#and none of my insistence on that is based on elitism bc like

[dollfairy]

I feel like something is really being lost in this insistence that everything within a medium (and even across mediums) should be treated as if they're equal in value or else you're being elitist

novels used to be seen as schlocky and low-culture and even morally dangerous, and now novels are arguably the most studied and examined form of literature-- that change is so interesting! way more interesting than trying to flatten the playing field and act like everything is equally valuable to begin with!

[softgine]

grandpa bardock and grandson gohan

i’m like imagining this weird situation where kakarot was sent to earth, had a kid, and upon hearing that earth was going to be obliterated, he uses the space pod he was sent in to return gohan to the planet with a note or something. like planet vegeta is still alive and working for frieza & whatnot??

as a hybrid of course, gohan already outclasses the pureblooded saiyans by miles, but this is still gohan so i imagine he’s incredibly timid until, well, someone fucks with him (which is gonna be raditz lbr)

(also in this au, raditz & gine are alive and bardock’s crew is close!! i have a lot of planet v headcanons right here so that’s where i’m kind of basing it off of if that’s cool???)

well anyway, so raditz starts picking on this kid who has the happiest eyes ever and basically gohan swings back and my favorite headcanon is that bardock is a bit of a dick to raditz so he’s just like “you’re really going to let this brat hit you like that” UNTIL they both see the saiyan tail & now theyre confused bc gohan is still dressed in his earthling clothes

gohan then announces who his parents were (which is something kakarot kept repeating to him before the last second ok) and bardock & raditz are taken aback bc LOWKEY kakarot is a disgrace to their race being that he had a mission and decided to play house and all

but like the scouters r still a thing so pissed off gohan is generating all kinds of power just by being angered, which is causing a stir among the third class and instead of turning gohan over to the authorities, bardock insinuates a fight with raditz to pretend that the power is theirs

i’m gonna add a text cut here but this is going to include a lot of backstory and i don’t want to spam anyone’s dash ok

they bring gohan back to gine of course and they lie and say that gohan is their child. it’s like a grandparents adopt a grandchild way but like... illegal lmao. you can’t determine that gohan is not saiyan the tail is evident enough to pass and get him situated in combat training with the rest of the saiyan children and it’s fine.... until gohan is being gohan and unwilling to fight without reason (plus he has a right to feel some type of way considering that his so called people also called his other people?? OH yeah the saiyans destroyed earth after kakarot failed to asdjk)

this is when bardock pulls him out and decides to TRAIN him and mind you, bardock’s a very respected captain not only in the third class, but there’s enough rumors in the first class to know that he’s not to be messed with, so him fighting little gohan lORDT 

basically bardock becomes an even more stricter and rougher piccolo, but *ahem* it’s because in a way, he knew he failed with kakarot. like back at planet v, it’s to the point where you can’t even mention him. (on the other hand, raditz is still respectable since he’s on the prince’s team)

gohan of course then just blurts out how he’s feeling like a normal kid and admits his struggles to side with one half of him when that half betrayed him (which is total role reversal) and bardock understands him better. nonetheless, planet vegeta is still planet vegeta so he has to suck it up. it’s not fair but the culture is incredibly different

NOW LISTEN, i want to credit gohan’s hidden power with chichi’s mother and here’s why: while ox kind is known for his violent tendencies, their castle was basically sitting on a demon portal/a gate way to other world’s hell (i think that’s how annin’s pot was explained??) but nonetheless, in this instance, gohan basically pulled a yusuke urameshi and had demon ancestry that was woken up because he’s so strong (like the saiyan mix has to be accredited for 70% of his power against his earth blood tho)

^^^^ it’s why he becomes inhumanely destructive, practically the biggest psychopath tbh. saiyans like to say they’re emotionless but pride is such a strong state of being that it has to balance with everything else

with that being said, gohan’s not indestructible, but he’s a problem for planet vegeta’s royalty who are only in power bc they’re the strongest. it’s also noted that bardock’s still kicking ass and taking jobs the first class won’t and raditz has elevated himself in his own childhood. meanwhile, of course, the family gets under frieza’s radar

i would like to believe that frieza would be intrigued with bardock because while king vegeta is basically his servant, bardock is more loyal to his people and not to mention, has the respect of both the third and first class. frieza tries to entice him by taking over the planet himself

AGAIN, bardock’s loyalty is with the king not frieza

after he turns frieza down though, frieza makes note to explose gohan as a half-blood saiyan, which is a big deal considering 1) kakarot was already a disgrace and 2) saiyans are incredibly proud of their bloodline. tainting it with another species blood; nonetheless a planet as weak as EARTH, does not sit well with anybody. this basically turns into a witch hunt where bardock’s character is in question for protecting this child

i imagine raditz is also being forced to go after gohan after all his work of joining the prince’s elite force but that’s another side story with gine (also raditz is just a big mama’s boy) who reminds him of the cruelty of their people/her side of the backlash as well as her own ridicule for not being on par with other warriors of the planet. like she reminds him that this situation isn’t as black and white as they want to make it

in the end, they capture gohan because he sacrifices himself because they’re right; he’s not a pure-blooded saiyan by any means. however, we are all aware of what happens when gohan gets pushed. nonetheless, i believe this is where chichi’s blood comes into play because by now, there’s no point of reasoning with gohan. he truly is broken with everything he’s been through + he’s a child who hasn’t been taught better than to lash out. thus, here comes the biggest saiyan massacre where lord frieza intervenes as a “favor”

surviving saiyans are rioting against gine and bardock for not only giving birth to a disgrace but also someone who slaughtered their people + disgrace them in the complete opposite direction. bardock can hold his own but gine gOD. she’s picked up enough to be a good teammate but not as an independent. bardock KNOWS this. however, gine insists that bardock takes back gohan because it’s not his fault that he’s that way, it’s theirs for constantly forcing him to be murderer. she adds on this is a situation they can control unlike kakarot who’s made his own choices

AH MY HEART (because in my head this looks all bloody and incredibly tragic) where bardock literally has to watch his main companion being slaughtered more brutally done than any of his assignment. it’s a cruel way for the universe to balance itself

back to raditz tho, OH BOY he’s being forced to kill his dick of a father. on one hand, a part of him could do it like raditz never wanted to be in bardock’s shadow, hence why he never claimed the third class. on the other, gine’s speech is in his head and bardock is still his blood. it begs the question of who’s loyalty really matters bc his peers respect him but there’s a line if he doesn’t do what they want; bardock on the other hand is literally out to save a saiyan murderer (and bardock’s the most proud/incredibly lawful person he’s known, even against the king). basically his respect he’s earned vs. this unconditional care

OOH, i don’t know how the raditz/bardock story goes but aNYWAY, bardock is definitely saving gohan and i didn’t want this to be an everyone dies thing but shit

bardock reaches gohan who’s just so out of it and dead inside like this kid has lived the tragedy of 3 lifetimes and he’s not even an eighth done living his. bardock fights his way through and learns frieza has him

gohan does definitely take the alternate vegeta’s life of being frieza trophy, except he finds use with gohan being efficent and cold blooded enough to murder his own people. frieza brings up a point that gohan may try to fight it, but he’s no better than the baffoons who kills his parents and planet and its just TRAGIC

*insert scene where bardock beats the fuck out of dodoria and zarbon*

bardock enters but is definitely not match for frieza. this is when bardock does something incredibly out of the norm and forgives gohan. none of this is what his parents wanted for him and earth may have been weak, but it was out of choice. any time people of chichi’s side could’ve murdered and won but they didn’t. his people did and that’s their weakness unfortunately

now gohan’s just weeping because he’s been incredibly self-aware of what he’s felt but none of it has processed completely because again, he’s a CHILD.... this is sick but after bardock’s torturous death, i imagine them accidently passing by a moon and that alone is enough to activate gohan’s oozaru form which he hasn’t mastered yet. i’m not saying he eats frieza but frieza does not survive those teeth

plagued by guilt, oozaru!gohan destroys the whole ship and everyone on it, including himself when there’s a hole that’s sucking them any survivors anyway and slowly, gohan gets to return to his real parents

back in planet vegeta, word on the scouters is that frieza is dead which is cause for the king & prince to plan their own takeover. however, raditz seeing the pieces of his dead mother does not sit well and he snaps himself. it’s a completely lose-lose situation for everyone involved

including ME bc this all sounds so sadistic rip

[bubaluv]

You know what? You know what? This is my blog. Its midnight on finals week I'm gonna blabber about the pokemon ocs I made based on my family. Deets under the cut!!

OKAY SO the hypothetical game these guys belong to is very much in that early pokemon phase where the gyms were actually cool and very heavily themed and like, getting through all the grunts is kinda part of the gym. (I haven't played the games since black and white idk if they do that anymore but that's the vibe). I just love the idea of all these characters (plus 2 more that fit into the lore) just existing in the game and if you ask them enough questions/pay attention enough you realise they're all related!

SO not in order but the first of the family you encounter is Big Jo (dad). He works in the lab that you start the game and pick your pokemon in with the professor, he's just a dude typing away on a computer (BUT he has a cute raichu that occasionally does a little spark to fix his computer!) And if you talk to him he gives you a couple revives. In the dialogue he asks you if you're going to challenge the normal type gym leader, and if you say yes he gets excited bc that's his daughter!! He let's you know it's not a very hard gym but she tries her best. A small detail that's important: He has a couple of knickknacks on his desk, a teddiursa doll, a few letters convered in ink, a poster for the elite 4, and a wooden statue of a mamoswine. Also workshopping this idea but he may talk about how much he wants to travel, and if you encourage him to you see him touring around throughout the game!

Next ofc you encounter Bedhead Bo! Her gym is very easygoing, the building looks like a gym on the outside but once you step in you realize it's a super elaborate pillow fort! Corridors and all. There are pokemon sleeping and walking about, snorlaxes you have to climb over, and a whole room full of beds you have to jump on. All of the grunts are either asleep (blocking your way) or just doing sleepover things. Once you finally get to her little chamber she slides down a big piles of pillows to greet you, and none of her pokemon are in pokeballs they're just vibing. She's the first gym so you beat her pretty easily, but she wishes you luck on your journey (and gives you a couple more revives).

About midway through the game you stumble across a dark and spooky town. This town is incredibly superstitious because unfortunate things happen there all the time, and people in the town warn you to watch out for "The Omen". Every once in a blue moon, on a dark stormy night, The Omen sneaks out of his manor. He wears a dark wool coat, squeaky black boots (who KNOWS what they're covered in!!) And is always wearing a plaguedoctor mask. Its said that the Murkrows that haunt every corner of the town all report back to him in the depths of the Manor. He's difficult to find, but if you battle him, he gives you the dark type gym badge. His gym is mostly exploring the manor, an old decrepit house filled with other trainers who want to find him. It's pretty hard to find your bearings in it, door lock behind you and the ceiling caves in at some point, eventually, you come across a nest of Murkrow, and as you walk toward it they disperse to reveal the door to the basement. You walk down the long dark staircase to find a PILE of Murkrows, who once again disperse to reveal! Some dingy nerd playing video games on a couch. He notices you came in and asks you if you're here for the badge, you say yes, and he points to a little table with a badge on it, guarded by a Murkrow in a party hat with a banner that says "congratulations!". He introduces himself as Po, and if you've gotten this far you can just have the badge, but if you want to battle him you can. He also explains that he's really just a lucky guy who inherited the old house, he's not some Omen of darkness. He's pretty sickly, so he tries to stay indoors when he can, and when he does go out he wears a fun mask. He only goes out at night because he's got a weird sleep schedule, and come on its ALWAYS stormy in this town. If you talk to him again, he asks you if this is your first badge, and if not he asks if you've gotten the normal type badge yet. When you say yes he comments they hey! That's my little sister!

Near the end of the game you battle the elite four. Now bare with me cause to be perfectly honest I've never gotten that far, so this might all be nonsense. The elite four in this region is heavily themed, a little bit like professional wrestling but more theatrey. It's also kind of a team sport, with support trainers for each core member. When you show up to the arena to apply for the league, the first Elite Four member you meet is Captian Moby and his crew. They're VERY pirate themed and VERY hammy. He's actually a super nice guy, and shows you the ropes of the league. If you ever get on the topic of gym badges, he'll tell you how proud he is that BOTH of his siblings are gym leaders! His name is actually a shortening of his real name, Mo Beonnie, or Mo B., or Captain Moby!

The last two arent pictured, but they revolve around the ice type gym, or just a general ice type area. The ice area is a natural history museum and research facility on a glacier, headed by Professor Vee. She's a super sweet lady who takes care of a lot of fossil type pokemon that are found in the glaciers! She rehabilitates pokemon who got messed up by poachers who recombined them improperly. She's takes extra special care of a mamoswine who's pretty much the mascot of the whole facility, but she insists she's just watching him for a friend. There's an area of the facility dedicated to courtyards themed to different periods of history, but the center courtyard has a statue of a women in full gear smiling with the mamoswine. If you read the plaque, the yard is dedicated to "SnowCap" Snow Beonnie, the former head researcher and rehabilitator of the museum.

So that's my self indulgent little pokemon lore! The whole idea of all of they're names being Bo, Po, Mo, Jo, and Snow is a little silly and obvious but I think if it were spread out throughout the game it would be a really cute little detail. I love making these hypothetical pokemon thingys and I have even more for my irl friends, so maybe I'll continue rambling about them someday. If you read the whole thing wow thanks!! Basing things off my family just makes me so happy I hope yall like it!