None of my business, say no more. But they'll probably have a big celebration later, and people will be throwing themselves at you, so... Well, I should probably move on to the next patient. Off to your quarters, then."

She was gone before Luffa could even thank her. She rose to her feet and immediately felt a wave of fatigue. She had already decided to follow Reca's instructions, but now it was clear that she never really had a choice. It was either rest in her quarters or pass out in the street.

*******

As Luffa recuperated, the rest of the Time Patrol carried on with the reconstruction. With their combined powers, the work proceeded swiftly. It also helped that Demigra had shown some restraint during his attack. Since he intended to use Toki Toki City as his base of operations, he left much of the infrastructure in tact. And so most of the damage was superficial.

As Trunks supervised work in the Time Nest, he made conversation with his teammates. As word got around about Luffa's triumph over Demigra, the Patrollers naturally wanted to know what had happened to her, and so Trunks had explained that she was preparing for a fight with Goku. This led to discussion of the venue for their fight, since Trunks still had to choose a suitable location for them.

The Parallel Quest system was the obvious solution. The city was equipped with special time machines that could take Patrollers to various stable time fragments. Each fragment contained a replica of some historical era. There, the Patrollers could fight freely and sharpen their skills without fear of damaging Toki Toki City. It was ideal for staging a Super Saiyan duel, but that only solved half of the problem. Trunks knew how give them a place to fight, but he still had to figure out where.

Fortunately, the other Time Patrollers were eager to offer suggestions.

"What about Planet Namek?" asked Excitebike, who worked beside Trunks as they filled in the craters in the Time Nest lawn.

"No, that won't do," Trunks said.

"Hmm, well respectfully, sir, I disagree. It's the place where Son Goku first achieved the level of Super Saiyan. What could be more appropriate?"

"That's just it," Trunks said. "It's a historic site for Goku, but not for Luffa. She's only seen the planet in Time Patrol missions. I don't think it fits."

"Right, right, right," Excitebike muttered.

Dewar was standing nearby re-installing the cobblestones that had been blasted out of the walkway to the city. "Hey, what about that planet in the South Galaxy?" he asked. "You know, the one Paragus tried to pass of as a new Saiyan homeworld? It's unfamiliar to both of them."

"No, Luffa's tail is the problem there," Trunks said. "If she sees the comet she'll turn into a giant ape, and I don't want her to have to wear goggles the whole time."

"Eh?" Dewar replied. "Welllll, Trunks, it seems like you're splitting hairs over this, aren't you? I don't think either of them would complain about being at a slight disadvantage, right?"

"That's true, Dewar, but I still want to make the playing field as level as possible. This might be their only chance to have this fight, and I want it to go well for them. I owe them that much, at least."

"If you say so," Dewar said. "Stillllll, better to have a planet picked out for them than none at all! You can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, eh?"

"Wasn't there a Saiyan homeworld before Planet Vegeta?" Excitebike asked. "What was it called? What, what, what...? Salado or Sardon or something..."

"Sadala," Trunks said. "It was destroyed in a civil war. It might work, but we haven't done much temporal reconnaissance of it. I don't want to stick them in the middle of some other battle, and I don't want to make them wait for us to do the legwork.

"Wellllll, it sounds like you want something impossible, Trunks," Dewar remarked. "I mean, a planet suited for Saiyans, but with no Saiyans on it? Where would you even look for something like that? It's too bad about the Dragon Balls, I guess."

"What about the Dragon Balls?" Trunks asked.

"I heard the Supreme Kai of Time used them to wish for Goku to come here and help fight Demigra," Dewar said. "So they're inert for a while, which means you can't use them to wish for this planet you want. Too bad, since I think Shenron's the only one who could help you..."

"Hold on..." Trunks said, "maybe you've got something there..."

*******

There was an ancient Saiyan proverb that said hunger was the best seasoning. It was something Saiyan chefs meditated upon to keep them humble in the kitchen. For all their culinary skill, even the simplest meals were delicious on an empty stomach.

In her apartment, Luffa put that philosophy to the test. All her roommate ever ate were sweets, so Luffa maintained a supply of cake batter in their refrigerator. She downed a bottle of this without thinking twice, then tore open a package of raw ground beef.

Normally, she had more discipline than this. She would have taken the time to cook something properly, and savor the entire experience. But the battle with Demigra had left a bad taste in her mouth, and she was more interested in moving on than in celebrating.

From a distance, it had all made sense. She couldn't just go back to her own time. Too much had changed. Demigra had tried to tempt her by offering a chance to go back to where it all began, a time before Luffa became the Super Saiyan. But it was all wrong, and thought it took Luffa a long time to realize it, in her heart she had known it was wrong from the start.

The ground beef was cold in her throat as she gulped down another mouthful. Her Saiyan stomach could digest raw meat with ease, and her hunger would be sated, but she couldn't help but appreciate how incomplete the experience was. A fresh kill would have the blood of the animal, and the scent of wild game. Properly cooked, the meat's proteins would be denatured into something exquisite to the palate. But this meat was minced, packaged and refrigerated, and lacked the primordial thrills of hunting or cooking. It was enough to sustain her, but it was fundamentally flawed.

And so was any notion of going back to relive her life. Luffa was a warrior, not a philosopher. She held no special interest in "destiny" or "fate", but her adventures with the Time Patrol had proven that even the worst parts of her life had been necessary in some way. Even if those events could be undone, it would only serve to diminish her as a person.

It was a harsh, difficult truth to accept. Perhaps, Luffa considered, this was why she was eating all of this raw food. Perhaps the truth would be easier to swallow if she had some other unpalatable things to wash it down with.

At last, she turned away from the refrigerator, and sought refuge in the shower. The past was past, and all Luffa could do was to take whatever satisfaction she could from it as she looked ahead to the future. Demigra was dead. As frustrating an opponent as he was, Luffa couldn't help but smile at the thought of his downfall. Her future with the Time Patrol was unclear, but at least there would still be a Time Patrol for her to return to. Chronoa had offered her some sort of reward for her service, though this was too uncertain to think about. And then there was Son Goku.

"Kakarot," she muttered under the stream of hot water.

A fight with a fellow Super Saiyan was a dream come true. She wasn't sure if he understood just how important it was for her, but he had still offered the challenge, and she had every intention of facing him. But she wasn't sure she was ready. It all felt too... sudden.

Her friends and family from the past had all died centuries ago, but from Luffa's perspective, they had only been gone a short time. Thanks to Demigra's power, she had even seen some of them a few hours ago. She accepted that it was wrong to try to go back, and yet it still felt equally wrong to move on.

But as she dwelled on her relationships from the past, she found herself reminded of the new friends she had made in the present. As she wondered what had become of Zatte and Dr. Topsas, she also found herself worrying about Mosh, and Dewar, and the other Time Patrollers she had not seen since Demigra's attack. She had to remind herself that they, at least, were probably fine. And even if they weren't, she could check up on them easily enough.

She could sense Jayncho's ki less than twenty meters away. The Majin was still in her bedroom, having slept through the entire crisis. There was something reassuring about this. Luffa had failed so many people in her life, but she had saved the people of Toki Toki City. Trunks had been badly hurt, but he would recover. Chronoa had taken a lot of damage from healing him, but she would recover too. The Divine Tokitoki Bird had been through a harrowing ordeal, but he would survive.

That word--"survive"-- resonated with her. In spite of it all, Luffa had survived everything that had come her way. The Dorluns cherished survival, in much the same way Luffa's own people treasured battle. But Luffa's wife Zatte had always spoken about how important it was to find something to live for. Many Dorluns, Zatte felt, were simply content to keep breathing, when there had to be more to it than that.

As Luffa mourned her wife, she kept coming back to their lack of funerary tradition. Dorluns left their dead wherever they lay, disposing of bodies only if it served to benefit the living. For them, the only true way to honor the dead was to go on living. Or, as Zatte might have put it, to find a reason to go on living.

Luffa had struggled to accept this, but now she wondered that maybe she had found something to live for without realizing it. The Time Patrol was a worthy enough cause, and the Patrollers were worthy comrades. According to Capsule Corp's genetic studies, the Saiyans in the Time Patrol were all Luffa's descendants, which made them family. And then there was Keda's miraculous presence on Earth.

It wasn't home, exactly. Luffa still felt very much like an outside in this place. And yet, it felt like a place that could be home.

She stepped out of the shower and toweled off, feeling surprisingly refreshed. For the first time since arriving in Toki Toki City, she began to feel optimistic. There was something to look forward to, beyond the fighting, beyond the work. Even beyond this match with Son Goku.

But she would still face Son Goku. As she put on a clean set of clothes, her anticipation for that battle began to swell. But what truly lifted her spirits was the anticipation of what lay beyond him...

*******

The most important repairs to Toki Toki City were things that only the Supreme Kai of Time herself could fix. The great hourglass that had floated in the center of town was a landmark to everyone who lived and worked there, but no mortal Time Patroller had any idea what it was for or why it was so urgent to rebuild it. The Kai called upon the Divine Toki Toki Bird for assistance, and Patrollers working nearby were treated to an inscrutable light show, as they floated in the air while glowing sand and chunks of crystal began to reassemble. Some of the Patrollers grew bored with trying to make sense of it, and so they returned to the mundane work of repairing shops, offices, and roads in the city. Others stopped and stared with fascination.

Among these gawkers was No. 44, who looked like a teenage girl, but was something more than her clerical job suggested. She watched the Kai work, not because it was interesting or breathtaking, but because she wasn't sure what to do with herself, and this was the one place she could find in the city where the people around her would be too distracted to strike up a conversation. Or so she thought.

"Hey there!"

She sensed the power suddenly winking into existence behind her, and though she recognized him from before, she was still surprised when she turned around to look at him. "Wha--?" was all she managed to say.

"Hey, it's me, Goku!" he said with a cheerful wave of his hand. "Remember? And you're... 45, right?"

"44," she said.

"Oh, right," Goku said. "Sorry, I'm not always good with names, and I've never been much when it comes to math. But I guess I was close, though, huh?"

"Of course I remember you," 44 said. "I mean, it wasn't that long ago..."

"Well, I wanted to thank you for helpin' us out," Goku said. "You were in such a hurry to leave, I didn't get the chance before, and then Luffa showed up and everybody else came back to the city and--"

By now, Goku's presence had begun to attract some attention. As much as the Patrollers were interested in Chronoa's cosmic repairs, many of them were great admirers of the famous Son Goku. Anxiously, 44 took him by the hand and tried to lead him away.

"Can we talk about this someplace else?" she pleaded.

"Huh? Well, sure, if you say so."

Without warning, he raised his hand to his forehead and before 44 could react she found herself standing on the roof of one of the buildings in the city. She recognized it as the Industrial Sector, but she wasn't used to seeing it from this elevation, and she had no clear idea of her exact position. All that remained constant was that Goku was still holding her hand.

"Is this better?" Goku asked.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Instant Transmission!" he replied proudly. "I was flying around earlier, but some people told me there's a rule against that, but no one said I couldn't teleport, so I've been checking out the city that way. It's pretty neat!"

"Could you give me a little warning next time?" 44 asked, gasping for breath. "You really startled me with that!"

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to go somewhere else to talk," Goku said with a shrug. "Anyway, there's no people here, so I thought this would be good."

"You didn't tell Luffa about me, did you?" 44 asked breathlessly.

"Well, no," Goku said. "I mean, you asked me not to, right? Besides, we all got to talking, and I kind of forgot about it for a while. But once everybody started working on the city, there really wasn't much for me to do, so I remembered again."

"I thought you'd be on your way home by now, Mr. Son," 44 said.

"You can just call me Goku, okay?" Goku said. "Anyway, I'm stickin' around because I asked Luffa to have a match with me, but the Supreme Kai of Time said we gotta wait to set it up somewhere so the Time Nest won't get wrecked again."

"You and Luffa are going to fight?" 44 asked. "Why?"

"Why?" As Goku repeated her question, he looked at her like she had grown a second head. "I mean, because she's really strong, duh. That'd be enough for me, but on top of everything else, she's a Super Saiyan from a long time ago. Now that's an opportunity I just can't pass up!"

"But you're on the same side," 44 protested. "And you're both so powerful. What if one of you gets hurt?"

"Aw, we'll bring along some senzu beans," Goku said. "It'll be fine. I've fought with my other friends lots of times."

As he said this, an eager smile stretched out across his face. "Hey, you know, while we're waiting, you and I could spar a little? I mean, nothing serious, just for funsies, right?"

"No!" 44 said, more sharply than she intended. "I mean... I'm not a fighter, Mr. Son... I mean, Goku."

"Really?" Goku asked. "I mean, you've got some impressive power. It's not on the level of Trunks or Luffa, but it really gave us a boost when we needed it in the Time Nest. And if you trained, I bet--"

"I'm not a fighter," 44 insisted. "I'm just a clerk."

"Oh," Goku said, looking more than a little disappointed. "Sorry, I guess I got carried away. It's just, your energy kind of has a Saiyan feel to it. Not exactly, but you don't look much like a Saiyan, so I figured you must be part-alien or something. Like my boys. They're half Earthling."

"I'm not a Saiyan or an alien," 44 explained. She gestured to her face, which was a purple-grey color unnatural to Earthling humans. The same was true for her yellow irises, which seemed to shine from beneath the shade of her trucker hat. "I'm a cyborg. Red Ribbon model."

"Oh, yeah," Goku said. "I meant to ask about that. But doesn't that mean you're programmed to kill me? I mean, you must want to fight me a teensy bit."

"It's a long story," 44 said. "My design includes Saiyan genetics and other bio-enhancements. That's why I look the way I do."

"What's with the hat?" Goku asked.

"Wh-what about my hat?" 44 said. It was a trucker cap with the logo "98CIAL" printed on the front. All of 44's hair was stuffed inside it.

Goku craned his head to one side and pointed at her head. "Do you wear it to cover up your brain?" he asked. "I remember Dr. Gero had a glass dome on his head, and when his hat came off, you could see right inside. It was kinda gross."

"I don't have a dome," 44 said. "I just like the hat! It helps me blend in a little."

Goku made a skeptical look as though he weren't entirely convinced of this. 44 reached up to her scalp and pulled a length of white hair out from under the brim.

"Look, why would I have hair if I had a dome?" she asked. "I'm based on the 13-14-15 line. None of them had domes. Wait, 15 did, but his brain was a computer... Never mind..."

"Well, okay," Goku said. "I guess it doesn't matter much if we're not gonna fight. Too bad, though. With your Saiyan ki and those yellow pants, I thought maybe you were Luffa's student or something."

44 looked down at her clothes. She wore a thick belt with several pockets. Otherwise, she had adopted Luffa's trademark black and yellow fashion. Instead of boots, 44 wore black sneakers with black socks. Her pants were slacks, and her shirt was a blouse, but the general theme was more in line with what Luffa wore.

"I'm not her student," 44 said. "I just thought we were getting along, and maybe this would help."

"Oh well," Goku said. "I was hoping to find out more about her from you. Kind of scout the competition a little before we fight. But if you're not her disciple or sparring partner or anything.... Wait, if you two are friends, then why didn't you want her to know about how you helped us in the Time Nest?" Goku asked. "I'm sure she'd be proud of you for that. I know I am."

"The only reason I was around for that was because I was hiding from Demigra during the battle," 44 blurted out. "Everyone else got infected with his magic spell, and then the Supreme Kai of Time evacuated them from the city. But not me. I was in Luffa's apartment, because I didn't know where else to go."

"Sure you did," Goku said. "You came out and found us in the Time Nest, trying to stop Demigra's blast from blowing up the whole place."

"I only did that because I couldn't sense anyone fighting in the city," 44 explained. "I went to the Time Nest to see if anyone was still there, and there you were. I... I wouldn't have gotten involved if I had known..."

Goku smiled and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey," he said. "Listen. You may not be a warrior like me and Luffa, but you still did a really brave thing by lending me your energy back there."

"But I--!"

"You were scared, I know," Goku said. "I was pretty worried there myself for a while. I wasn't sure I could stop that blast. But we did it together. That's what matters, 44, and if Luffa were here right now, I'd bet she'd say the same thing. Well, maybe she'd say it a little meaner. Heh-heh! She's kind of grouchy, you know?"

44 lowered her head, concealing her eyes behind the bill of her hat as she wiped the tears from her face. "Look, you can't tell her about that. Please."

"If that's how you want it, then okay," Goku said. "I won't say anything about it to her. But I've seen her fight, and she's no dummy, 44. Sooner or later, she'll see for herself what a hero you are. I don't think that's something you can hide. Not for long, anyway."

"We'll see about that," 44 said. "As long as you don't tell her about me helping you against Demigra, that'll do. Let me worry about the rest."

"Deal," Goku said. "I don't understand it all, but you've got a good heart, 44, even if it's like some kind of robot heart or somethin'. And Luffa took good care of my sons when we fought Cell and Majin Buu on Earth, so I've got a good feeling about her. Whatever's going on between you two, I'm sure it'll all work out."

44 made a weary sigh. "I hope you're right," she said. "I wish I could explain it to you, but... Well, it's sort of a relief to talk about it a little bit. I'm glad you came to find me."

"Hey, no problem," Goku said. "The Supreme Kai of Time made me a deputy Time Patroller, right? So we all gotta look out for each other, don't we?"

"I guess you're right about that..." 44 said with a slight smile. Then she looked out at the city below and asked: "You can get me back down, can't you?"

"Huh?" Goku asked before he realized what she meant. "Oh, sure, sure. Just grab on to my arm, okay? It won't take a second..."

*******

While the shops of the Time Patrol were still recovering from the damage sustained during the battle, the various department heads in the city suggested that the victory celebration be catered. Trunks and Chronoa agreed to this, although when they received the delivery, they began to have second thoughts.

"How many Time Patrollers are there anyway?" Trunks asked as workmen loaded trays of barbecued pork into the dining hall. One of them, a young woman, made a flirtatious smile at him, but he was too focused on signing the paperwork to notice.

"A lot," Chronoa said. "I remember thinking Toki Toki City was enormous back when we opened it, but now it almost seems too crowded."

Trunks leafed through the last few pages and handed them back to one of the uniformed delivery drivers. "Speaking of that, have you had a chance to look at my PQ request? The one for Goku and Luffa."

Chronoa had scooped a glob of potato salad on her finger and had put it in her mouth when Trunks asked the question, so she could only nod and give a thumbs up.

"Thanks. It means a lot to me, and I'm sure it'll mean a lot to them, too," he said.

"It's the least I can do for them, but to be honest, I'm not sure I understand what the big deal is," Chronoa said. "We just had a huge battle, and Luffa fought several more battles before that. I know Saiyans love to fight, but what makes this one special?"

"Luffa was the only Super Saiyan in her time," Trunks said. "Fighting another Super Saiyan is something she's always wanted to do. When she found out I was a Super Saiyan, she challenged me on the spot, even though we were in the middle of a mission."

"Right, but you two already fought each other," Chronoa said. "When you were under Demigra's mind control."

"I know," Trunks said. "And she's probably still itching to challenge me later, now that I'm back to normal. But Goku's the one she really wants."

"But why Goku?" she asked.

"Because of the legend," Trunks said. "Gohan told me that my father once said there was only one Super Saiyan every thousand years. I never thought about the timing much, but apparently it's literally true. Luffa transformed almost exactly one thousand years before Goku did, and there was a Super Saiyan before her that lived about a thousand years earlier than that."

"Maybe so, but it doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Chronoa asked. "These days, there's lots of Super Saiyans."

"That's true, and it's not as big a deal to the rest of us, but it means a lot to her. It's like there's a lineage of once-in-a-millennium Super Saiyans, and she and Goku are part of that club. I think she's thought about him for a long time, even before she came to this time."

"What do you mean?" Chronoa asked. "She didn't even know Goku."

"Not by name," Trunks said. "But she probably believed that there would be another one like her in a thousand years' time. Maybe that was comforting to think about. I sort of understand what that's like. It was pretty tough for me being the only Super Saiyan after Gohan died. In my world, I might be the last one. So when I traveled to the past to meet Goku for the first time, it was kind of reassuring to see another Super Saiyan in person like that."

"I suppose I never thought of it that way."

"The thing is, I'm not sure if Goku understands all that. He may just like the idea of taking on a fresh opponent. But I'm sure the tradition means a lot to Luffa, and they both really helped us out, so arranging a proper battleground for them was the least I could do."

"I'm sure they'll enjoy it," Chronoa said. "And even if they don't, at least the city won't get wrecked all over again."

*******

[22 April, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

The victory banquet went well. Son Goku couldn't complain, since he had eaten his fill of pulled pork, rice, and cole slaw. The Time Patrollers were mostly good company, although he found some of their questions confusing. One young woman kept asking him if it was true what 'they' say about Goku's best friend, Krillin. But she refused to explain what it was that 'they' said, and when he asked she would just gesture with her hands and say 'well you know.' Goku, in fact, did not know, and could not answer.

People were often confusing for Son Goku. While he enjoyed public gatherings-- especially ones with food-- he was something of a loner, spending most of his life in the company of fewer than five people at a time. His adoptive grandfather understood the joys of solitary living, and so had Master Roshi, and so did Goku's wife Chi-Chi, and their children, Gohan and Goten.

And so, while he was not especially self-aware of this aspect of his personality, Goku still felt a swell of relief when the party was over and a helpful Capsule Corp. robot escorted him to his guest quarters for bed. He lay awake for a while, eagerly anticipating the dawn, and the one person he had not seen at the banquet, the one he had been looking for the whole evening. He hadn't seen Luffa since she accepted his challenge in the Time Nest. Was she avoiding him for some reason? Was she not feeling well enough to go through with their fight? Or was this some sort of strategy? Had she been observing him without his knowing it?

The thought of that excited him, though eventually he drifted off to sleep. For the next several hours, Son Goku slept well, dreaming of his wife and children, and also a monster truck that he had seen on television once. In the dream, the truck could talk and it was friends with Goku. They went on adventures together.

When he awoke, he put on his gi and found the same robot waiting for him outside his door, ready to escort him to anywhere in the city he wished to go. Naturally, he asked it to take him to a place where he could get some breakfast.

The Blinking Twelve was a popular restaurant among the Saiyan community in Toki Toki City, and the robot led Goku there. It reminded Goku of a diner he had visited with Bulma a few times in West City. He took a seat and was about to order, when a familiar voice called out from the entranceway.

"For shame, Kakarot."

He quickly turned to find Luffa at the door. He had not sensed her presence, and he did not know how she had gotten so close without his noticing. From the grin on her face, it seemed that she took great satisfaction in his uncertainty.

"There you are! I was starting to worry about you, Luffa," Goku said. "When I didn't see you last night, I thought you might have decided to cancel on me."

"Hell no," Luffa said. "I just needed some time to prepare. Trunks has a place all picked out for us, but I thought you and I should have eat first."

"Oh sure!" Goku said. "I hate fighting on an empty stomach. Pull up a chair, I was about to order--"

"Not here," she insisted. "I've commandeered a kitchen in the cafeteria. You were raised on Earth, so I thought I would do you the honor of preparing a proper Saiyan breakfast."

"Is that right?" Goku said. "Well, I can't turn that down. You've got style, Luffa. I've been in a lot of battles, but I've never had an opponent feed me before a fight."

"Right this way," Luffa said, waving him towards the door.

As Goku approached her, he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. He considered asking her how she had slept, but he decided against it.

Everything he needed to know about Luffa, he reasoned, would be revealed to him soon enough.

NEXT: Fight.

[ppeonppeonhan]

The 10 Shows I DNF'd in 2024 — and the 6 I Should've

From Thailand, I nixed the vampire dramedy 1000 Years Old, because it was too goofy and took too long to get to the romance; Kidnap, because I was expecting a more badass version of Ohm; Two Worlds, because the MaxNat (see above) age difference is...unnerving; and 4 Minutes, because it was too dark and I'd already reached my limit for that type of romance with Dead Friend Forever back in the Spring.

From South Korea, I had to choose my sanity and stop watching Love in the Big City, which has some heavy mental health themes; and I also gave up on Blossom Campus pretty quickly, because after watching Boys Be Brave!, I decided no one in South Korea could top Ki Sub's cute, unhinged behavior.

From Japan, I could not sit through yet another emotionally abusive ML who is secretly in love with the human cupcake he crushes daily, so Cosmetic Playlover was deaded after episode 1; Love is Better the Second Time Around had a love interest that was both overconfident and a coward, which makes for an unappealing combination; Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (above) had an ill-advised yet chaste teacher-student romance; Takara No Vidro was just more of the same cat-dog dynamic that I'm growing weary of when there's not a more interesting element or electric connection; and the Love in the Air remake had its moments, but their version of Prapai x Sky just wasn't hitting.

Ok now for what I SHOULD'VE given up on, but foolishly powered through — all from Thailand:

I basically hate-watched Bad Guy My Boss, but I genuinely gave City of Stars (above) a shot. It was a faux high-stakes comedy about a celebrity risking his career to come out of the closet for his longtime crush. If it was 6 episodes tops, it would've covered everything it needed to, but producing twice as many and a special episode was excessive. It really just seemed like soft core with a slapped together plot.

But not as much as Sunset x Vibes (above). Ooof! That series was created purely to feed MosBank stans. A workplace romance where an intern accidentally falls for a mysterious man who turns out to be his boss was all that series needed to be, but no, they had to throw in a life-threatening, past-life myth. Like...pick a genre. Do it well.

I Saw You in a Dream also had a high concept: Guy develops the ability to see the future in his dreams and has to figure out how to save his childhood friend who's had a major crush on him for years. I was into it, but it dragged on for too long and the big bad villain turning out to be somebody's fake ex-bf was beyond anticlimactic. Also, aside from infantalizing your love interest, I also hate when a love interest plays up being a baby/younger to get away with stuff, but then immediately jumps to adult behavior. Like are you a child or an adult? His character was 20. It was weird.

Meanwhile, The Rebound had me in the first half. I've grown to love sports drama BLs. But it started to drag and the obstacles they faced with a gangster looming and an overbearing mother resolved so easily that it made the climax fall flat.

Sadly, the biggest disappointment was the Thai version of My Love Mix-Up. Fourth and Gemini did a great job per usual, but it was hella boring. And I say that having enjoyed the Thai remake of Cherry Magic. Not opposed to rewatching the same storyline, but I just couldn't get into it.

[fuchinobe]

(2007, Pacific, LDCD-50038) Cover of Tatsuro Yamashita.

[dragaorpg]

Farland Saga I & II Saturn Tribute anunciado para PS5 e Switch

[dummy-kanji]

Gate of Sin por Dave Schaefer Por Flickr: Looking over the red gate of Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo at night.

[hauntingblue]

Jaya time

I love these moments of nearly cosmic horror when they encounter inexplicable things (at first) they are so intriguing

Is strawhat here?! *Megan thee stallion saying AAH 😜*

This cover just goes hard... Get it chopper

[aventurineswife]

Dear amazing author (you really are! I and my friend have always feast 💜)

If I may request something - may I please request the hugs and assurance, that everything would be alright? For Aventurine, Argenti, general Jing Yuan, Boothill, DHIL / Dan Heng (you may add more, if you want, I'd gladly read it all!)

Not only I, but also my friend has bad period of time... These last two months mainly... :') college in the last year is not funny, ngl...

Thank you sincerely 💜

(also Toki, surprise ;D no matter what would happen, we are strong introverts forever 💜🤭)

We Mend as We Go

Tags: Aventurine x Reader, Argenti x Reader, Jing Yuan x Reader, Boothill x Reader, Dan Heng IL x Reader, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Vulnerability, Reassurance, Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, Introspection, Found Family, Slow Burn (implied), Mutual Support.

Warnings: Mentions of Trauma, Burdens of Leadership, Existential Doubt, References to Vengeance and Loss, Themes of Loneliness and Emotional Isolation, Mentions of Past Violence (in Boothill and Dan Heng's parts).

A/N: 😭😭STAWWPPP!! Y'ALL ARE TOO NICE 🧍‍♀️😔, ALSO I can relate with college... It's never fun but neither was school (for me at least) :') enjoy this! ;)

The moon hung high over the city, casting a soft, silvery glow across the balcony where Aventurine stood, his sharp eyes fixed on the distant horizon. Despite his outwardly confident demeanor, there was a deep unease within him tonight, a rare crack in his carefully crafted facade.

You approached him quietly, your footsteps soft on the stone. He didn't turn to look at you, but the subtle shift in his posture told you that he knew you were there. You stopped beside him, taking in the view, before gently reaching out and placing your hand on his shoulder.

Aventurine’s smile was as enigmatic as always, but his eyes—held a flicker of something else: vulnerability. It was fleeting, hidden just beneath the surface, but you had learned to read him, to see past the games and the charming mask.

"Everything’s a gamble, isn't it?" he mused, his voice light, but with an underlying tension. "No matter how many victories I've had, there's always that nagging feeling... What if it all crumbles?"

You stepped closer, wrapping your arms around him in a tender embrace. He froze at first, caught off guard by the warmth of your presence, before he slowly relaxed, a soft breath escaping his lips.

"Then we'll rebuild it together," you whispered, your voice calm, filled with assurance. "You��re not alone in this. Whatever happens, we’ll face it."

Aventurine stood still for a moment, his heart pounding with an unfamiliar comfort, before he allowed himself to lean into the hug. His arms hesitantly wrapped around you, the gesture more vulnerable than anything he had ever shown.

"Thank you," he murmured, his voice softer than usual. "You make the gamble seem worth it."

The night was quiet, the stars shining brightly above the peaceful valley where Argenti had paused in his travels. The weight of his armor felt heavier than usual tonight, as if the burden of his sacred duty pressed down upon him more than ever. He had been wandering for so long, always alone, always with the call of duty at his side. Yet, tonight, there was a crack in the armor of his conviction—a moment of doubt.

You found him sitting on a rock, staring at the night sky with a distant expression, as though lost in thought. Without a word, you sat beside him, the silence between you both comfortable in its familiarity. You didn’t need to ask what was troubling him; you could feel it emanating from him like an unseen weight.

After a few moments, Argenti spoke, his voice quieter than usual, filled with the kind of uncertainty he rarely allowed himself.

"Do you ever wonder if I’m doing the right thing?" he asked, his eyes reflecting the stars above. "I’ve faced so much... I’ve fought countless battles, restored cities, but... is it enough? Am I truly bringing beauty to the world?"

You reached out, gently resting your hand on his, offering him the comfort he often denied himself. Argenti looked at you, his sharp gaze softening as he met your eyes.

"You’re bringing beauty with every step you take," you replied, your voice unwavering. "It’s not about the battles or the victories. It’s about the light you share, the way you inspire others. You don’t have to carry the world alone."

Argenti’s shoulders relaxed, the tension that had built up slowly dissipating as he leaned into your embrace. His armor was cold against your skin, but the warmth between you was enough to melt the doubt away, if only for a moment.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice thick with gratitude. "It’s a lonely path, but with you, it feels less so."

The evening was calm on the Xianzhou Luofu, a rare stillness settling over the grand halls and corridors. Jing Yuan had long since finished his duties for the day, but the weight of centuries seemed to linger in the quiet moments, especially as he found himself gazing at the stars from his study. His eyes, sharp and calculating, softened as he thought about the future, the past, and the delicate balance he maintained as the General.

You entered the room quietly, approaching him from behind. Jing Yuan didn’t turn, but the slight shift of his posture told you he was aware of your presence. You stepped closer, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder, the touch grounding him in the present.

"Jing Yuan," you said softly, "everything will be alright."

He chuckled, a deep, warm sound that seemed to carry the weight of both amusement and something more. "You say that, but you know how fragile peace can be," he remarked, his voice soft with the wisdom of ages. "How long can it last?"

You knelt beside him, your presence a reminder that he was not alone in his struggles. You placed a hand over his, your fingers intertwined with his, and offered him a comforting smile.

"You’ve kept the peace for so long," you said. "You’ve already proven that you can handle whatever comes. But it’s alright to lean on others too. You don’t have to carry everything by yourself."

Jing Yuan’s gaze softened as he looked at you, a rare vulnerability in his eyes. "And will you be here... when the burden feels too much?"

Without a word, you wrapped your arms around him, holding him close, offering the kind of reassurance only love and time could bring. Jing Yuan, for all his wisdom and strength, leaned into your embrace, a sigh escaping his lips. He had known countless battles and victories, but in this moment, it was the peace of your presence that soothed him.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice quiet but filled with warmth. "With you, I know everything will be alright."

The cold winds of the galaxy howled through the dim-lit room, the hum of the ship's engine the only sound breaking the silence. Boothill sat by the window, his mechanical hand tracing the outlines of the distant stars. His white hair framed his face, the black streaks almost seeming to shimmer in the faint light. His sharp teeth were barely visible, lips tight, eyes focused on something far beyond the stars—something far beyond the pain he’d been through.

You entered the room quietly, your footsteps soft against the metal floor. You had always known when Boothill needed space, but tonight, something about him seemed different—more distant, like the weight of his past was pulling him under. The bounty on his head grew heavier by the day, and Oswaldo Schneider was still a shadow, always out of reach. His quest for vengeance was endless, and it was slowly consuming him.

Sitting beside him, you placed a gentle hand on his. His cold, metallic fingers trembled slightly under your touch, a sign of just how much his humanity was still alive beneath the hard surface.

"Boothill," you whispered, your voice steady but full of warmth, "it's okay. You’ve fought so long, but you don’t have to fight alone anymore. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together. You’re not alone. Everything... everything will be alright."

He didn’t respond immediately, but you saw the slight shift in his posture—the way he leaned just a little closer, his hair brushing against your arm. His eyes, those sharp, calculating eyes, softened, just for a moment. The aim symbols within them flickered slightly, as though they, too, were taking a break from their endless mission.

His voice was low, rough, as though it had been unused for far too long. "I... I don’t know how much longer I can keep fighting like this." The words came out almost as a confession, a crack in his usually impenetrable armor. "Everywhere I go, it feels like I’m chasing ghosts. My family... my home... it all just keeps slipping away, no matter how hard I try."

You wrapped your arms around him, pulling him close. He stiffened at first, his mechanical body too rigid, but then, slowly, he let go of the tension, allowing himself to be enveloped by your warmth. His chin rested on your shoulder, the weight of his past pressing against you, but you held him tighter.

"It’s okay, Boothill," you murmured, your voice a gentle whisper. "You don’t have to carry everything alone. I’m right here, always. And I’ll help you find your peace, even if we have to fight for it together. We’re a team, and I’ll never leave your side."

For the first time in a long while, Boothill let himself relax, his grip on you steady but soft. The storm inside him had not yet passed, but in this moment, there was comfort—a fleeting sense of safety.

"You’re right," he whispered, his voice low, almost hesitant. "I’ve been carrying too much... Maybe it’s time to let someone else carry a little of the weight."

And for a moment, the stars outside seemed to shine a little brighter. As if even the universe itself was reminding him that he was not alone.

The stars stretched infinitely before you, the ship gliding smoothly through the cosmos. Dan Heng stood near the observation window, his eyes distant, gazing into the void. His posture was tense, as it often was, his sharp features betraying none of the turmoil within. The weight of his past, the memories of his previous incarnation, lingered like a storm cloud hanging over him.

You had known him long enough to recognize the signs—the way his shoulders would stiffen, how he would withdraw into himself when the shadows of the past grew too overwhelming. He had always been like this: detached, burdened by things he could not control, unable to fully reconcile with the legacy of his past life as the Imbibitor Lunae.

Without saying a word, you approached him. He didn’t turn to face you, but you didn’t need him to. You knew what he needed, even when he didn’t.

You reached out, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. His skin was warm beneath your fingers, but the tension in his body was like a barrier—one that you knew he had built over countless years. Still, you could feel the way his body subtly relaxed at your touch, just a fraction, but it was enough.

"Dan Heng," you said softly, your voice the only thing breaking the silence. "I know you carry a heavy burden, and I know it’s not easy to shake the past. But you don’t have to do it alone. Whatever comes, I’ll be here. You don’t have to keep everything locked inside. Everything will be alright, I promise."

For a long moment, he didn’t speak. He simply stood there, his gaze fixed on the stars, his expression unreadable. But you didn’t pull away. You stayed close, your presence offering the quiet reassurance he needed.

Finally, his voice came, almost like a whisper. "It’s hard," he admitted, his tone low, vulnerable in a way you rarely heard. "To live with all these memories. To know what I’ve done... what I was capable of... and still wonder if I can ever make up for it."

You stepped closer, placing your other hand on his back, your warmth reaching through the cold walls he had built around himself. "You’ve already done so much, Dan Heng. You’ve made a choice. And that choice is yours, not anyone else's. The past doesn’t define who you are now. You are not your past life. You’re you—and you are enough."

He exhaled slowly, as if your words had finally reached him, breaking through the fog of his thoughts. His hand, which had been resting at his side, slowly reached up, fingers brushing against yours. The touch was small, fleeting, but it was enough—a silent acknowledgment of your words.

For the first time in a long while, Dan Heng allowed himself to believe that maybe—just maybe—everything would be alright. And as he turned his head slightly to meet your gaze, the faintest of smiles tugged at the corner of his lips. "Thank you," he murmured, his voice soft. "I... I needed to hear that."

And in that quiet moment, amidst the vast expanse of the stars, you both knew that, no matter how far you had to go or how many trials awaited, you would face them together.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Rose Recaps QL 2024 - Favourite Characters

I can't seem to be able to write lately so I'm gonna do this one with only gifs. Thanks to @abstractelysium for sharing their prompts and helping me get started on this. Let's go.

Kasuga - She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat

Isumi - Sugar Dog Life

Cha Yeo Woon - Love For Love's Sake

Hayama Asami - At 25:00 in Akasaka

Lee Do Hoe - Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

Jane - The Trainee

Go Hotae - The Time of Fever

Shiba Ryoma - Love is a Poison

Karan - Cherry Magic Thailand

Go Yeong - Love In The Big City

I wanted to add more but I stopped myself so, honourable mentions: Takara, Takara no Vidro; Ishida, Mr. Mitsuya's Planned Feeding; Toki, Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun; King, Marahuyo Project: Kai, Perfect Propose; Latte, Knock Knock Boys; Moo, Only Boo

I'm gonna tag some people so I can see other people's favourite characters. But of course, no pressure. @lurkingshan @neuroticbookworm @thisonelikesaliens @he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle @twig-tea @itsallaboutbl @wen-kexing-apologist @troubled-mind 💜

[toomanythoughts2]

Skwisgaar, Toki, and Murderface all coming from possible rural parts of their countries is so funny but also so comforting.

Do you think Skwisgaar has a "rural"-er dialect than Swedes from the city? Because his childhood home is OUT THERE IN THE WOODS! Like, maybe not super thick because he did grow up in a possible wood logging town, so it would be noticeable. Like think of a Midwest accent with a Swedish annunciation. That's probably him. Like the Dakotas.

And Murderface, if he didn't have a lisp, would he have a southern twang? Like a generic twang, almost movie-like. But it gets hid behind his lisp. I wonder if Stella had been able to afford braces to close his gap tooth, would he have been able to speak clearer. OR, maybe he had a tongue tie and never got it looked at or fixed because of money.

I also like to think that Toki would sound strange in Norwegian and English. Like, because his family didn't speak, his ability to grasp spoken word weakened. So when he did, it's still a little funny. Like, other Norwegians don't know where to place Toki's accent because it is so different. His tones and annunciations are all over the place, and his natural way of speaking is not common. Toki has a "Gottfried" effect where everyone knows who's speaking simply because of his voice. I once read a fic where Toki spoke in NSL (Norwegian Sign Language) to his mother, and I fuck with that honestly.

[beanieable]

Multiverse of Tao

I probably mentioned it before but I decided to give my TMNT OC, Tao, a few more versions! I love it when people make TMNT OCs and make different versions of them.

As it stands we have 2003, 2012, Bayverse and Rise.

Rise is actually the first one I made, but it really escalated from there.

I’ll go into detail under the cut!

2003

This Tao is a prince, again they were born with only one arm. They attend the Battle Nexus and are almost instantly infatuated with Mikey. They like his attitude.

Tao sneaks off to talk to Mikey between battles and they get along pretty well. Mikey isn't aware Tao is royalty. The two flirt a lot. Raph hates it so much he leaves them alone.

When Mikey wins the Nexus. Tao congratulates him. Mikey jokingly says he should get a kiss for winning. He gets a kiss in the cheek. On their way home Splinter reveals that Tao is a prince.

Eventually Tao and Mikey end up together. It's a bit complicated since Tao is a prince, the crown prince even, but they make it work.

2012

This version is a cat alien. Tao is introduced in season 4 while they're in space. The gang end up in Tao's home planet. An ice planet. They are a friendly planet to outsiders but due to the climate every new visitor has to wait until they're allowed to leave their ships. They are met with guards and they need to answer a few questions. The planet is friendly, but they're not about to let in everyone. But the gang passes easily. Also, this Tao was born with only one arm.

Before they are allowed down their travel guide, that's a custom, arrives with their warm clothes. It's Tao. When he enters Leo is down bad. This boy is hit with love at first sight. They eventually end up on earth permanently and start dating Leo.

Bay

The only human Tao. They were born with two arms. When he was a kid, he and his parents were in a car crash and in said crash their parents died and Tao lost their arm. Somehow in the hospital, with no other relatives, Shredder gets hold of them.

Tao works for the Foot and get a prosthetic arm.

Sometime after the first movie they meet Donnie, not knowing how he is or that he's a turtle, and they talk. It becomes a regular thing. Eventually Tao and Donnie find out and Donnie gives Tao hope for a better live.

In their escape Tao loses the prosthetic, Donnie is working on a new one. And after Tao does some much needed healing (and therapy) they end up with Donnie.

Here’s the big change for them. They get turned into a mutant cat. Since they leave the Foot between both movies, they’re present for the second one and somewhere in that mess they come in contact with mutagen - and now they’re a cat mutant. An orange cat by the way since human Tao is a ginger. And yes, he embodies the chaos of an orange cat. 🙃 When Donnie offers to working a way to turn them back, they refuse. They view this as a new start for him, also he got used to their new body pretty quickly.

Rise

“old“ design

A cat yokai that grew up in the Hidden City. They make cloaking brooches for a living and live with their father and sister, Yue. They lost their arm in an accident protecting Yue. Thanks to Draxun Tao lived the loss of their arm. Later on he’s a big part of developing prosthetics that are powered with mystic. His electricity based mystics made development a lot easier, even if their reserves are quite limited.

Eventually they end up dating their best friends Raph. Tao falls first, but Raph fell harder. When they’re older they end up adopting three kids. Toki, Akira and Mia. See here. None of that was planned.

As you can see, every turtle has their very own Tao. 😌

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (211/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball,  which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made  on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story This story takes place about 1000 years before  66 years after the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[21 April, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

"Demigraaaa!"

The atrium of the Time Vault was lit with the ominous purple glow of Demigra's evil magic. High above the great octagonal table, a ball of dark energy roiled and churned in mid-air, like a dark sun looming over the cabinets that housed the Scroll of Eternity. Demigra had created this attack to destroy the Time Vault, and with it, all of history. He then opened a mystical portal to escape into the Crack of Time, where he had once been banished. He would ride out the destruction of the universe from his former prison, and when it was over, he would emerge victorious and create his new world from the ashes of the old.

Below, the last of Demigra's enemies were defeated.

Trunks, the leader of the Time Patrol, had been incapacitated from intense combat. Thanks to Demigra's mind control, he had been forced to fight on both sides, and he was exhausted from the effort.

The Time Patrol's newest recruits, Son Goku and Luffa, were pinned down by glowing red spears of energy. Though they weren't injured, Demigra's magic kept them immobilized.

That left Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time, who could only stand between Luffa and Goku, and watch helplessly as the dark fireball descended upon them. It was Chronoa who cried out Demigra's name as he slipped away into his hiding place.

As hopeless as the situation seemed, Chronoa did not despair. Among her divine powers was the ability to alter the flow of time in a particular location, and so she applied this technique to Demigra's blast. She raised her hands, and concentrated. For a moment, it looked like nothing was happening, and then the ball slowed down, seemingly stopping in midair.

Chronoa did not allow herself to relax. Thought mortal eyes might be fooled into thinking the energy ball was frozen in midair, it was still moving. Chronoa had slowed it to a crawl, but the energy ball still continued on its collision course with the floor, where it would surely explode and destroy them all.

Still, she took some comfort in this. "There's time," she muttered to herself. It was the unofficial slogan of the Time Patrol. It was an encouragement not to rush or panic. The answers and solutions would come eventually, and the Time Patrol could afford to be patient. Carefully, she took stock of the situation. She did not have the physical strength to repel the energy ball by herself. Nor could she free the others or heal Trunks without releasing her temporal field around the energy ball.

There was, however, Demigra's portal. Chronoa knew that it led back to the Crack of Time, since it very closely resembled the portal she had used to imprison Demigra there in the first place, seventy-five million years ago. Demigra had already passed through it, but the portal still lingered, for Chronoa knew it would not close quickly or easily.

The thought occurred to her that she might follow after Demigra and try to retrieve Tokitoki from him. It was a desperate idea, one that would mean abandoning the Time Vault to be destroyed. But it seemed like there was no other alternative. By all accounts, Chronoa had failed. Demigra had absorbed her charge, the Divine Tokitoki Bird, and he had used Tokitoki's power to destroy everything. But the universe still had a few moments left, and Chronoa would not abandon her duty. She would stand her ground and preserve history for as long as she possibly could.

And so, knowing it would do little good, Chronoa held out her hands and pushed back against the energy ball with all of the power she could muster. It did little to halt the ball's advance, but that didn't matter anymore.

She spared a moment to look at Trunks, who was passed out beside her. He and the other Time Patrollers had been wonderful companions, and it was good to face the end with him, even if he wasn't conscious. She had spent most of her tenure as Supreme Kai of Time in solitude, with only Tokitoki for company.

And while her plan to bring in Goku as a secret weapon had not succeeded, she was still grateful for his efforts. He had only been a deputy Time Patroller for a few minutes, but he had fought gallantly.

Then there was Luffa, whom Trunks had summoned using the Dragon Balls. Chronoa glanced over to her, and might have had some final thoughts regarding Luffa's service to the Time Patrol, but those sentimental musings were forgotten when Chronoa noticed that Luffa was... gone?

"Where--?" Chronoa asked. She had been too busy to notice one of the Scrolls of Eternity next to Luffa, or Luffa's subsequent disappearance. If Chronoa had seen this, she might have realized what had happened, and what was about to happen next.

Instead, Chronoa was completely surprised when a bright yellow glow appeared from behind Demigra's energy ball. She looked up and found Luffa floating near the ceiling of the atrium, her face twisted with rage, and her short hair rippling on her scalp like tongues of flame. She held out her hand, and shrieked.

Chronoa thought Luffa was going to stop Demigra's attack. Instead, she fired down at the ground, blasting away the energy pikes that held Goku down. The golden ki blasts dissolved the crimson skewers like toothpicks cast into a furnace.

"On your feet, Kakarot!" Luffa called out through gritted teeth. "You've got work to do!"

Goku didn't need to be told twice. He was already standing before Luffa had finished speaking. He looked up at her with amazement, and he might have replied to Luffa, but then Chronoa groaned from the strain of her exertion, and he realized she needed help. In a flash, he was suddenly standing beside her, and he threw out his hands, and began to apply his ki against the oncoming attack.

"It's okay, Supreme Kai of Time," Goku said. "I'm here!"

"Luffa!" Chronoa said. "Get... get down here! Hurry!"

"Wait, where'd she go?" Goku asked. "I could sense her power, but then she just disappeared all of a sudden!"

As he wondered about this, he began to feel the energy ball pushing back against him, and Goku set his jaw and widened his stance to brace himself.

"No..." Chronoa said. "Demigra opened up a portal to the Crack of Time... and Luffa must have followed him into it!"

"Rrrghhh!" Goku grunted as his muscles tensed against the force of the energy ball.

"This is bad!" Chronoa said. "If she takes on Demigra alone--!"

"She'll be... fine!" Goku said with a grimace. "You saw her before.... She can take him!"

"That's not the problem!" Chronoa said. "She should have stayed and helped us here! If we can't stop this thing from destroying the Time Vault, then it won't matter if she wins or not! It'll be the end of everything!"

"No way!" Goku insisted. "I won't... let... that... happen!"

And with a shrill cry, he transformed, his dark eyes glowing a brilliant green, and his black hair shining a baleful yellow to match Luffa's.

"This ain't the end!" Goku shouted. "Not even close! Not while I'm still standing!"

And the energy ball... stopped in midair. It continued to push down against them, but Goku had truly halted it. The only question now was: for how long? Had he only managed to delay the inevitable?

Chronoa held out her own hands and continued to support his effort. She wasn't alone in the fight, but the situation hadn't changed. She would continue to buy as much time for the universe as she could. And maybe, with Goku's help, they could do more than that...

*******

[21 April, Age 850. The Crack of Time.]

Luffa dashed through the portal just before it could close. She emerged from the other side to find herself in the Crack of Time, a dark expanse containing a multitude of crystals, each one larger than an adult humanoid. They floated in the Crack of Time like motes of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

Demigra was not hard to find, since he was the only other living thing present. He hovered among the crystals with his back to Luffa, though he quickly turned around to register his displeasure.

"What are you?" he asked indignantly. "What in the world are you?!"

"I think we've already been over that," Luffa said. "If you still haven't figured me out, then I'll just have to explain it with my fists."

"You know," Demigra said, "I just finished arranging that scroll to take you to the world I created for you. And I spoke to you a moment ago, explaining where you were, and why I put you there."

"Then it all really happened?" Luffa asked. "I was on that fantasy world of yours for weeks, but I started to think I dreamed the whole thing."

"Weeks for you, minutes for me," Demigra said. "And for your friends in the Time Vault, only a second or two. "I had to manipulate the flow of time in order to prepare that temporal fragment for you, Luffa. I had to make sure you'd accept the arrangement, but I couldn't afford to wait around. But since you're here, I suppose I must assume that you've rejected my offer."

"Offer? You mean 'diversion', don't you? That whole thing was a sham, just like your claims of godhood."

"Oh, you are a frustrating one," Demigra growled. "After all of that fighting, you're still alive. Even my efforts to make peace were useless. I see now. You want to interfere. It's not just a matter of duty or stubborn pride. You simply cannot help yourself. Shenron chose you well. It seems you're driven to oppose me, no matter what."

"Good," Luffa said. "You're beginning to understand me, at least."

"So be it!" Demigra shouted. "I won't hold back, then. With every ounce of my limitless, divine power... I will defeat you!"

As he spoke, he gripped his scepter with both hands, and held it in front of his chest. Then he released the scepter, and it floated in front of him. The crystal orb at the top of the scepter glowed bright pink, and swirls of color emerged from the glow, surrounding Demigra until Luffa could no longer see him. There was a flash of light, and when it faded...

"You shall rue the day! I will erase your miserable life from history! When I'm through with you, you will have never existed!"

As Demigra raved, Luffa took note of his transformation. Before, Demigra had looked like a humanoid man with red hair and chalky yellow skin. Now, he had become a hulking brute. Large black spikes protruded from his shoulders, toes and forehead. His fine blue clothes were gone, though his demonic hide was the same color he had worn before. His mouth was filled with sharp, fangs, including a pair of large teeth that jutted up from his lower jaw. Behind him was a thick, muscular tail, similar to the tails she had seen from Frieza's race.

There was no sign of Demigra's scepter, but there was something resembling a red crystal in the center of Demigra's chest, and it was surrounded by a golden lattice that spread across his torso. Luffa wondered if Demigra had somehow absorbed the scepter into his own body to accomplish the transformation.

Despite his more bestial appearance, Demigra's voice had not changed at all. He still spoke in the arrogant, self-assured tones he had always used before. It was somewhat surreal.

"No one who has ever witnessed this form has ever escaped alive. And you... you are no exception!"

In spite of his grim threats, Luffa began to laugh.

"You find this amusing, do you?" Demigra said. "Or perhaps you've already gone mad with terror."

"Oh, I'm mad, all right," she said as she raised her fists. "You think I came here to escape, Demigra? No. I'm here to kill you, no matter what form you take. So let's see what you can do."

As Demigra rushed toward her, Luffa's eyes went wide. Before she could do anything, he struck her face with his massive right hand, and sent her flying into the surrounding crystals. Luffa slammed into one of them with a loud thud.

Demigra followed up with an energy blast, summoning three ki balls that appeared around his shoulders and below his legs. From these, a barrage of ki bolts fired at Luffa, knocking her around like a leaf in a hurricane.

He continued attacking, striking her with a powerful swipe from his left hand, then quickly spinning around to swat her with his tail.

"You're just another monkey brute!" Demigra insisted. "I spent a great deal of time preparing for you, but now that it's finally come to this, I realize I needn't have bothered! With this form, combined with Tokitoki's power, I'm more than a match for you! Looking back on it all, I'm surprised you even made it this far!"

Demigra continued his attack, grabbing Luffa by the head with one hand and punching her in the gut with his right. She cried out with each blow, and Demigra's inhuman lips curled into a satisfied smile.

"I won't leave a speck behind!" he raved. "I will erase you from this world!"

Eventually, he grew bored with this line of attack, and he kicked her away, letting her crash into a nearby crystal before diving after her. Then he slammed into her with incredible force, enough to shatter the surface of the crystal. For a moment, there was a cloud of sparkling fragments around them as Demigra dragged Luffa up by the collar of her black shirt.

"So... Now do you see?" he gloated. "You will vanish without a trace! Forever forgotten!"

With that, he drew back his fist, and it started to glow red as he energized it for a killing blow. Luffa's only response was to wince. And when Demigra finally threw his punch...

Luffa's eyes snapped open.

And she screamed.

Demigra's strike missed her completely. The force of her ki was so intense and so sudden that it deflected his punch and caused him to lose his balance. Demigra began to tumble away from the crystal, and when he regained his bearings, he found Luffa was still standing, and still gathering her power.

"I'm impressed, Demigra," Luffa called out to him. "That new form of yours is a lot stronger than anything you've managed so far. It almost makes up for your predictable movements."

"Don't you dare bluff with me, woman!" Demigra growled. "You are finished, and your false bravado will avail you nothing!"

Luffa's aura suddenly vanished, and she glared up at him. Then she raised her left hand, and curled her fingers inward, daring him to attack.

Demigra did not hesitate, and as he flew toward her, he charged his fist again, and this time, his punch connected...

... with Luffa's open palm. She caught his strike and stopped him cold. There was a sound like thunder upon the impact, and then for a long, awkward moment, they remained still, with Luffa's hand on Demigra's fist.

Then, Demigra finally, stubbornly, tried to push against her. His fist, already glowing red, began to glow brighter. Luffa smiled, then bared her teeth as she pushed back. Her own hand shone like molten iron as she applied greater force.

"You'll see to it that I'm forgotten?" Luffa said as they struggled. "You think that frightens me, Demigra? Erase me from history? Well I'll let you in on a secret: That already happened."

"I'm not talking about your precious legacy, fool!" Demigra said. "I mean to eliminate your very person from existence!"

"But you'll still remember me, won't you, Demigra?" Luffa grunted. "If you can win, that is. You beat me, remake the universe in your image, and have everything your way, but in the quiet hours, you'll still remember the time I knocked you on your ass. Or were you going to erase your own memories along with the rest of it?"

"You'll be gone," he insisted. "And that is all that matters!"

"Wrong," Luffa said with a bitter smile. "You wanted to know what I am, right? Well, I'm a legend. And we legends have a nasty way of sticking around. Even if you could kill me, you still wouldn't be rid of me."

This enraged Demigra, who pushed even harder against Luffa's hand. She did not budge. Instead, she applied more force herself, and flung his hand to one side, leaving him open to an attack. She quickly closed the distance, and drove the point of her elbow into his abdomen.

"Legacy is all I have, Demigra," Luffa said. "Even if it's just your bad dreams, or a lousy movie someone made about me, or the wreckage of my old star-yacht, it's all me. My reputation still counts, even if no one remembers it."

He tried to grab her with his enormous arms, but Luffa slipped through and kicked him in the ribs.

"That's your whole problem, isn't it?" Luffa continued. "At first, I thought I understood your motivation. You wanted to break out of this place and conquer the universe. I can understand that. I know what's it like to be trapped someplace, with nothing to look forward to but a dream of revenge You wanted Tokitoki's power over time, so you took it. You wanted to make yourself a 'Demon God'. Sure, I can relate to ambition. But it's not really ambition, is it? It's just fear. Fear of a universe you can't control."

Demigra spun around and swung his tail at Luffa, but she caught it instead and gripped it tightly in her arms.

"I kind of wondered what your story was, Demigra," Luffa said as she charged her ki again. "Chronoa told me about how you tried to betray the Kaioshin, but she never explained why you did it. But I think I get it now. It doesn't really matter what you were like back then."

Demigra struggled to free himself from her grip, but the best he could do was to swing her around. She refused to let go.

"Something must have changed back then, didn't it?" she asked, unconcerned with the effort of holding on while Demigra flailed her around like a fish caught on a line. "Yeah, you wouldn't be so interested in controlling time unless you had a regret or two in your past. So you found your opportunity, but you blew it, and then you had to wait seventy-five million years to get another chance! And now that you've gotten this far...!"

She applied her power, and came to a stop in midair. Suddenly, Demigra found himself unable to move his tail at all. He couldn't break Luffa's grip, nor could he budge her. And then, with a shrill cry, Luffa moved him, swinging him into the nearest crystal. Then another. And another. The Crack of Time seemed to shudder with each impact.

"What was it, Demigra!" Luffa shouted. "A failed romance? You lost someone important to you? Is there some bridge out there that you desperately wish you could un-burn? I'll bet you don't even remember it yourself! Seventy-five million years is a long time, after all!"

Demigra finally managed to regain control of himself, but as he curled around to remove Luffa from his tail, she held it up to her face and sank her teeth into it. Demigra roared with pain, and while he continued to try to remove her, his movements were now clumsy and unfocused. At last, Luffa released her bite, and backed off to a safe distance.

"You animal!" Demigra shouted.

Luffa simply smiled, offering him a full view of her bloodstained lips and teeth.

"That was for calling me a 'monkey brute'," Luffa said. "I was already furious with you for trying to tempt me with that whole Dorlu Prime thing, Demigra. But you just had to take it to a new low. Well, I was always going to kill you. After that 'second chance' business, I decided I wouldn't bother making it quick. But now...? Now...? Well it's not going to be clean, either."

"When I'm finished with you, you'll--!"

Demigra didn't finish, as Luffa struck him in the gut first. He gasped for breath, and she followed through with an uppercut to his chin.

"You said that already," Luffa said. "You'll 'erase' me, right? That's your answer to everything! Stupid bastard. You're probably thinking about how to reverse what I just did to your tail. Who needs first aid when you can just undo every bad injury you don't like?"

He recovered and went after her again, this time firing a barrage of energy beams at her. Luffa moved between them with breathtaking agility, and she continued to taunt him as she advanced closer to him. Demigra kept firing, but he had to back away to keep to a safe distance.

"You're probably wondering why I let you beat me up right after you transformed," she said. "You're thinking: 'If she's got this kind of speed and power right now, then why didn't she use it from the start?' I'd call that a good question... if it came from a Saiyan child, or an inexperienced fighter. But from a 'Demon God'? It's kind of sad."

She managed to get within twenty meters of Demigra and then vanished completely. Confused, Demigra fired more rapidly, until he noticed Luffa floating directly over his head. Before he could react, she stomped his face, then grabbed the fingers of his right hand and bent them away before he could shoot her.

"It's simple. I needed to get your measure," Luffa explained. "You said everyone else who witnessed this form never escaped alive. I guess you scared them with it, got them so panicked that they couldn't put up a proper defense. But I've already fought you a few times before, so this transformation of yours is the only new trick you've got. I just needed to see how hard you hit, and how all that added bulk affects your movements."

As she said this, Demigra grabbed for her with his left hand, and Luffa twisted and bent the fingers on his right. As they struggled, she pulled his right hand as far from his right side as possible, and Demigra wound up whirling in circles trying to stop her.

Then she broke his index and middle fingers, and the Crack of Time echoed with Demigra's agonized screams.

"You hear that right there?! That's what you should be trying to do to me," Luffa scolded. "Take out my fingers, you take away the Vengeance Cannon, my most dangerous technique. The pain you're feeling now? That's a lesson. So is that bite I took out of your tail. A true Saiyan warrior wouldn't let an opponent isolate a vulnerable spot so easily."

She kicked the back of his neck, and Demigra pitched forward, still cradling his injured fingers in his good hand.

"Of course, I say that, but I'm a damn hypocrite," Luffa said. "The Tikosi beat me down, took me prisoner, and they took my tail apart trying to figure out how it works. You made that little fantasy world for me where you killed them all, and I guess I'm a little grateful for that. But I still remember the pain. I promised myself I'd train my tail even harder than ever after that. Let me show you."

She turned her back to him, and Demigra howled with rage at her blatant disrespect. To his credit, he thought ahead before attacking. Instead of rushing at her back, as she clearly intended for him to try, he flew within a few meters, then sharply cut to his right, circling around to strike from a different angle. Again, to his credit, he attacked with his right arm, despite the broken fingers. He refused to be intimidated by the pain she had caused him.

Luffa was still one step ahead. She deflected his strike with her left forearm, then spun like a top, maneuvering away, then around Demigra before kicking him in the knee. As he recovered from this strike, she leapfrogged over him, and in the moment when they were back-to-back, she lashed out with her tail.

There was a loud snapping sound, like the crack of a bullwhip, and Demigra went careening across the expanse of his former prison. A crystal stopped him, and as he recovered from the attack, he kept his arms behind his back, probing for the wound Luffa had made.

"You could do a lot more with that tail of yours," Luffa said. "As thick as it is, you must have more muscle mass than mine, and you're no slouch when it comes to raw power. I bet you could take my head off with that thing, but you've never really trained for anything like that. You've never needed to. You've never lost anything that you couldn't recover with some time-manipulating trick."

"You don't know anything about me!" Demigra shouted. He fired another energy blast at Luffa, and she avoided it, slipping around to respond with her own ki blasts.

"I can see it in how you fight," Luffa said. "You move like someone who's never really tasted defeat. Even when you were trapped here, you saw it as a temporary setback, or even an opportunity. Your ego couldn't let you admit failure, much less learn from it."

Demigra couldn't avoid her bombardment, she he crossed his arms over his body and weathered the storm. When the golden explosions all faded, he found Luffa waiting for him with a boot to the face.

"Then you have me. I've got so many losses I don't know where to start. You know, the Old Heroes of Saiyan Legend were supposed to be invincible, but that's just a corny joke. We Saiyans get stronger from defeat, so why would the Old Heroes be any different? And even if I were an exception, I've seen the same thing happen with the others. Kakarot, Trunks, Vegeta, they all had to rise up from humiliation to claim victory. That's how we Super Saiyans grow. But you're afraid to grow, Demigra, and that's why you'll never beat me!"

Demigra pulled himself together and put his left hand over his jaw as he caught his breath. Luffa simply glared at him with a self-satisfied grin.

"Is that really what you think?" Demigra asked. Then he began to chuckle.

"Something funny about this?" Luffa asked as she crossed her arms.

"If I'm so doomed to defeat, Luffa," Demigra asked, "then why am I still alive?"

"You're a tough bastard, I'll admit," Luffa said, "but don't get cocky about this. I'm just making sure you suffer as much as possible before I finish you off."

"Is that right?" Demigra scoffed. "It seems to me that you've forgotten about the other front in this conflict. Remember the Time Vault?"

"I already took care of that," Luffa said. "Kakarot can save the Time Nest while I rip you into pieces."

"Can he?" Demigra asked. "I fought you both, Luffa, and while I admit that you've overpowered me here, I found Son Goku's strength to be somewhat less impressive."

"He was holding back, idiot," Luffa said. "He fought you in base form to study your movements. Not my style, but you're a fool to think he was going all out."

"Oh I would never presume such a thing," Demigra said. "But I do think I have a good estimation of his power level on the date he came from. Why do you think I chose that date to attack West City? That was a distraction to keep you busy while I conquered Toki Toki City. If Goku had been too powerful, it would have ruined everything."

"You're babbling, Demigra," Luffa said. "You never expected Chronoa to recruit Kakarot to help us fight you. His power will be more than enough to save the Time Vault."

"You haven't been very impressed with my transformation so far," Demigra said, gesturing to himself. "I admit, I've given a poor performance, but perhaps you might not judge me so harshly when you consider how much power I put into that attack on the Time Vault."

"What's your point, Demigra?" Luffa demanded.

"My point is that I've been fighting two monkey brutes at the same time," Demigra said. "And if it's taking you this long to kill me, then I think it's fair to assume that Goku is no match for the energy blast I left with him. Perhaps you should have stayed behind to help him."

"You're full of it, Demigra," Luffa said. "Kakarot will prevail. I'm sure of it."

"And what if he doesn't?" Demigra asked. "You might win here, but there will be nothing left for you to return to. I, on the other hand, don't need to defeat you, Luffa. I only have to outlast you. And from what I've experienced so far... that seems like a reasonable task."

Luffa had no answer for that. There was nothing she could say. And so she simply attacked.

*******

[21 April, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

When Demigra finally escaped from the Crack of Time, the first thing he did was to invade Toki Toki City. Using his magic to contaminate the city's water supply, the Time Patrollers became infected with an insidious mind control spell, and they turned on one another in a terrible battle that nearly ruined the city.

Eventually, the fighting died down, as only Trunks was left in any shape to fight, and Demigra pitted him against Luffa. When Trunks fell, Luffa battled Demigra himself, and then Goku arrived to assist. Then the action moved to the Time Vault, where Goku was struggling to save it from Demigra's deadly energy blast.

Throughout this crisis, a number of Majin Time Patrollers lay asleep in their beds, their hibernation cycles leaving them oblivious to the danger around them. The rest of them had been worn down from the fighting, and Chronoa had teleported them to another world to keep Demigra from using them as hostages.

Then there was one other Time Patroller. Known only by a number, 44 was a humble file clerk in the administration office of Toki Toki City. Unsure of how to respond to the citywide riots, she fled to Luffa's apartment. There was no sensible reason for her to have done this. It was simply that 44 didn't know where else to go, and though she knew Luffa would not be there, it gave her some small comfort to know she was in Luffa's home. All 44 found was Luffa's Majin roommate Jayncho, who slept soundly in her bed. For a time, the teenage girl sat on the floor and waited. When the fighting stopped, and she could sense no activity in the city, she continued to wait, hoping for some sign that it would be safe to come out.

But there was none, and eventually 44's fear gave way to frustration. Whatever comfort she had taken from Luffa's apartment felt hollow as she waited for an all-clear sign that never seemed to come. She felt ashamed of herself for hiding, even though she knew it was the smart thing to do.

And so, at last, 44 rose to her feet and resolved to take her chances outside. If the streets were truly deserted, then there could be no danger, and at least she could find a way to call for help. 44 did not know how to make such a call, or where to send it, but she preferred to find that out on her own than to wait in silence. Eventually, Jayncho and the other Majins would awaken, and they could help her.

As 44 made her way through the city, she found only damaged buildings and clouds of dust and smoke where the Time Patrollers had fought. The great hourglass that had loomed over the center of the city was shattered, with large shards of crystal and great brazen cogs lying all around. She could sense ki signatures, but found none. At last, she came to the archway that led to the Time Nest. There was a glowing white portal in the arch, which rippled liked the surface of a placid lake, impossibly standing vertically.

44 had never been to the Time Nest before. It was a restricted part of the city, and she lacked the proper authorization to enter. She had never had much interest in seeing what was inside. She knew the Supreme Kai of Time carried out her divine work in that place, and important Time Patrollers like Trunks and Luffa assisted her there. That was enough for 44. It was their business, and she was content to leave them to it.

But now, as she stood at the portal, she wondered if anyone was still on the other side. Her senses could not perceive beyond the veil, and she had no way of knowing if the Time Nest was secure. Was the fighting still going on? Was there anyone inside at all?

Was Luffa there?

The uncertainty was what spurred her to step through the portal. She couldn't bear the suspense, or the eerie silence of the empty city. For some reason, she held her breath when she crossed the threshold, and mentally prepared herself to take a step back into the city at the first sign of trouble.

When she emerged on the other side, she found a large building, like a temple, with an even bigger tree growing out of the roof. It was surrounded by a spacious lawn that might have looked like a park, if not for all the craters and rubble strewn across it. There had been fighting here as well.

But what caught 44's immediate attention was a tremendous Saiyan power coming from inside the Time Vault. She had sensed it before, shortly after Luffa and Trunks had fought in the city. And there was another large energy as well. It felt... awful.

It was Demigra. It had to be.

She could feel her pulse quicken as she gasped for breath. A Saiyan was fighting Demigra inside the Time Vault. She did not know much about the Time Vault, except that it somehow contained all of history. A battle inside the Time Vault seemed like a very dangerous idea. Every fiber of 44's being told her to run and hide. There was nothing she could do here.

And, to her surprise, 44 found herself walking towards the Time Vault. Not every fiber of her being, it seemed, wanted her to run. To this part of herself, another part seemed to be telling her:

"You already ran and hid. And if this turns out as badly as you think it might, if all of history gets destroyed, then were can you possibly hope to flee?"

That part of 44 led her to the doorway of the Vault, and to a grand stairway that led to the atrium below. There, she found a Super Saiyan man in orange clothes, struggling with all his might to hold back an energy ball that glowed with a sinister purple light. Black lightning crackled across its surface, occasionally lashing out at the walls and ceiling.

It was Son Goku. It had to be. She had read the files on him, seen images of him all over Toki Toki City, but she had never sensed his ki before. It was very much like Luffa's, but with a distinct signature all his own.

Nearby, she saw the Supreme Kai of time, doing something with her outstretched hands. She was trying to help Goku, that much was clear, but it didn't seem to be enough. And near her feet lay Trunks, the leader of the Time Patrol. He appeared to be out cold.

"Rrrgghh! Dammit!" Goku shouted. "It's no good! I didn't realize Demigra had this kind of power!"

"He doesn't!" Chronoa said. "He's only able to do this kind of thing because of the power he absorbed from Tokitoki!"

"I hope Luffa's doin' better than I am right about now," Goku said. "I'm starting to think she shouldn't have been in such a hurry... to follow him like that! If he can generate this kind of an attack...!"

"Just hang in there!" Chronoa said. "If she wins, maybe she can come back and help you out!"

"No!" Goku said. "No, that's not how this is gonna go!"

He clenched his teeth, and grunted as his ki increased. His Super Saiyan aura thundered around the edges of Demigra's energy ball, like hurricane winds buffeting an island. The ball did not move, but Goku's expression seemed more self-assured.

"I won't lose!" he shouted. "If she can beat Demigra by herself, then we can handle this on our own! I just need a little more power! Just a little more!"

From the top of the stair, 44 did not like the sound of any of this. Goku was doing his best, but the power he was fighting against was so intense, and if his mighty strength wasn't enough, and Luffa was gone, then what chance was there?

And then, as if in answer to her question, she noticed Trunks slowly rising to his feet.

"Let me help you, Goku!" he said as he staggered towards him. When Trunks was close enough, he placed his hand on Goku's shoulder. "Take as much of my power as you need!"

"Trunks!" Chronoa said with a frightened gasp. "But you were out cold!"

"I couldn't get much sleep... Not with all that racket you guys were making," Trunks said. "I'm a mess right now, so I can't help you fight, but I can do this much at least."

"Don't do it, Trunks!" Goku said. "I can sense how exhausted you are."

"Heh. You're a great guy, Goku," Trunks said wearily, "but I think I finally see why my father gets so annoyed with you. Use your head! If I don't help you now, there won't be a 'later'. Besides, this is Time Patrol business, so this is no time for me to save my strength! I won't stand by and watch everyone else fight without me."

With a pained grunt, Trunks transformed, although he was too weak to maintain a stable Super Saiyan form. His hair kept flashing back and forth between its normal lavender and a gleaming gold.

"Luffa used this trick to help you out in another mission," Trunks said. "You don't remember it, but I do. She gave you a boost when Demigra was controlling Majin Buu. If it worked for her, then it should work for me."

Above, 44 could sense Goku getting stronger. Trunks' power was flowing into Goku's body, and it was helping, but she couldn't tell if it was enough to make a difference.

"Trunks, that's enough!" Goku said. Even as he felt the power entering his body, he could sense Trunks' own body weakening.

"Focus on what you're doing, Goku!" Trunks said. "We've got to stop Demigra here or we're all done for! I don't care what it takes! I'll sacrifice everything I have! My power, my health, my life! All of it!"

"Do as he says, Goku!" Chronoa added. "Trunks is right. We have to pull out all the stops."

"All right," Goku said. "If you guys think it's that bad, then I'll do everything I can!"

And so he did, but it still wasn't enough. Eventually, Trunks collapsed again, and while Goku made good use of the power he had received from him, he still could not dispel Demigra's attack.

"This isn't working!" Goku shouted. "Trunks had the right idea, but we need more power! Isn't there anyone else from the Time Patrol?"

"No," Chronoa said. "I had to move them to a different planet to keep Demigra from controlling them. They're all beaten up anyway."

"Rrrgh! There must be something we can do!" Goku growled. "We can't let it end like this! We can't!"

"Maybe I can help."

It was a small, uncertain voice that echoed through the atrium of the Time Vault. She almost didn't recognize herself as she spoke. She wasn't sure what had compelled her to descend the stair, and to approach them while they struggled. Goku didn't recognize her, but Chronoa did.

"Number 44?" Chronoa gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I... it would take too long to explain," 44 said. "I thought Luffa would be here, so I came to find her."

"She was here a little while ago," Goku said, "but she followed Demigra through a portal! But if we can't stop this thing from blowin' us up, we won't be able to help her!"

"Then... Okay," 44 said. "I'll try."

She approached Goku and put her hand on his shoulder, just as Trunks had done before.

"I'm just a clerk," she said. "I'm not much of a fighter. I'm not much of... well..."

She knew some fundamental ki techniques. Luffa had even challenged her to accompany her own a few of the easier Time Patrol missions, and 44 had managed to hold her own against foes like Raditz and the Saibamen. She wasn't completely helpless, but she had no interest in combat. And in spite of that, Luffa had taken a liking to her anyway.

As 44 projected her ki into Goku's body, she shook her head. It was no mystery at all, really. She knew exactly what it was that had compelled her to leave Luffa's apartment, what drew her to the Time Vault, and now to Goku's side. Physically, 44 supposed she was no closer to Luffa than she had been in Jayncho's bedroom.

But spiritually, she knew she was exactly where Luffa would have wanted her to be.

In spite of 44's uncertainty about her power, it seemed to make a great difference. As she applied her own strength, Goku began to rally. The energy ball started to budge in the opposite direction, and Goku straightened his arms to push it back instead of merely holding it at bay.

"That's it!" he shouted. "We're doing it!"

Had it really been that simple? She wondered if that was all it took. Just one more Time Patroller to turn the tide. And as she felt a surge of exhiliration, her knees began to wobble.

"I... I don't know if I can keep this up," 44 said. The strain of giving her energy to Goku was starting to take its toll.

"You're doing great, 44!" Goku said. "Just hang on a little longer!"

"But... what if I--?"

"You've... got to hold firm..." Trunks said. He slowly rose to one knee, and took 44's other hand in his own. "You're... you're not alone. We're all in this together..."

"Trunks!" Chronoa called out.

"I'm not finished!" Trunks said. "I... refuse to let Demigra have his way... You hear me, Demigra! I am Trunks!"

As little power as 44 and Trunks were able to provide, it gave Goku the boost he needed. His muscles tensed as he applied his ki to Demigra's fireball, and with a sharp cry, he forced the ball in upon itself. The fireball convulsed and shuddered like a living thing, fighting back every step along the way, but Goku did not relent. At last, he screamed, and the energy blast finally collapsed and dissipated into thin air. There was a powerful gust of wind, and then at last, the Time Vault was silent, and the harsh purple light gave way to a soothing darkness, illuminated by the yellow glow of Goku's Super Saiyan aura.

"Did... did we do it?" 44 asked.

"I think... I think so," Trunks said.

"What do you think, Supreme Kai of Time?" Goku asked as he caught his breath. His hair turned black as he dropped back into his normal state. The Time Vault grew darker, lit only by a few working light fixtures along the walls. He began to rub the muscles on his arms as he looked at her with a hopeful expression. "Did we stop him?"

Chronoa looked around at the Time Vault for a moment, as though searching the walls for an answer. At last, she turned back to them and smiled.

"Yes, I think we're safe for now" she said. "But as long as Demigra still has Tokitoki, he can always come back and try this again. It's up to Luffa now."

44 wasn't sure if she was relieved to hear this or not.

*******

[21 April, Age 850. The Crack of Time.]

"You think it changes anything? Are you that delusional?!"

Luffa was speeding across the Crack of Time, zipping past Demigra without actually touching him. At first, he would raise his arms to defend himself, or try to shoot her with a ki blast as she approached, but he soon realized this wasn't worth the effort. Instead, he tried to study her movements, hoping to anticipate when she would actually strike.

As she shouted at him, her voice echoed throughout the Crack of Time.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe Kakarot isn't strong enough to save the Time Vault. Maybe the universe will be destroyed no matter what happens here. Then what? You think I'll lose my nerve? You think I'll surrender, and beg you to let me go back to that time fragment you made? Idiot!"

"You don't have much other choice, Luffa," Demigra said. "The only way out of this place is through me, and I don't intend to be gracious in victory. Not anymore. Not after all the trouble you've caused me."

"You think I chased you here with an exit strategy?" Luffa shouted as he zipped past him again. "The only plan here is the one where I kill you, Demigra. I may never get out of this place alive, but I promise that you will definitely die here. One way or another, this is where it ends. Are you ready?"

"Pathetic," Demigra scoffed. "After all of this, I would have thought you capable of more than childish threats. All you're doing now is trying to bait me, Luffa. Moving in an obvious pattern, waiting for me to attack at the opportune moment so you can spring some desperate trap. You talk about growth, but you still haven't learned to understand what makes me worthy of Tokitoki's power. Here in the Crack of Time, patience is the only virtue, and time has ever been on my side."

Then, suddenly, she stopped flying past him. Demigra expected something to happen next, but instead, there was only the quiet hum of the crystals in the Crack of Time. The yellow flashes of Luffa's movements was gone. And its place was... laughter.

Demigra looked around to find her, but could not. Her ki was everywhere, making it impossible to track her by her energy. It was then that he realized that he had misinterpreted her strategy. She wasn't luring him into attacking. She was using her ki in as many places as possible to mask her presence.

"You made this personal, Demigra," Luffa called out to him from everywhere at once. "I was always going to kill you, just out of loyalty to Chronoa. But then you nearly blew up my hand. Then you pissed off Lord Beerus, and he tasked me with destroying you on his behalf. Then you turned Trunks against me with your mind control tricks, and then you nearly convinced me to throw away my principles for a phony second chance at life."

Demigra looked around for the source of her voice, but in vain. Then, at last, he sensed her approaching him from behind, and he whirled around to face her...

... and that was when he noticed something grabbing his tail.

Demigra looked back, and found Luffa's face, but it was not Luffa at all. Rather, it was one of her exploding ki ghosts.

It was not the sight of the ghost itself that filled Demigra with dread. It wasn't even the realization that they explode on contact, or that it had crept up behind him without his noticing. Even the explosion itself wasn't what truly terrified him. As the blast seared the flesh of his tail and scalded the rest of his skin, Demigra knew that this was only the beginning.

As he reeled from the blast, something clipped knee from behind, and that produced an explosion as well. His instincts told him to withdraw to some safe location, but there was none. Luffa's ki was in every direction, and he had no idea where the next attack would come from.

"I was actually going to do it, you know," Luffa said from the shadows. "I was seriously going to make a go of it in that world, and let you have your way. It sickens me to admit it. You took my grief and tried to corrupt me with it."

Several ghosts now flew around him like tiny missiles zipping past him at oblique angles. They moved in the same patterns Luffa had been using earlier, but it did Demigra no good. Even though he could anticipate their movements, he had no idea what order they would attack in. As it turned out, none of them attacked at all. They were a diversion.

Something tackled him from behind, and Demigra expected another explosion, but this one was heavier than the ghosts. He could smell Luffa now, the real one this time. Her Saiyan sweat was unmistakable in the pristine air of the Crack of Time. But knowing she was there didn't do him any good now. She had grabbed both of his arms and pulled them backward while she pressed her knee into his spine. It made no sense to him, for she didn't have the reach to do such a thing, and then she heard her voice.

"Let me explain your biggest mistakes, Demigra," she said. It was the same woman, but her voice was heavier and gruffer than before. There was something different about her ki, now that he could sense it up close. She had transformed somehow, gotten larger.

"Your first was getting banished to the Crack of Time in the first place," she growled. The tension on Demigra's shoulders was incredible. He did not cry out, though he wanted to very badly.

"The Supreme Kai of Time is a really nice lady," Luffa explained. "You threw her friendship in the trash, and that was a foolish move. She should have killed you for your treachery, but she showed mercy. Then you escaped from the Crack of Time. Your second mistake."

At last, she released her hold on Demigra and he tumbled clear of her. Now that he could see Luffa, Demigra realized that she had assumed a different version of the Super Saiyan form. Her body was much larger and more muscular, and her hair and aura had a greenish tint to them. Her eyes glowed solid white, and she was stalking towards him with a twisted grin on her face.

"See, if you would have just stayed in this rathole," Luffa said, "then you never would have met me. And that leads into your third mistake."

Demigra tried to fight back, but Luffa suddenly flew right into him and when they were chest to chest, she suddenly generated a green ki attack from her torso and detonated it, flinging him away like an errant branch in a tornado.

She wasn't as fast in this form, Demigra noticed. And she was weaker as well. It was as though she had only used it for the reach it provided. For a moment, he considered how to exploit that to his advantage, when she was suddenly on top of him again, bending his legs around her own.

"Your third mistake was coming back to the Crack of Time," she thundered. "You thought you'd be safe here in your little prison. But it's not a prison at all, Demigra, not the way I look at it."

She cinched in her latest jointlock and Demigra howled from the pain. She had already softened up his knees, and now she was following up on that. But that wasn't all. As she reared back on his legs, the ki ghosts were still zipping around them, and they began to maneuver into position. Demigra could sense their power intensifying.

"This isn't a prison, Demigra," Luffa said with a cackle. "And it's not a refuge either. No, for those of us in the mercenary business, this place is what we call a kill box."

Suddenly the ghosts all pointed their arms at Demigra and fired ki blasts at his head and torso. Luffa did not release him, and he was forced to defend his upper body even while his legs were being twisted out of frame. Demigra's tail swung helplessly in the middle, having been reduced to little more than a bloody mess.

When it was over, Luffa released Demigra and flung him into the nearest crystal. Before he could recover, she gestured to the ghosts, and they all flew at him en masse, producing a tremendous explosion.

And despite all of this, Demigra was still alive. His monstrous form was beaten and bloodied, but it had proven tough enough to withstand Luffa's onslaught. He needed to recuperate, but he knew that there was no chance for him to use his spell to reverse the flow of time around his injuries. He had used that trick once too often in Toki Toki City, and Luffa had learned to counter it by attacking another body part while he was reversing damage elsewhere.

If he could hide from her, for only a few minutes, then he might be able to heal himself, but she had already ensured that was impossible. She was right. The Crack of Time was proving to be more of a liability to him than he ever imagined.

"Still alive, huh?" Luffa asked. "Well that's pretty impressive, Demigra. Maybe I haven't given you enough credit."

She shrank down to her normal size, and her power suddenly increased to its former intensity. All around him, the Crack of Time was bathed in a terrifying yellow glow. In that moment, Demigra felt despair. The sudden rise in her energy reminded him of just how powerful she was, and how weakened he had become from the damage he had sustained so far.

His only chance was to go on the offensive. If he could hit her just once, he could slip out of her line of sight, and find a few seconds to undo his wounds. In his panic, Demigra could not objectively consider this hasty plan, but it was all he had left.

He charged his ki into his right hand, and it glowed with red flame as he prepared to attack. His broken fingers were a problem, but he shut out the pain as he launched himself at her. He would buy himself an opening, or he would fail. There was no other choice. He had to succeed.

Luffa saw him coming and stood her ground. She smiled.

"Seventy-five million years," she said. "All that plotting and planning, and it all comes down to a frontal assault. Beautiful."

She charged her own ki and raised her left hand up to her head as she prepared to fire. "This is too good for you, Demigra. Too quick. But what the hell? Let's put an end to this. Vengeance Cannon."

She pointed her fingers at him and fired a crimson beam at his forehead. Demigra flung his right hand ahead of him, and the power he had built up was enough to resist the beam. She managed to slow him down, but she hadn't stopped him. The pain in his broken fingers was excruciating now, but he still had a chance. His left arm was relatively unscathed, and if he could just make use of it while she was focused on his right, then he could find an opportunity...

But as he brought his left arm forward to attack, Luffa responded by bringing out her right, and she pointed her fingers at him and screamed.

The second beam of crimson light lanced out from her right hand and into his left, and suddenly Demigra was back where he started. It was a standoff, except his broken fingers put him at a profound disadvantage.

"You weren't expecting me to shoot two of these at once, did you?" Luffa called out, her voice trembling as she spoke. "I...I still haven't gotten used to doing this little stunt! I improvised it during a scrap with Lord Beerus, when he was testing me to see if I had what it took to kill you. So I guess it's appropriate, huh?"

He had no idea. Demigra had studied Luffa's battles in preparation for this day, but he hadn't been privy to everything she had done while training in Toki Toki City. Had he miscalculated that badly? As he struggled to push forward, he realized that he had already lost whatever initiative this attack would have given him. Luffa was unsteady, but there was no way for him to capitalize on it. It was all he could do to hold back her power.

"You lose, Demigra!" Luffa shouted. "I may die in this place, but not before you! Now... fall!"

The next few seconds were sheer agony for Demigra. At last, his right arm faltered from the pain of his broken bones, and Luffa's Vengeance Cannon tore through him like a spearhead through gelatin. His left arm was next, and the second Vengeance Cannon passed through his body on a similar trajectory. The resulting damage left Demigra completely immobilized. For a moment, he floated in the Crack of Time, utterly helpless.

There was nothing left he could do. Every careful scheme, every strategy, all the power at his disposal. It had all led to this moment. All of his preparation had been for nothing.

Then Luffa prepared a Gallick Gun. Demigra knew the technique well. If he had been able-bodied, he could have defended against it. As it was, he could only dread its execution, and wonder how it had all gone so wrong, so quickly.

The purple light of the Gallick Gun washed over him like a tidal wave, and Demigra's body began to disintegrate.

"Impossible!" he wailed as the end finally came. "I am a god! I have become... a god!"

Then, finally, Demigra was gone. His last words of protest echoed in the Crack of Time, then faded away.

Luffa was alone. And as she considered her situation, she noticed something happening in the expanse of the Crack of Time. She was never certain of what the Crack of Time really was. It might have been a cavern of crystals, or simply an endless void. But now, in every direction she looked, there appeared white fissures, as though the Crack of Time itself was beginning to... fracture.

"Oh, great," she muttered to herself. "This place was Demigra's prison, and now that he's dead, it doesn't serve any purpose, so it's self-destructing. Well, it saves me the hassle of starving to death, I guess."

As the Crack of Time began its collapse, Luffa looked around for some possibility of escape. Then she noticed something else. It was a small, glowing orb, no larger than a dinner roll. As it floated toward her, she realized it had come from the spot where Demigra had been before his body was destroyed.

Instinctively, Luffa reached out for the orb. She did not know for certain what it was, though she suspected that it was too important to ignore. And just as she touched it, it transformed, becoming a large bird.

"Tokitoki?" Luffa gasped with surprise. In her fury, she had almost forgotten that Demigra had absorbed the divine bird, and that they were still merged together when she killed him. "Then... You survived all of that?"

The Divine Tokitoki Bird stretched out his wings and made a loud warble. Luffa wasn't sure what to say. Fortunately, there was no need for words. The divine bird knew exactly what to do. He flapped his wings and began to flutter around Luffa in tight circles. And as Luffa watched Tokitoki in confusion, the Crack of Time began to fade away, as the two of them were transported to someplace else.

Luffa had a feeling she knew where they were going, though she was too tired to think about it. For the moment, any destination would be an improvement.

NEXT: Aftermath.

[pigeocore]

Are we fucking with Dethklok mom headcannons? Idk I have some very specific thoughts about Murderface and Toki's moms. More very long but fun info under the cut

Tammy was born and grew up in the same trailer park that her son would ultimatly inhabit. She was a louzy student, didn't care about grades, loved skipping school and there wasn't a single class she didn't spend chatting with the other girls. No suprise that she ultimatly dropped out of high school. For a while she worked odd jobs to justify Stella not kicking her out of the trailer up until she was a young adult. That's when she found her new purpouse: to become a star. She moved to the big city with big hopes and dreams, sighned up to every audition possible for pretty much everything, ready to take the hearts of Americans by storm. Anyway she quit that two months in because it was too much work and got hired as a waitress instead.

Murderface's dad, who I don't feel like giving a name to, was a regular at a diner that Tammy woked at. He was a middle class guy, a few years older than her with a relativly good job and a wife. He saw something in her and soon enough, Tammy became the other woman in his relationship. Although their affair wasn't strictly limited to intercourse, anything other than that was rather messy and the two were constaly on again and off again. That is until Tammy got pregnant and in a suprising decision, Murderface's dad decided to step up. He divorced his previous wife and married her instead, turning her from a poor waitress to a full-on picket fence housewife, something that he'd come to quickly regret. Their relationship started falling apart pretty much immidietly. When they weren't having screaming maches or mediocre sex, they didn't talk at all. He'd spend the whole day working or sitting in front of the TV drinking and she'd tend to the house. This tension was what would ultimatly lead him to commit the infamous murder-suicide.

Now, Tammy was not good at her job. In fact, she kinda sucked. Her cooking was terrible, she'd constantly half-ass any task she was given and would not take any criticism. Still, it was at least good enough to not make the house explode. Her not being nor striving to be the picture-perfect housewife was what ended up alienating her from a lot of other women around her. Still, she didn't care about fitting in with those girls, she saw the as "pompous bitches" and continued doing her thing

A lot of that attitude also carried over to her parenting. She was very irresponsible, although most of her behaviour stemed from lack of knowlage rather than anything purpouseful. Tammy was totally the kind of mom to leave her baby alone in the car while she went shopping or let it crawl around the house unsupervised. Once again, she would not take ANY criticism about her parenting techniques. Still, she did geniuanly love Willy a lot for what it was worth. Her son ment the world to her and god forbid anyone call him ugly. Whenever her husband, who unlike her had a lot of distaste for their baby, tried to say anything on the matter she'd fight him until the neighbours were calling the cops due to noise complains

She also had a bit of a morbid side to her. She loved violent movies and would sneak into grindhouse theaters on occassions, especially when she was younger. Truly a shame she died before Texas Chainsaw Massacre came out. She would've been ecstatic to hear her son joined a death metal band, although I don't think she would've supported all of his shenanigans.

Also she looks like Murderface because I think it would be really funny if he just looked like every woman in his family lol

Anna, nicknamed Andzia by her family was born in the polish region of lubelszczyzna in a fictional village of Jagiellonki Książęce Kościelne trzecie A-Kolonia. It was the kind of village where there was nothing except a church, roadside shrine and a few homes. Her family were farmers, she spend a good chunk of her childhood picking fruits and tending to farm animals.

In school, she was considered an excellent student, both due to her behaviour and preformance. She was very quiet and well behaved, always stuck in her own little world and never getting in any trouble. She also had really good grades. Andzia especially excelled at language learning, something that'd come to be very useful for her in the future. She wasn't very interested in persuing an academic career though and cared more about other stuff, including helping her parents around the farm

Another thing she cared about very deeply was her religion. She went to mass every sunday, pray every day before going to bed, took part in every possible church activity and even sung in the church choir. She was proud of being a christian, always looking for ways to become even more devoted. However, she wasn't always the nicest about her belifs and tended to secretly judge other christians who did less than her

Andzia met her future husband through complete coincidence. They both happend to be on seprate pilgrimages to the same holy site, it was tradition in Aslaug's cult that before taking the role of the reverend the man must go on a spiritual journey for one last time. The two just kinda bumped into eachoter and ended up clicking. Andzia saw Aslung's belifs as a way for her to become an even better christian and Aslaug saw her as a good fit for a wife. She stayed with him after her group departed from the site and within a month, the two were engaged and organizing a way for her to leave Poland. Andzia came to Norway and officially joined the cult through marrige a few months later, something that would've probably happend sooner if leaving Poland through less legal means at the time was a bit easier. She took the name Anja Wartooth in order to assimilate better into her new Norwegian family. Toki was born a year later

I know a lot of people like to headcannon Anja as a victim of abuse in the same way that Toki was, but I personally see her as someone who was very much complicit in her son's treatment. Although I don't think Aslaug was the best husband to her, she still treated Toki just as badly as he did and though she now thinks she may have sometimes went bit too far, she doesn't really see herself as in the wrong

Overall her and Toki's relationship is not good. TLDR: She always saw him as a dissapointment and if she could, she would've had other kids to replace him with (Unfortunatly she and her husband didn't have any luck conceving again, which they blamed on Toki too for some reason). He on the other hand really wants to love her but can't help but rightfully feel resentful and hate her for all she did to him

Despite that, Anja cared enough for her son to teach him a bit of polish and some facts about their culture. Toki then continued learning from the polish books she brought with her from back home (He didn't have much to do inbetween work, praying and punishments) and actually ended up being almost fluent in it at some point. Currently he has gone rusty but still knows enough to read some signs and order some beer at the bar, which was enough to impress the band at their first international tour

One last fun fact: As you can guess, Aslaug's cult dennounced the pope which was really hard on Anja because like every polish person at the time she fucking loved John Paul II. He was her secret true love/celebrity crush, despite everything she secretly kept a picture of him in her room. When she discovered he died somewhere during the events of Dethfam she was DEVISTATED. Toki on the other hand is a rzułta morda meme connosiour.

[ultimat3-lif3form]

Shadow… Shadow…

*ahem*

Do you listen to Japenese City pop often?

please help I’ve been listening to this shit for nearly a week straight and I can’t stop, it has me in a chokehold rn

Stay with me Mayonaka no doa o tataki Kaeranaide to naita Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae Stay with me Kuchiguse wo ii nagara Futari no toki wo daite Mada wasurezu Daiji ni shite ita

It comes across my playlists pretty often, I need more, though. Something about it is so.... not nostalgic, but a secret third option.

[didalexiabreakupwitholgaisback]

unrelated to the whole language conversation haha

if I'm planning a trip to bcn/the catalan region of spain in the summer (june-julyish) what are some must see things & what are some catalan foods that I should try? (particularly as someone who doesn't eat any red meat)

so other than barcelona, you should try and make a trip to montserrat, girona as well as go see the little villages on the costa brava. 🥰

for barcelona, here's my run-down for first-timers:

barça sights - camp nou is still under construction but you can still visit the barça museum and the store there is the biggest to get any gear.

art and architecture - visit the famous architect gaudí's masterpieces. sagrada família, casa batlló, la pedrera, and park güell are the most famous ones (you'll need to get tickets ahead of time). i also like domènech i montaner, who designed a lot of famous buildings around barcelona including the hospital of sant pau and palau de la música catalana. pro-tip: the palau has a cute cafe inside that is free to visit with good, cheap coffee and you can see some of the architecture without paying the entrance fee.

the beach! - you can't visit barcelona without going to the beach. barceloneta is the most famous one, but it can get a bit touristy and crowded, so if you can go up to the beaches in the castelldefels area, all the better.

historic sites around town - go to the gothic quarter, el born, la rambla. see the arc de triomf and take a stroll in the parc de la ciutadella.

shopping and eats - l'eixample is the place to go. not just for tapas but all types of cute restaurants too!

for day trips from barcelona, you could go to montserrat and visit the monastery there that all the players go to for good luck! the medieval town of girona is really cute and walkable. but my favourite is the costa brava. there are so many little villages where you can eat fresh seafood on the water and just enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere. and if you like salvador dalí, his museum is also on the coast.

as for catalan food, there's so much seafood, so not eating red meat is no problem. fideuà is a popular noodle dish with seafood (it's like our version of paella). but we also have rice dishes with seafood too. pa amb tomàquet (tomato bread) is available for every meal and you can put whatever you want on it. tortilla de patatas is amazing. we have tons of restaurants with fresh caught grilled or fried fish and seafood like prawns, octopus, razor clams, etc.

thanks so much, anon! 🫶 amc is a fan favourite among barça fans and we all wish she had a better farewell with the club (the way she was shown the door still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth...) but we all are waiting for her to open a cafe in barcelona once she retires!

so that sounds like a fantastic summer trip. basque country is one of the best places to visit in spain and the food is arguably the best in spain. you can't leave either city without doing pintxos tour (think tapas). pro-tip: they have pintxos on display in many restaurants, but they also have a menu where you can order too. make sure you check out the menu as each place has different ones made fresh to order!

bilbao:

pintxos and more pintxos - i like gure toki, motrikes, el globo, la viña del ensanche.

for a nicer meal - try lasai restaurante or etxanobe if you want to splurge. (there are plenty of michelin star restaurants in basque country but i have found them more affordable than other cities in europe!)

donostia:

pintxos: gandarias, atari, ganbara

hope this helps!

[tokiro07]

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2025, Issue #3: Haunted Walk Week

Yozakura: Kyoichiro uses his True Blooming to save Taiyo; the family forgives Taiyo for hiding his suicide plan from them, but they tease and tickle him as punishment. This is the kind of scene where Yozakura is at its strongest, when the whole family is together, I really missed them

Undead Unluck: We see the very beginning of the Earth and learn that Sun and Luna were once defeated by...something, either other Gods or a previous creation of theirs; the Union all shout out for Fuuko's attention to show how much they love her, charging up The Heart with memories to unleash the Greatest Stroke of Unluck. UU is the Friendship Manga of All Time

Roboco: The city is attacked by a Giant Roboco from Outer Space!...or...Mutated by Radiation!...or Flushed Down the Toilet...?! It occurs to me that Roboco is soon to be the oldest running manga in Jump after One Piece, and no shade, but I don't think I care for that

Sakamoto: Shin learns that he can overclock his brain to slow down his perception of time and defeats Tenkyu; dismayed at the realization that after everything, he still has no qualms with killing, Shin mourns his failure to live as a normal, good person and prepares to finish off Tenkyu, only to be stopped by Sakamoto. Absolutely fascinating breakdown of Shin's character, I'm so much more invested in him now

EluSam: Tokiyuki shares a drink with Sadamune and admits he thinks of him as a father, though this upsets Sadamune specifically because everyone that Tokiyuki calls family has a tendency to die. It seems like a bit of a weird turn to call them a father-son duo, but this was definitely an endearing chapter

Witch Watch: Kokuryo fails to summon Jura in the gacha, but does manage to roll Jeanne Alter; naturally, she immediately turns on him. An odd twist, but damn if Jeanne isn't one of the coolest things in this whole manga to date

Blue Box: Prior to her final match with Yumeka, Chinatsu gets introspective about the gap between her own self-image and how others perceive her, and how that same concept can be applied to others. I've never been super invested in Chinatsu, but if I ever reread or watch the anime, this chapter will surely put her entire character into perspective

Akane: Kiroku founds his new school, taking the name of a Rakugoka abandoned by time; Shiguma embraces the opportunity for a new life, but Issho continues to blame himself for what the three of them lost. Issho's regrets and resentment are likely the reason why Shiguma was the one to inherit their master's name; looking back on the Mass Expulsion, it seems that Issho may have grown to become exactly what he always hated in an attempt to find redemption

Kill Blue: During the closing celebration of the festival, the stage nearly collapses and kills everyone present, but Juzo saves the day with a piece of burnt bread, a bomb and well-placed gunshots; someone from Juzo's past appears. No one heard those gunshots, huh? And are we supposed to know this guy? This just feels like an awkward transition into the next phase

Nue: Nue heals Gakuro before proceeding to sick Moroyoki on him to keep him from pursuing Shiroha; Gakuro wins because of his ability to grow stronger for his friends, and this interference is revealed to have been a test. That's...what the whole thing about Massacre Gear or whatever was about though...I guess having him surpass Moroyoki was good, but this feels like a waste of a chapter where we learn basically nothing; at least the image of the light shining through after Gakuro's shadows dissipate was cool

Kagurabachi: knowing that the Hishaku are definitely going to try to weasel out of their deal with Samura, Chihiro and the Masumi decide to bring Tatiana Samura's secret daughter under their care. Wild prediction - Samura's going to die and she's going to take Tobimune

Chojo: Chojo splits himself into his good and evil side, and his evil side proceeds to manipulate all of the women in his life into doing his work and giving him money. While a funny chapter, the good side had almost no focus or dialogue when I think there were definitely jokes to be derived from him

Astro Royale: a friend from Hibaru's school, Hiyohiko, asks for help saving his sister from one of the Yotsurugi siblings, Shikaba; this turns out to be a fake using his name for clout. Shikaba's got an interesting design, and looks to have a cool power; definitely the character I've liked most so far, but that's honestly not saying a lot

Kiyoshi: Kiyoshi plays ping pong to learn how to control his Precept Power; Nehan and Jack Joe ask Tsurugi for help with their training. Kiyoshi having extremely high output but terrible fuel efficiency is an elegant way to justify the need for him to train, and the ping pong method is pretty fun

Hima-Ten: The class goes on a haunted walk, and naturally Tenichi gets paired with Himari; Himari trips, and when Tenichi tries to catch her, he lands on top of her and accidentally gets kissed. How the hell did you idiots manage that one?

Ichi: the mysterious white-haired monk turns out to be not only a Magik, but the so-called "God Magik," a greater threat than even Uroro. I've been waiting for an antagonist to be introduced, and a "God Magik" seems like a great long-term goal to work towards, though chapter 15 seems a tad early to be introducing them

Shinobi: the Operator tries to use the class camping trip to set up Yodaka and Mukai; on the second haunted walk of the week, the pair get attacked by yet another ninja. I know I said I'd rather they stay friends, but they had a surprising amount of chemistry in this chapter

Hakutaku: Hikuma's dire need to take a horrendous piss nearly ruins Noto's elevator pitch plan, but fortunately he meet-cutes genius game developer Akamine. The brief snippets of Tidio show off the artist's design sense, which unfortunately they haven't really gotten to explore very much with this premise as of yet; if this series gets to continue, I think this would be the best way to find its niche

Syd Craft: Syd and Elio find themselves in the house of a leg-themed serial killer; Elio somehow thwarts the killer by misreading Syd's attempts to protect her as seduction. This is the first chapter that doesn't introduce a new concept or explore anything we didn't already know, so I've realized I'm probably not going to like subsequent chapters as much as the first handful; I have also realized that aside from polyamory, my greatest hope for this series is for Elio to have a trans awakening and start writing BL, forcing Syd to go into a Gay Panic

Ruri: the sports festival begins and all of the side characters establish their own dynamics and rivalries. I won't lie, I don't know a single one of these characters; I attribute that to the hiatus and my own bad memory, but at the very least it was a cute chapter

Top 3 of the Week:

Undead Unluck, to no one's surprise

Ichi the Witch for giving its first major antagonist such an impactful introduction

Sakamoto Days for one of the most fascinating takes on the "no-kill rule" I've ever seen in fiction

I'm so glad Ichi finally made it into my top 3, it was weirdly shaking my confidence in how much I liked it that Syd kept beating it. It feels like all is right with the world now

[paxesoterica]

Per this post, I decided to start my SRW Y watch with Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994), since I feel like it's probably going to be the one most paired with G-Witch.

Premise:

This is the first Gundam AU, and it diverges from its predecessors' 'real robot' war stories while nonetheless keeping many of Gundam's themes. In lieu of outright war, nationalist space colonies have decided to determine who should rule by using the planet Earth as an arena for a giant robot fighting tournament, with a new tournament taking place every 4 years.

My impressions:

"Flying in the Sky" is a suprisingly pop-y opening theme, and I must apologize to its fans, because while I think it's good, I don't enjoy it quite as much as "Just Communication" from Wing, "Z Toki wo Koete" from Zeta, "Dreams" from After War X, or "Shukufuku" and "Slash" from G-Witch. I do think it will make a good instrumental battle theme though, since SRW tends to do that with major songs from a particular source.

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"Umi yorimo Fukaku", on the other hand, is a bop, which I was listening to as I wrote this.

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The show does not waste time letting you know things are bad on Earth, with Rome and New York City looking pretty run-down from the Gundam fights. It's definitely compatible (with a teensy bit of smudging) with G-Witch's depiction of Earth, though I wonder how they'll reconcile the very officially sponsored Gundam Fight with the Benerit Group's ban on Gundams in general.

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It's occurred to me that, while I've seen plenty of memes and recounts of Domon Kasshu's actions, I haven't actually seen a lot of discussion about his actual character, and I think I may have gotten an impression of him that's rowdier and angrier than he actually is. Sure, he's fierce in battle, but he's still mindful of the Gundam Fight rules and appreciates opponents who uphold them; he's also seriously focused on his goals, specifically finding the man in the photograph he carries, and going so far as to ask people he's in the middle of fighting about it. Out of battle, he tends to be reserved and stoic, while exhibiting some kindness to kids, and is still seriously focused on completing his goals. From this, we can infer two things:

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A) Domon can beat many foes, but he's not beating the 'Gundam protagonists are autistic(-coded)' allegations anytime soon.

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B) It'll be fun watching Domon and Suletta interact in SRW Y - outside of the cockpit, Domon is likely to be awkward about Suletta's nervousness, but they'll become friends once they fight someone together and observe the other's fighting spirit and sense of justice...while still being a bit awkward due to their different personalities; it'll be great. ^_^

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Rain Mikamura is excellent, and while I know some folks in the fandom already praise her, I honestly think she deserves more: she's clever, brave, and kind, has cool gadgets, and saves Domon's life twice in as many episodes, which is good because then when he will likely have to rescue her in the future, it will feel like an exchange of equals, rather than he 'has' to protect her, because she's the 'weaker' of the two. Which reminds me - the only thing about Domon I don't particularly care for is that he acts kind of aloof toward Rain despite her loyalty, and I get that's in part due to his type of personality, but I hope he becomes more mindful of her during their adventure; in fact, I would probably be greatly annoyed with him in a purely hypothetical scenario in which he does something stupid and makes Rain upset, haha.

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In addition to the fact that she seems to be the one to handle robot maintenance, I noticed Rain also has some medical knowledge, so I'll be greatly surprised if Miorine doesn't give her a job offer at some point.

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If this series were to be released today, I feel like the most controversial aspect would be that, like the Street Fighter games, it uses some national stereotypes for its characters. However, from several discussions I've had or read, it doesn't feel particularly egregious, and I think that's for a couple reasons, the first being that it's usually presented in a campy and over-the-top way (like the space colony of Neo U.S.A being shaped like a star with the Statue of Liberty as a centerpiece), and the second being that despite a few traits like that, characters also receive some nuance.

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For example, an Italian police officer interrogating Domon by shoving his face in hot pizza is a thing that happens in the first episode, yes, but later the show touches on his backstory (and some world building) of how he's watched decades of Gundam Fights bring destruction to the city around him, which is why he now (reasonably) hates Gundam fighters like Domon. While he changes his mind about Domon specifically after witnessing his heroics, the needlessly destructive attacks of Domon's opponent, Michelo Chariot, show those views aren't unwarranted.

I wish modern shows did more postcard memories moments, even if it's ironically, like that one instance in Akiba Maid War.

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Despite its differences from a lot of other Gundam, Fighter G still does a good job with the Gundam schtick of "antagonist does not necessarily mean bad guy" with Chibodee Crocket and Sai Saici; while the former is a braggart, and the latter a trickster, it's made clear that they're ultimately fighting in large part due to the connection they have with their respective communities (a stark contrast to Domon's first opponent, Michelo), and both ultimately earn Domon's respect, foreshadowing that while they're antagonists today, they may become allies tomorrow.

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I'm kinda surprised Allenby Beardsley hasn't shown or even been foreshadowed yet, because from what I've heard, she's pretty popular and even apparently has thematic importance, but this show does have 49 episodes, so maybe she's one of those characters that turn up at the end of the first cour (i.e. 12 or 13).

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>looks up some data

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...what do you mean she's not introduced until episode 30.

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That's ridiculous. That'd be like if G-Witch didn't introduce Chuatury Panlunch until episode 14, or 0079 didn't have Lalah Sune until episode 34. Buffoonery.

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One final note: unlike some mecha anime, Fighter G is actually about the characters (performing absolutely sick wuxia attacks in giant robots).

So yeah! I've been liking Mobile Fighter G Gundam so far, and I'll try to commit to watching it all... sooner or later (need to finish The Big O first).

For my next 3 episode sampler! Super Electromagnetic Robot Combattler V! Look forward to it!