#for one he wanted to see what goku was capable of

[galaxydynamite]

i love how ginyu's character kind of has that duality of "honorable" and "dirty fighter"

[tobiasdrake]

What do you think of Gohan and Piccolo?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That sacrifice is the reason Gohan goes to Namek.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now he's in Gohan's wedding photo.

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

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

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

[t4tadrienette]

Goku definitely wanted to train Gohan for fun, just like Grandpa Gohan did with him, but then he wanted to respect Chichi's desire of him not becoming a fighter. He also spent 4 years of Gohan's life together and living peacefully.

But then he died, and when he came back, he found that Gohan was turned into a fighter by Piccolo, fair, I guess. He didn't see him fight, tho, he doesn't know the story behind him becoming a fighter, just that he was trained by Piccolo.

Then Gohan wants to go to Namek to find the dragon balls because he has to make sure their dead friends come back, and Goku goes wow that sounds like me, he also can't stand to stay on the side when it comes to these things.

Weeks pass, and now he's finally able to reach them on Namek. They have to fight, of course. Things happen. He's the only chance they have to defeat Freezer. Things fall apart now, Goku becomes Super Saiyan and tells Gohan to take Piccolo and get away. Goku is stuck alone on Namek. He saves himself by pure luck. He decides to stay where he is, to learn something new, to be able to also control his Super Saiyan state.

A year passes, and he comes back to earth. News from the future, saying that in 3 years, there's gonna be a new threat. They have to train, Gohan wants to train with him and Piccolo to fight this new threat. The three years have passed, and now there's another threat outside of the androids. Goku finally healed, he gets Gohan and tells him they're gonna train to defeat Cell. Gohan accepts to train with him. Gohan puts his all into that training, and Goku finds out Gohan has so many capabilities than what he shows. That's good! They have a chance at defeating Cell, maybe.

They finish their training, Goku wants Gohan to spend as much time with Chichi, and he wants to spend the remaining days before the Cell games as a family, you never know. The Cell games start, and Goku goes first to study him, to see how strong he is and if Gohan might have a chance. Oh, Gohan definitely has a chance. Come on, Gohan, now is your turn, I can tell you know you're stronger. Gohan is having difficulties, tho, Goku says it's just a matter of time before his fighting instict and anger sets in. But Gohan doesn't like fighting. That knowledge comes to Goku as a shock. He always assumed Gohan was fighting for the safety of the earth and for the love of fighting as well. At the end of the day, how could he think different, he never truly saw Gohan fighting, and at the end of the day, he was just picking up what Piccolo started in the first place. He never truly showed a disliking for fighting, or at least he never told him. He didn't know how in his first fighting against the Saiyans, he was petrified by fear. He wasn't there for the love of fighting, but because he had to, since he had this power.

Goku realises he miscalculated this. He immediately tells Krillin to pass him a bean so that he can get back into shape to go help him. Of course, Cell stops him before that. After Cell started to attack the others, finally Gohan snapped and unleashed his power, Goku was right after all. Gohan was definitely more powerful than him. He was the right warrior to defeat him. Gohan needs to defeat him once and for all, tho, but he doesn't. He says he has to have a slow and painful death. Those are some shocking words coming from Gohan. It doesn't sound like him. Well, now that has brought some problem, Cell is now about to explode and take all the earth with him. Now Goku has to make a decision. He will sacrifice himself. At the end of the day, he was the one to put Gohan in that position in the first place. It's only fair for him to do that. But, his sacrifice is useless, Cell comes back. Gohan tries his hardest, but his arm is broken. How can he defeat him now. But Goku is there to help him find the strenght and the others too. In the end, Gohan finds the strength to finally beat him.

It's time to revive people. There's still the problem of Goku not being able to be resurrected a second time. They think hey maybe we can use the dragon balls from Namek. But Goku stops them. He thinks that Bulma was right. He only attracts threats that put the earth in jeopardy, Piccolo, the Saiyans, the androids, and Cell. Maybe if he stays dead, they will stop coming. Like that, he will not put Gohan in danger anymore, Gohan will not have to fight anymore. So at the end of the day, it's better for him to stay away, rather than him staying with them, after all he was the one to put Gohan in that situation in the first place. In the end, he makes the selfless choice for Gohan. Maybe it's better for him not to have a father, but being safe, than having a father and being put into danger. At least, that's what he thinks is the right thing to do

[duhragonball]

Daima 1: Conspiracy

So I don't really want to liveblog this show while it's still ongoing, but I'm not sure how else to describe what I'm doing. What I want to do is delve into the show's characters and plot, and kind of get into what makes it tick. I just saw Episode 4 earlier today, and I just keep finding myself impressed with the way Daima keeps getting story beats so *right*. So maybe if I write about it enough, some of that talent will rub off on me.

To start us off, Episode 1, "Conspiracy", is 32 minutes long, and as far as I can tell, this is done to accommodate a ten minute segment that introduces the audience to the Dragon Ball concept. It's a lot like the opening sequence of Super Hero, but longer and more detailed.

If I hadn't seen it myself, I would be tempted to call this a mistake, because a ten-minute lore dump is pretty tiresome for an audience to sit through, but it turns out to be highly effective here. eight minutes of this is two of the main villains, Gomah and Degesu, watching a highlight reel of the Buu Saga and reacting to all the crazy stuff that happens. This works for the following reasons.

First and foremost, Dragon Ball Z kicks ass. Most movies and TV shows would benefit from having their characters just vegging out and watching about 65 episodes of DBZ in a row. And it's a visual feast, because Gomah has some magic dome with dozen of screens floating all around them, so they can see everything going on, and all of the footage is gorgeously re-animated for this episode. They could have gotten away with using clips from Dragon Ball Kai, but they went the extra mile and made it special.

Second, this is a great way to introduce the villains and demonstrate their relationships with the other characters. As they watch, it becomes clear that Gomah and Degesu know the bad guys. Dabura is their king, Babidi is their enemy who enslaved their king, and Majin Buu is a monster capable of conquering all of creation. They also know the Supreme Kai, because Degesu is his brother, and they don't seem to like him very much. They also recognize Piccolo and Dende as Namekians, as well as the Dragon Balls. Apparently they have that stuff in their own Demon Realm too, but they didn't know the Namekians had left the Demon Realm to settle in the outer universe.

On the other hand, Gomah and Degesu have no knowledge of the Saiyans who fought against Majin Buu. They don't know how Goku and Vegeta transform or shoot light from their hands, and they have no idea how they can be powerful enough to keep challenging Buu and holding their own. Degesu suggests that they might be Majins themselves, except they don't have pointed ears. Apparently Demon Realm races all have pointy ears. The exact distinction between Majins and Demons is still unclear to me, but we'll get into that later, I'm sure.

The point is that it makes sense for Gomah and Degesu to watch all this footage. They knew Dabura had left Demon Realm for a rare trip to the outer universe, but they didn't know why or what happened to him. Then they find out Babidi mind-controlled him into helping with this Majin Buu plan, which is a huge threat to their kingdom. Then Buu kills Dabura and Babidi, and then gets defeated himself by a band of warriors they know nothing about. Oh, and there's Dragon Balls on this one planet and they're easy to use and grant three wishes. Any one of those developments would be huge news in Demon Realm, but Gomah learns about all all four all at once.

That's the key, I think. If you opened "Empire Strikes Back" with eight minutes of the Emperor watching clips from "A New Hope", it would suck, because all he really needs to know is that Luke Skywalker used the Force to destroy the Death Star, and it doesn't take that long to get that information across. Also, his reaction would be pretty muted. At most he'd kind of look irritated or intrigued. Gomah pulls this off because he has a conniption every time something important happens. When Dabura dies he's horrified, then Degesu reminds him he's next in line for Dabura's throne, so he's overjoyed to be the new king, but then he starts panicking again because he knows Babidi will send Buu after him next. It's fun watching him squirm over this eight-minute scene, because he has so much invested in each new development.

To use an example from Dragon Ball, there's an episode of Z where Master Roshi explains the history of the Red Ribbon Army to Maron. It happens some time during the Goku vs. 19 fight, so we're already knee-deep into the Androids Saga. The flashback was probably worth doing just to bring newer viewers up to speed on why Dr. Gero hates Goku so much, but most of the characters in the show already know the story, so there's not really anyone else to tell it to except Maron, a filler character who doesn't care and vanishes from the show soon afterwards. That scene only happened because the anime needed to pad out another episode so the manga could "catch up" to their production schedule. I think fans at the time at least tolerated it as a clip show kind of thing, but it served no purpose aside from keeping the TV show from skipping a week. If they had done that kind of thing for multiple episodes in a row, I think they would have risked losing viewers.

Anyway, the next six minutes of "Conspiracy" show Gomah discussing this new post-Dabura world with Degesu and Degesu's sister, Dr. Arinsu. This sets up the plot. At first, Gomah is bewildered by the events of the Buu Saga, but Degesu assures him that with Buu's defeat, his reign as king is now secure. With Babidi, Buu, and Dabura out of the way, there's no one left to oppose him. But Dr. Arinsu reminds him of the warriors who defeated Buu, and what might happen if they decided to come after Gomah next.

So it looks like these three characters--King Gomah, Degesu, and Dr. Arinsu-- are the main villains of the series. The important lesson here is that they work because they have very different motives and goals. If they didn't, then there would be no need for three villains at all. It could just be one bad guy.

This was something that GT and Super both struggled with back in the day. Lots of fans point to Baby as a highlight of GT, but Baby constantly surrounds himself with Machine Mutants and Tuffellized slaves who basically agree with everything he says. The Super 17 saga featured Dr. Gero and Dr. Mu teaming up to control two versions of Android 17, and all four of them had a single motive to share between them: Kill Goku. The two 17's merged together, and Mu turned on Gero, but it hardly mattered because their agenda was so thin.

Meanwhile in *Super*, Goku Black and Zamasu were literally the same person. This was probably intended to be creepy and weird, and I suppose it did help illustrate Zamasu's narcissistic worldview, but it also limited the possibilities for the story. There was never going to be any dissension between the villains, so every time they talked to each other it was to congratulate themselves on how well they agreed. Then they merged together and it didn't matter, because they were so alike from the start.

The Super movies corrected this problem well. Frieza and Paragus had very different plans for Broly, and Magenta and Dr. Hedo had very different plans for Hedo's creations. There were also characters like Berryblue and Carmine who basically backed up their leaders, but they still had their own personalities. Berryblue liked to press Frieza's buttons a little, and Carmine was a lot less diplomatic than his boss.

In Daima, it goes like this: King Gomah wants to secure his new position as ruler of the Demon Realm. He's weak and he knows it, which is why he seems to receptive to the counsel of Degesu and Arinsu. Meanwhile, Dr. Arinsu depends on the research funding she was getting from King Dabura. Gomah isn't too keen on continuing that funding, so she suggests that he might be in danger from the Z-Fighters. And that convinces Gomah to go to Earth to defeat them first.

This is where the Dragon Balls really shine as a story engine. It sounds so simple that it feels weird to explain it, but you collect all seven balls and you get a wish, so there has to be a discussion about what the characters wish for. Gomah wants to use one wish to neutralize the Z-Fighters, but he'd get two more, which leads him to consider another desire: The Evil Third Eye. We don't find out much about this, except that it's really powerful, and the previous Demon Kings used to have it before it was lost. So it makes a lot of sense for Gomah to want it, since he's all about consolidating his power.

What about Degesu? Well, for the most part he sure seems like he's content to play the faithful advisor. Somehow he wound up working for Gomah, and now that Gomah is king, it seems like his career is really paying off. But while Gomah is considering his third wish, Degesu asks if *he* could get a wish for himself. Gomah says he'll think about it, and we never find out his answer, but it's enough that Degesu asked at all. He must want *something*, and that something must not fit into Gomah's plans, or else Degesu would simply talk Gomah into wishing for it himself.

And that's what makes this trio so interesting. Gomah's pretty much an open book. We know exactly what he wants and why. Degesu wants something, but he's playing a long game, and it might be a while before we find out what it is. And Dr. Arinsu... Well, she wants funding for her research, but I think it's also clear that she wants Gomah to go to Earth and set this story into motion. How does that get her funding approved? And why didn't she just go to Earth and try to use the Dragon Balls to make her own wishes? Very mysterious.

The funny thing is that these three could easily be described like they were some fan OC's. "Hey, here's my cool villain team. Their leader is Dabura's son maybe, and the other two are the Supreme Kai's brother and sister, so they're like Kai's, but they're *Dark Demon Kais* and they're evil." It just goes to show that every character is somebody's OC. What sets the good ones apart is the personality and motives you give them. Stop worrying about power scaling and what color their auras are, and start thinking about what they want and how their goals conflict with other characters' goals.

Once Gomah is ready for his trip, he brings along Neva, an ancient Namekian who is apparently the only one who didn't leave the Demon Realm to settle in the outside universe. Neva created the Demon Realm's set of Dragon Balls, but he also set up powerful guardians called Tamigami to protect them. So no one in the Demon Realm can actually use the Dragon Balls to get a wish. This vexes Gomah to no end, but he figures he can still make use of Neva's abilities to exploit the Earth's Dragon Balls.

As it turns out, Neva has the power to immediately locate Dragon Balls, even when they're stones. He can also summon them together instantly, and on top of that, he can force them to reactivate for an immediate wish. So he's a pretty impressive guy. Dende can't even stop them, because his only leverage here is that he knows the Dragon's name is Shenron, except Degesu took notes during their viewing of Buu Saga, so he already knows how to summon the Dragon.

And that sets up the big wish to make Goku and the others into children. Gomah reasons that the Earth's Dragon would never be able to grant a wish for murder, so he figures the next best thing is to make Goku and his friends small children instead. This way they'll be weaker and easier to deal with. And that's the part everyone knew going into this show. The first episode closes with that de-aging scene, which is pretty impressive to me. We all knew it would happen, so it seems like a weak cliffhanger, but it works because the beginning and middle of the episode sets it up so well. We now know how and why the gang got turned into children, and we also know that there's more to this than just making another wish to undo it.

The stakes aren't entirely clear yet. Gomah seems like he'd be content to reign over the Demon World unchallenged, but if he could defeat the guys who beat Majin Buu, if he could obtain the Evil Third Eye, then maybe he might consider picking up where Babidi left off. With no one to oppose him why can't he conquer the outside universe for himself? And there's still the question of what Dr. Arinsu is planning behind the scenes. Oh, and maybe Neva is more than the senile Namek that he appears to be. So there's a lot to unpack. Oh, and also some blue guy was spying on Gomah when he cooked up this whole plot, so we'll have to find out what his whole deal is.

There's other stuff to talk about in this episode, like the timeline placement, Kibitoshin getting unfused early, and that shot of mpreg Goku with his polycule, but like I said, I don't want to do a whole thing on this show while it's still airing. For now, I'm just basking in the glow of this unfolding plot.

[demonslayedher]

Things that flew through my mind while watching this episode:

--For being called "Thank-you, Tokito-kun," Tokito-kun sure isn't in this episode much. Kotetsu-kun does not address Seaweed-Head with '-kun,' he addresses him with '-san.' Oyakata-sama addresses him simply as "Muichiro" in the flashback. Actually, I checked, and only Tanjiro ever calls him that. Is this going to be something Tanjiro hears and thanks him for later? Or has this whole series just been brief chapters in "The Legend of Zenitsu" and that is what Zenitsu titled it?

--Kotetsu-kun is having a bit of a weird night anyway. Brave boy--who, we mustn't forget, is a child who has every reason to feel overwhelmed--went off to get help so that Haganezuka's sword polishing would not be interrupted, and then he fought and nearly got eaten by a demon fish but stayed as strong as he could the whole time. But then when Muichiro starts carrying him and blasting forward at the speed of Pillar, I love that he's screaming his head off. I want a modern day AU of these two hanging out at an amusement park and Muichiro drags him on the big rollercoasters.

--And hey, look, another mention of how important it is not to interrupt that sword polishing process. You want that sword to get ruined, Tokito-kun? Remember that after all the effort you soon go through to protect Haganezuka-san. TO PROTECT THAT SWORD.

--Gonna right ahead to the end of the episode here and mention how Mitsuri is not at all like, "oh no, that's really, really bad" (which it is, that's why Gyokko targeted it), but "okay, watch out, I'm gonna do my best!" This is a girl who has found her true calling. She should give career advice. Does your career make your heart squeeze with excitement even in the tightest pinch?

--As a point of interesting comparison I'm going to come back to, Mitsuri's confidence is well-placed. She runs into situations that overwhelm her and she lacked confidence when trying to learn a Breath she wasn't suited for, but we never see her experience Pillar Imposter Syndrome. Besides just being extremely physically capable, she has picked up battle experience and it has become a part of her. This battle sense serves her very well. On the other hand, we have Muichiro who is not endowed with the same strength, but his analytical abilities are what make him a Pillar quality genius even before he gains much experience.

--Which brings me to Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya, the true stars of this episode.

--Look at these three, legit holding their own against Upper Moon Four. It is a wonder none of them died already. Ok, we have good reasons for why Nezuko and Genya haven't, but in Tanjiro's case, this is exactly what Mitsuri was talking about in episode 1 about how valuable Tanjiro's experience against Upper Moon Six was. Tanjiro has had a excellent gut for battle ever since throwing his axe in the air at Giyuu, and he's always been one to analyze a battle as he's swept up in it. But this is not the same Tanjiro who fought Kyogai! He is able to look for openings and weaknesses in totally different ways so that he can stay calm and relatively in control when fighting one-on-one with Urogi (using Urogi to fly back, now that deserves some flamboyant applause), and his battle senses have gotten strong enough to tell him that he might be able to protect himself against a demon's attack if he had the demon's own cells as a shield.

--Also, all those jokes about attacking Sailor Moon while she is transforming, or Goku while he's screaming and powering up? That is exactly what Urogi is going through.

--Genya, man, you might be coping with Repetitive Action, but you are living on spite.

--Now if only Rengoku could have learned a thing or two about not dying from gaping chest wounds

--Genya, since he fights with desperation, does not get many moments to look cool (badass, sure, but not cool-like-a-cucumber cool). That makes it's so nice that he got to strike that sword and glock pose while delivering the "I'm Shinazugawa Genya--that's the name of the guy who is gonna kill you!" line.

--Which means Genya just had the most Sailor Moon moment of this whole series.

--Sekido has good reason to be ticked off with his body-mates lolly-gagging instead of finishing the demon slayers off. After all, Muzan wants the whole village wiped out (and Gyokko is the only one getting any work done, with all four parts of Hantengu being wrapped up with these three slayers!). Aizetsu is like someone watching an animal die for the pure sadness of it. Aizetsu isn't exactly kind, though he is the odd one out among his body-mates, and I would indeed find it very, very funny if he could be convinced to befriend the sad humans (maybe out of getting some protection from Sekido). Sekido would be so pissed off about missing a critical piece of a more reasonable form like Zouhakuten, and Muzan would be pissed off as he gets this report from Sekido while Urogi and Karaku are running/flying amok.

--While I, being someone who has loved tengu for many years, appreciate the various tengu inspired elements in each of the four Ki-Do-Ai-Raku demons, I have always had trouble seeing it in Aizetsu. This is also why he seems like the odd one out to me. It's like, ah, yes, Sekido with the shakujo staff, Karaku with the bonten-kesa stole and hauchiwa fan, Urogi having the bird-like qualities of a karasu-tengu, and Aizetsu in a tracksuit.

--Instead of "half-tengu" wouldn't Hantengu's name make more sense as "quarter-tengu"?

--It's very funny that Hantengu's alter-egos all portray themselves on the side of spiritual mastery (by way of the tengu/Shugenja symbolism, followed by Buddhism-informed deity iconography, all of which is a whole different tangent of its own). Hantengu's own irony is too big to contain in one tiny body. But also, two crossovers I want to see, so if anybody draws them, please tag me: Hantengu & Co. as Father & Co. from Full Metal Alchemist, and Hantengu & Co. as the stars of Inside Out.

--I'll bet Sekido, as part of his anger-management in spiritual mastery, has agreed to stand by and give his body-mates a chance.

--Karaku acts like an overly pushy boyfriend. Learn from Nezuko, everyone. If a guy is ever giving you a hard time like that, kick his head off.

--Karaku wasn't himself in a position to be able to do much more, but his biggest mistake was giving Nezuko her opening. That whole series of moves she did there--well-placed and powerful kick, sacrificing an arm that'll quickly grow back anyway, throwing blood in Karaku's newly recovered face, and then using her fire as a distraction to reorient and physically overpower Karaku by twisting his arm off to perfectly use his hauchiwa against him, and then turn around ready to use it against Sekido--brilliant.

--Nezuko is not the same demon kicking around and getting her leg blown off by a Taisho soccer ball. She's also not the same demon desperately thrashing around a flesh-filled train. This isn't even the same demon curb-stomping Daki; she has mastery of this state now. Nezuko has peaked here with her battle techniques.

--...especially because this is last night she ever uses her demon abilities

--But!! Thinking ahead to Tamayo's analysis, Nezuko has been prioritizing other developments over reattaining her self-awareness, leaving her mind in a childlike state while she gains abilities closer and closer to those of Upper Moons, and finally masters the sun. However, Nezuko has also shown leaps and bounds in her awareness as well. Just think! What if we had a Nezuko as analytical as her brother this whole time? In all that time Tanjiro was asleep, perhaps Nezuko was also asleep, trying to attain mastery over herself so as to prevent another near mishap? And this gave her more ability to think in battle, as opposed to just attacking with her gut instinct? Nezuko is perhaps just acting on instinct when landing that series of moves on Karaku, but her instincts have gotten really sharp for how to save Tanjiro multiple times in this battle, and for using her blood to heat the sword, even if her idea was just "I'm stuck, take my fire and go." Whatever the case, baby does more than just slash and kick now and I'm so proud of her!

[shannonsketches]

I was reading this post about Frieza but I didn't want to spam OPs notes with my rambling but Yes yes yessssss same hat same hat!!!

I described Vegeta to my friend as Frieza's favorite dog who spends his career being so unwittingly smug of how well he's learned to hold his own leash --

He's subconsciously learned the How To's of Power from Frieza's detachment, isolation, and precise self-control (knowing a saiyan's strength is in his rage while ignoring that rage comes from a place of emotional investment).

The manga/Toriyama's version of their relationship differs slightly from Toei's EU, largely in the way that Vegeta was being raised by his own father to usurp Frieza at some point, and take his place as ruler of the universe. It didn't start with Frieza, for Vegeta, but Frieza certainly compounded it. By all accounts, Vegeta seemed to enjoy his work, and was very proud of how good at it he was. But pride means as long as you're working for someone else, you're not good enough. And restoring Saiyans to the top of the food chain seemed to be King V's ultimate goal, vicariously through his record-breaking son.

But this seemed to be the goal of both their biological fathers, and what I imagine Frieza liked about Vegeta. It's also something I think Vegeta liked about Frieza. Relating to someone you have several plans to kill, in some quietly fucked up way to be less alone.

But Frieza wasn't only afraid of super saiyans! He was also afraid of what a group of powerful saiyans were capable of, which invites noting that he told Vegeta it was cowardly to rely on others, and that it was proof of ones weakness, while knowing Saiyans were historically deployed in groups. Teaching Vegeta to hang back while his underlings -- not peers, not friends -- did the work, until he -- the special one, like Frieza -- had to step in and solve the problems they weren't strong enough to handle.

Because those were weak Saiyans, who needed teammates. Not like Vegeta. Vegeta was a special Saiyan, who could do it all by himself. Both Frieza and King Vegeta told him so.

Which is probably what King Cold taught Frieza, too.

Part of the reason I think Frieza is/was headed for a redemption arc in Toriyama's version of the story (the manga/recent movies) is because Vegeta and Frieza are largely the same shape in terms of archetypes and story paths -- both born into what are essentially mafia families, both had callous fathers who valued their power over their person, both given no choice in their careers, both powerful enough to be surrounded by sycophants, both smart enough to know better than to call anyone a friend.

The major difference is that Vegeta was suddenly and completely removed from that environment and forced to adapt to a newer (softer) one in order to get his rematch with Goku, and Frieza immediately returned to his army to work toward his rematch with Goku. Vegeta didn't have a home to go back to, and Frieza did. Vegeta was forced to grow and change, and Frieza wasn't. Vegeta was unceremoniously pushed out of his self-isolation (and comfort zone), and Frieza was plucked up and happily curled right back into it.

His change is on a much slower track, but he's still experiencing the same furious denial and obsession with being better than the enigma called Goku that Vegeta did. I definitely agree that Vegeta was scared, and we're seeing that fear in Frieza too. This notion that your value lies wholly in your power -- a theory both King Vegeta and King Cold telegraphed to their children, and one Vegeta continued to witness and embrace while working for Frieza -- is deeply embedded.

It took Vegeta over a decade to start accepting it wasn't true, surrounded by people who kept choosing him even when he failed and rebelled and did all the things he should've been condemned to death for, by Frieza Force standards. Frieza was dead all that time, and when he came back he was pulled right back into the waiting arms of his old toxic environment, and even commented that he noticed they didn't want him back until his power was useful to them.

In the anime/toei versions it seems like the Saiyans are enslaved, but in the manga/toriyama version the Saiyans are absorbed into his empire, effectively just put under new management but still able to keep their culture and homes and monarch, the monarch just had a new boss (who also had a boss, more or less, which was beerus). So in the manga/Toriyama versions of the writing, it seems like the only part of Vegeta's job he didn't genuinely enjoy was the fact that he had to do it for someone else.

The biggest issue he has, at first, with learning what Freeza did was that he'd been lied to and used, knowing his rebellion would've come sooner if he'd known -- and that's humiliating. By the time he's five, he's already numb to the experience of war and death. He's already got his own command, and Saiyans rarely all make it back. By the time the truth is revealed to him, he doesn't care about his parents or his comrades. He cares that he, Vegeta, the Special Saiyan, was stupid enough to fall for a lie.

He feels genuine fear for the first time in his life when he faces Frieza's final form and realizes, that's it. There's no getting stronger. There's no next time.

He chose to brag about tearing up that luxury leash, and it was a gamble he lost. The unraveling of that sympathy and compassion hits him like a truck when he's dying and suddenly it's Very Real that there's no one left to remember him or his planet or his people or care about what happened to them or do anything about it (an important and poetic justice -- an exercise in empathy -- for all the peoples he gladly did it to (and, by his own admission, would have with or without Frieza)). He's modeled his life after his father, and after Frieza. He has no friends. He's not strong enough to be valuable anymore, not with Goku around. Nobody is going to wish him back. Nobody is going to miss him at all.

So Vegeta gets killed while he's having a fight-or-freeze panic attack, in which he freezes, and it's a thing that keeps happening to him from that point on, for the rest of Z, and throughout Super. The most embarrassing kind of proof that he feels safer in the company he kept on Namek, and actively recovering from the life he led before.

Frieza, ironically, doesn't have the freeze response. Frieza's panic is frantic and manic because, like Vegeta, nobody is going to miss him at all. He doesn't have any noble cause to hold onto like Vegeta did -- the one that's his own fault. He's set up all of the dominoes that are falling on him, and he's got nowhere to run except back to the place that taught him his only reason for being is his power, and -- just like Vegeta did -- he's spiraling because Goku showed up and made it a game. There's nobody safe for Frieza, except -- just like Vegeta -- in the company of those same people. People who should, by all accounts, want him as dead as anyone.

idk where i'm going with this, I just really enjoy their parallels and I am very intrigued by Frieza's arc lately.

I can't decide if I want Vegeta to destroy him or lose the battle and win the war with some familiar banter like they had in Res F but painful and recognizing himself in Frieza (or vice versa, rather) and give Frieza a whole mental break about how the two of them are probably the only people in the universe who will ever really Genuinely Understand each other, for the twisted humor it is.

I don't want Vegeta to forgive Frieza, I don't think that's the answer to all stories like this, even when the themes are about love and forgiveness I don't even think he's particularly forgiven Buu yet, tbh. I think he'd have to be dying again to chat like that, the way Vegeta does when he's about to die. But I think it could be a really good scene, and I think it would fuck Frieza up to be offered something of a broken olive branch just to lose it again because he's already killed it.

Maybe they're out of senzu beans. Maybe he's killed Dende already. No healing. No dragon balls. All the boys are down. Vegeta's wound is fatal. Frieza's won, but Vegeta's getting that last laugh in by being just a little nostalgic. A little sentimental in reflecting on their history. Give Frieza that nice familiar panic Vegeta knew so well; That little alarm bell that tells him he's got nothing left to strive for and no one left to know him. Let Frieza shatter so he can have some space to grow.

And the thing is, it's a gamble he's already won. Geets doesn't care if Frieza changes or not. He's dying, and there's no telling whether or not Bulma will figure something out before he's reincarnated. Do better or don't, this is fully not his problem anymore. xoxo!

[dballzposting]

Everyone has a lot of opinions about Dragon Ball Super and now here's mine. The fight scenes go on for forever and it quickly becomes very boring. Howveer when somehting cool happebns then that's cool.

The domestic/filler moments are SO. FUNNY. They're why I watch it. It is all so LUDICROUS. The overwrought dub acting. It always makes me scream and roll around like a fool. Pausing & rewinding and making as much noise as I can reasonably get away with. And then some.

Perfect example is when Future Trunks went to hang out with Gohan . Goahn brought over soft serve ice cream and tried to hand him a chocolate cone. Trunks gruffly and immediately declined. Gohan offered him the vanilla cone instead. Trunks said "nah, chocolate's fine" and accepted the cone this time. He had declined it initially becasue he is perturbed by this nerd Gohan, perturbed by this sugar-sweet reality. But he didn't want to cause fuss so he accepted the ice cream as soon as it seemed like Gohan was gonna push. Gohan then said "I'm a softie for soft serve!" and Trunks said "Uh, yeah." LIKE WHAT IS THAT !??!?!?!?!?!?! WHJAT IS ALL OF THAT. That was just ludicrous. All of it. You're not gonna get that anywhere else.

Furhtermore people give DBS shit for butchering/altering many characters. This is true. But what they've done is really enjoyable to watch. Goku is so crazy and silly.

Emperor Pilaf is completely delusional and insane and it's fun that they brought him back.

I like the screentime that Goten & Trunks get. Trunks has grown out of his emulation phase of DBZ and what is instead showcased is a sensitive and gentle boy. He seems insecure, but his sweet heart is resilient. Meanhwile we see the first inklings of Goten's Jackass GT personality. He';s kind of a dickhead in GT. Scratch that he's a complete asshole in the most inconsequential way. Even in the EOZ Kakarot DLC he's such a whinerrr. These sorts of things read as a virtue in children, that they can put their foot down and self-defend, but Goten never grows out of his petulance so he becomes an asshole. FURTHERMORE DBS afforded Goten some wit as well. You really get the sense that he's a smart kid who's coming along well. But he's also fast-tracking it to being a dickhead. Meanwhile Trunks is sensitive and thoughtful.

The thing is this portrayal of Trunks is perfectly consistent with all that we've seen. People (myself included) sometimes get caught up in the way he was in DBZ, and we extrapolate that he will grow up to be an armored and egotistical dickhead with issues. But that's just so far from the truth . EOZ and DBGT and DBS and DBS:SH and DBZ Future Trunks and DBS Future Trunks all show us that Trunks really does take after his grandparents: he has this ease, want of peace, and sensitivity to him.

Kind of a kick in the face that DBS completely strips Trunks of all technological capabilities. But it's also really funny that they did that so I'll let it slide. Kind of a mindfuck though. Now GT really can't happen.

DBS seems to usurp expectations in a lot of ways that are meaningful. For one, in common fanon (and on this blog) Goten is soulful and heartfelt and Trunks is too cool 4 school but secretly insecure; whereas in the new canon, Goten is a blockhead and Trunks is sensitive and not knowing how to be anyone else but himself. There's a bunch of other shit tht DBS does with characters & storylines tht I think is meanignful but I dont remeber anything else

Also I loooove Mr Satan's screentime. He is so. Funny.

[mozarteffect]

First of all:what an honor having you like my take,i used to love your fic back in the day! Second,onto the "Sayan are the japane discourse":i think people really underestimate how political Toriyama was capable of being, the only difference is that instead of presenting the situation as an analytical critique as in Revolutionary Girl Utena (to name one) he used satire. But if you read works like Sandland or Pink! you immediately notice the strong tone of criticism especially towards the Japanese industry. Your observation about the Ainu is quite fascinating, (and if you like I would be happy to hear you analyze it, both here on the main and in the dm). If I had to tell you mine, I think that the analogy works at best if it's taken in a larger sense: This fandom as a problem with west-centrism and every time the Sayan/Vegeta discourse shows up it's always treated as if we are talking about USA problems the german-thing- we-can't-talk-about-because-Tumblr-will-take-it-down. However the all story became much easyer to underground once you put the japanese lens on:and here "Sayans were ferocious conquerors but they are still victims of an extermination that they did not deserve by an evil emperor,and both reality are true at the same times" becomes "Japan committed atrocious crimes during WW2 and in any case they did not deserve the atomic bomb by the USA,and both reality are true at the same times". Same goes for out favorite prince,who's both part of the system AND a victim of It. Idk,this are just some thought of mine . Hope you enjoy It! (And have a nice day/evening)

Thank you for liking my writing!

As to the fandom view of Saiyans, you're very much correct that it's an extremely US-centric attitude that goes on. Although I've also observed a very...how do I want to put this, uh, weirdly xenophobic view too, since people will say with no irony "Saiyans are naturally/born evil" and decry canon showing Saiyans that AREN'T like that at all (even if Toriyama is the one doing it) and claim it's a retcon.

Yeah! Not really the greatest thing to say that a race is "naturally evil"! I think that goes against the nature of the series itself plus, well, duh, Goku himself? He was raised by a good person and he turned out good, he was not raised like a Saiyan, what about the math is not mathing?

I've never been subject to the not-see comparison, though I can imagine that may be an issue.

I think ultimately the Japanese perspective is forgotten since Saiyans are projected onto by many, many people of different cultural backgrounds and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I love seeing peoples' interpretations of how Saiyan culture and history (even the dark, tragic, or ugly parts) reflect their own experiences with their own cultures. Most (though not all) tend to ignore or not know that Japan is its own country with its own history and culture outside of what they see in anime, including dark, tragic, and ugly bits. The same (though not all) would claim that all anime is apolitical and that Toriyama never got into anything similar to that at all in his works because "he just wrote funny comics."

But obviously, I disagree! You can see a strong environmentalist slant in his works, it's very prominent in Sandland! He may have not made it obvious or spoke openly about it, but that doesn't mean his opinions weren't present, he was just private (although saying he made Frieza like a real estate speculator because he thought they were the most evil people in existence was sure blatant!)

In my view, the Saiyans have a strong imperial Japan influence (Frieza Force armor is extremely similar to samurai armor) with modernization from "outsiders" coming in and flipping things around. My view of Sadala Saiyans being similar to the Ainu isn't as fully developed and leans more on the indigenous being killed in order to install a greater power with very few (possibly the good/neutral Saiyans that don't agree with or like the king's rule or obeying Frieza?) being left.

It's true that they did horrible things and it's also true that horrible things happened to them. Both concepts can exist and I think the Saiyans that are left have very complicated feelings about their people (well, Vegeta does for certain especially with what was supposed to be his role in Saiyan society, and I think Goku was definitely turned on his head finding out what his parents were really like even if that was never fully addressed. Ideally I would believe he would rethink his view on Raditz too and wonder if he was just angry and insulted that he forgot their parents, whom Raditz seemed to respect/love a great deal. Not to say he would think "gee maybe things were okay after all!" rather "wow this is actually more nuanced than I previously believed.").

Honestly I have complicated thoughts about Vegeta too, contrary to how people think he would act if the planet remained intact, I personally think he just liked the idea of being king but wasn't equipped or interested in the actual aspects of being the king. Plus, though people want to deny he exists, Vegeta does have a counterpart in Tarble who is everything he's not, you can't say his little brother didn't influence him at least a little bit.

I know people get sick of how Vegeta ends up being the mouthpiece/exposition on Saiyan Things but, well, that's kind of the nature of storytelling considering he's the only Saiyan left that was actually raised on the planet. I believe that knowledge is very heavy on him, like how what he's actually done in his past is weighing on him too and he's trying to make up for it even if he knows he's not entitled to forgiveness.

Sorry this ended up rambly and also talking about Vegeta but I have strong feelings about Vegeta lskfjlk I hope that made sense!

PS: Sometimes people believe that Saiyans have a strong Spartan influence as well and point to the aesthetics of Sadala's armor, and I can see that as well!

[artbybai]

DBZ Ramble I Guess IDK

Vegeta’s fiercely competitive, right? I think that what was eating at him most, after finding out that Goku went Super Saiyan, was knowing that he technically had that same power within himself this whole time—but he’d never tried to harness it.

Think of everything Vegeta could’ve prevented, if he’d known from the start that Super Saiyan was achievable by even low-class Saiyans! That it was something anyone was capable of, and not a legend reserved for one random stranger prophesied to triumph over Frieza someday. Vegeta could’ve done so much more—and personally, I could see why that in itself would infuriate him to no end. Knowing that he fell short when he had so much potential this whole time, unwittingly or not. Maybe he felt such a severe oversight on his part was unforgivable.

I think that can explain why Vegeta’s so intensely determined to attain new forms through hard work and limit-breaking training. He wants to prove to himself, as much as he does to anyone else, that he’s capable of doing more, of becoming more than what he once thought he was destined to be. He has designated himself as Kakarot’s rival—if he could become a Super Saiyan, then Vegeta has no excuse not to rise to and above that standard. It’s clear that Vegeta refuses to allow anything else to be taken away from him, if it could indicate that he’d failed in some way to give his best effort to stop it.

[ladykf-writes]

New Fic Series: The Goddess' Roulette

Summary: By the time Genesis was healed, the world had been ruined three times over and was barely hanging on. Seeing an opportunity, he offered his life and blessed powers as a WEAPON of the Planet for one chance to change things.  Now he’s on a whirlwind ride across space and time to become a version of himself Minerva believes is capable of doing the job.

Just wanted to let you know, I started the first fic in this series (largely because it was planned and no other fics were cooperating) -- and it's where it all starts, with Genesis and Minerva post-Deepground. This series is going to be fun, but also require some hefty work and returning to old friends media. Not a hardship, but time consuming.

The premise is this: Genesis is willing to give everything to change the fate of Gaia, to do things right, to fix what he sees as his most grievous sins that set off a snowball leading to the massive damages to the Planet. (He's not entirely wrong.)

As far as Minerva is concerned, he's not ready for that yet. He needs time to gain skills and maturity -- and he will gain these by going to other worlds and helping other people. The people include, in fandom order:

DBZ's Son Goku

FF9's Garnet til Alexandros

FF15's Ardyn Izunia

MCU's Tony Stark

Sailor Moon's Usagi Tsukino

SWTOR's Barsen'thor (my player character OC)

Zelda's (OoT) Ganondorf

This isn't the order I'll be starting in, I may actually add / subtract others, too. I'd really love to tuck Threads of Fate (Dewprism) in there, and I'm tempted to add Revan (KOTOR) though I'd also prefer not to double up fandoms. Idk.

For each of these, he has something to give, and something to learn. They'll all be posted as separate fics, of course, but I do advise reading all of them. I mean, come on guys, it's me. If you're here because you like my writing doesn't it stand to reason you'd like my writing in other fandoms? ;)

Anyway after allllllll that, he goes back in time to Gaia to deal not only with ShinRa and its scientists, but with Jenova in a final fic.

It's ambitious. It's a little crazy. It's a series of stories I have wanted to tell for an age, so I will and hopefully some of you will like it. No ETA on arrival, paying more attention to DW and WTT right now... but it's coming, be assured it is coming. (Also it's fair game for asks, I do know enough about it to answer those!)

[carnal-lnstinct]

Friends with benefits Broly x Reader?

BROLY (DBS) X READER

☆☆ Content: ( au: post - super hero, friends with benefits, implied size difference, oral - male receiving ) ☆☆ Warning: ( M / 18+. MINORS DNI. explicit language )

☆☆ A/N: I can't believe I haven't written spicy broly since November, now he out here getting "foodie calls"

You don’t know how you got roped into this cycle of feeding saiyans. There was no obligation for you to do it like Bulma and Chi Chi, but it quickly became a regular thing and at least twice a month you had the three showing up at your home after training waiting to be fed. It all started with their new addition and your new mutual friend, Broly. You quickly became acquainted and whatever you chose to label your loose commitment, you grew more familiar with him than any other man you’ve known as “just a friend”. Regardless, you accepted this cook role for what it was if it meant you got to see more of Broly. Certainly, this was his excuse to see more of you. You even found yourself planning out meals for their next visit to flex your cooking skills. 

There was a language of love in cooking for others who enjoyed it, and it shined in your determination to awe them for the next time. Delving into recipes from the common modern cuisine to some from your cultural background. Sometimes comparing your own meals to the others often made you hesitant to try bolder recipes, however. Bulma can produce high-quality and multi-course meals at the snap of her finger, enough to feed them for months at a time. And Chi Chi’s a virtuoso with creating unique, hearty, and delicious home cooking from scratch, able to use all her resources to satisfy the hungriest of warriors. They’ve also been doing this longer, you have to remind yourself. 

But you’ve never gotten criticism from either one of the saiyans intending to bash your skills, only from how quickly certain portions can disappear without a ready refill from Vegeta and Goku. 

Broly never complained, he accepted everything you could give him with quiet contentment and simply ate his share of the large portions. It’s hard not to notice when the other two are so vocal about wanting more, so you just made sure to give Broly a little extra here and there. A polite thanks is given in return when you refill his plate before it empties. You don’t know exactly where he came from, other than Goku describing it as “repugnant”, but it was nice to know that someone capable of such frightful powers still came with his manners. He may have been the biggest saiyan you’ve ever seen, but he was without a doubt the most soft-spoken and polite, an amusing change from Goku’s free-and-easy demeanor and Vegeta’s snobbish persona.

You used to think the sex would help bring Broly out of his shell (it did wonders for Vegeta’s personality), knowing he is locked in this mundane routine of physical and mental training, but it may have just made him more docile. Perhaps he mistook it as more training for his emotions. It did make it easier to talk about with him, at least.

You eventually left the three to finish chatting up about their day and finish up the last of the food, returning to the kitchen to start cleaning the dishes. The only downside to their company was being left alone to clean up the mess so you figured you’d get a headstart. You weren’t left alone for long, however, a sudden large hand on your shoulder almost jolting you out of your skin from Broly’s quiet approach. You laugh off your scare and quickly take notice of the timid, yet distressed frown in his features, realizing it was there before he accidentally surprised you. Did you miss something over their mealtime?

“Oh, hey. What’s the matter?” You asked, concerned about the reason behind this change from his normal demeanor. Based on what you did tune into from their chatting, you could think of one reason this may be. “Bad training session?”

“No.” Broly paused, then looked further disappointed by his answer. “Not…really.” He corrected. They couldn’t stop talking about Goku and Vegeta’s exhibition while they ate, but Broly and Goku sparred too. Along with its abrupt end, it never came up for conversation. Had he not almost lost control, maybe things would have ended differently today. He would have a nice story to share with you on his progress instead.

It was truly an experience to be on the spectator side of a fight for once and Broly was moved to try to emulate the other two saiyans’ ability to maintain their power as they fought, however he couldn't overlook his lack of dominance over his strength and be ashamed. Being unable to control his power even after a couple of years of training with Goku made him feel like he was missing something in his lessons. He's improved dramatically, but still so much is left to learn.

“Did you…lose focus again?” You asked, halting your cleaning entirely to look at him. Broly nods softly.

“Only for a moment.” He admitted. Even for just a brief instance of a slip-up where he caught himself, he wanted it to sound better than it was, how it made him feel. In search of that relief, you were more than receptive to his troubles and willing to help.

"Do you need help with ‘focusing’ again?" You inquired further, a sincere concern with a suggestive undertone he did not miss. In fact, he hoped for it. With nerves building in the base of his chest, Broly swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded at you again.

You smiled at him, charmed by his ability to say so much with his actions than words. And still so careful and shy about approaching you for your “help” after doing this a couple of times already. You quickly felt your insides come alive, motivated by the decadent impulses that would consume you from here on. Indulging saiyans is truly a delight you never thought you wanted until you had it.

Calmly drying your hands, you close the space between the two of you and hold up your hands invitingly. At the ready, Broly follows along. His larger hands press into yours where your fingers interlock. He watches you close your eyes and take a deep breath, doing the same.

“Where am I?” You asked him and you feel the little squeeze of his hands around yours.

“You’re here.” He says, his heart skipping a beat but another deep breath eases its rhythm. Your smile grows hearing him do so and you reopen your eyes to look up at him.

“Where are you?” You follow up, giving his hands a squeeze in return.

“Here..” Spoken gently, Broly opening his eyes, finding himself lulled to the familiar relaxed state of being with a floaty sensation, yet his senses were so keen and sparked by the body before him. Then his eyes locked onto yours and he allowed himself to fall into his urges. Giving in only to those that could desire the warmth of your body, all others drowned out in the placid state of his mind. A shade of pink rises in his tan cheeks remembering the acute sensations of you, leaning down to kiss your lips the way he learned. He moved more confidently than he has before, more controlled, which you appreciated.

It’s not exactly the place you want to do this, but you doubt the other two would be in a hurry to move after putting away all that food. Urgency was the key still as Broly would have to return to Lord Beerus’ planet after this. You freed one of your hands to cup his chin, basking in the sweet kisses heating up between you as he fills his hand with your face as well. Deepening the kiss. His unspoken neediness reared itself quickly when you found your backside bumped against the counter, bound in the small space with his body pressing closer to you. A mess waiting to happen if you knock over the stack of dishes. So you opt for something else.

His pelt brushes over your nose when you got on your knees in front of him, the mixed scent of his musk from training and the last time you cleaned it for him filling the air around your head. Alluring and rugged, you couldn’t help taking a moment to let it intoxicate you. Half of your face disappeared beneath his pelt as you kissed along the tent on his formfitting pants, feeling it flinch in return. Your eyes peer up at him, checking in. Broly is slightly hunched over to watch you, eyes darkened and face glowing with his desire.

"I'm here." He reassures you, encouraging you to continue for more. He sees your eyes smile back at him and it felt like his heart was flipping in his chest in anticipation of what was coming next. You pulled the purple fabric free of Ba’s ear and down the bulge before you, freeing his hard cock as it hung erect above your face.

The size of it never failed to impress you, the mere fullness of his girth and its strong length bearing its weight. One could easily be lost in staring at it just by how intense it looked and only the brave like yourself could find how sensitive it truly was. That had to be your favorite part. You give the exposed head a kiss before you grab him at the base of his length and rub your flattened tongue across the tip. Broly took in a sharp, deep breath once your lips wrapped around him, falling past his lips with the shaky heat from his chest. His eyes softened at the touch, fighting his instincts to close them so he can keep them on you. This was where he needed his control the most, when you trusted him to hold his focus. He’d bite his lip bloody and bury his nails into the palm of his hand before he would let himself hurt you.

But it felt so good, the warmth of your mouth wrapped around the head of his cock, suckling around the sensitive glans and working your way further down the length with your hand coming the opposite way. It sent a shiver all the way up his spine as he leaned his hips into you, his voice creeping out of his slacked jaw. You truly enjoyed the way your mouth felt opening up to his size. It was easier for now, but you knew the further this went the more trouble it would be to hold it in your mouth as you were, let alone slide it as deep as you could.

Broly came with a little trick you never seen before and made you curious if all saiyans did it, but as fully erect as he was, he was far from his true size. With a strong hand cupping the end of the counter and the other on the nearby wall, you feel him buck against your opened mouth and your eyes look up to him, relaxing your jaw so he would slip free. His cock twitches more excitedly, missing the sensation of you.

"I-I'm here…" Broly breathed heavily. Practically pleading in his lust for you to go on, licking the dryness from his lips.

He does let his eyes close this time when you draw him back past your lips and his head lulls back as a moral vocal groan leaves him. As you picked up your pace, you started to feel his girth swell, expanding your jaw to a more discomforting stretch and you knew he was about to cum. Your one hand and lips couldn’t quite meet in the middle any longer, so you brought your second to add to his pleasure. Slick with your saliva, you switched to pumping the swollen length while you continue to suck only on the sensitive head of his cock, motivated to keep this pace by the lively twitches under your ministrations.

[jazzystudios82]

Black Magic - Chapter 2: A Tournament?

Previous Chapter. . . . Next Chapter. . . .

——————————————————————————

“Let me see if I heard you properly: you want to hold a universal tournament?” Beerus said to Champa. “And if you win, I have to give you the Earth from my universe?” “Yes, that’s right.” Champa answered. 

Brier looked at her husband to see his reaction. He can’t even be considering this, right? “An amusing idea, Champa. But give me one reason why I should. What would I gain from a silly little contest?” Beerus told his brother. Brier’s eyes widened in shock. He actually was?!

“And besides, even if you won, how do you plan on swapping the two Earths?” Beerus added. “Good question.” Brier said, having composed herself. “Do you have a method to do so? I doubt that something like that is possible.” 

“Oh but it is, my dear sister-in-law.” Champa said. 

“Hm?”

Seeing Brier’s confused face, Champa decided to explain. “You see, recently I’ve devoted a lot of time and effort to collecting wish orbs.” “Lord Champa!” Vados and Camellia exclaimed. Brier glanced at the white haired angel and her sister to see that they both had slightly frustrated looks on their faces. It appeared that this was supposed to be on a need-to-know basis. 

What her sister said only proved her suspicions. “Surely you’re not actually going to give them away, are you?!”

“It’s fine, Camellia. Just relax.” Champa told her. He looked back at Brier to continue with his conversation. “Now listen, these wish orbs can grant any wish that your heart desires. And yes, “anything” would encompass.” “I see. And you’re planning to use them to swap the two Earths, is that right?” Brier questioned. “It is.” Champa answered. “Now, I only have six of them on hand, so I only need to find one more orb, and then I will have all of them in my possession. But if Beerus’ fighters manage to win, then I’ll give all six of them to you.”

“Wish orbs? They sound a lot like Earth’s Dragon Balls.” Goku said, almost startling Brier. She had forgotten that he and Vegeta were in the room. 

Now getting interested, Beerus decided to join the conversation. “Tempting, but unfortunately for you, Champa, but we already have the Dragon Balls in our universe, so we won’t need yours.” “Dragon Balls?” Champa said, sounding confused. His eyes then brightened. “Wait a minute. . .Hey, you two over there!” he shouted, pointing at Goku and Vegeta. “Tell me, would those happen to have been forged by Namekians?”

“Yeah.” Goku said. Vegeta only nodded his head as a form of answering. 

“Ha! I knew it!” Champa said. “The same is true where I’m from, except those Dragon Balls that you speak of were, in fact, long ago carved out of much larger fragments by the ancient Namekians. Like I was trying to say earlier, there are no limits to what the wish orbs that I collected can do, since they’re on a completely different level entirely! Hell, they should be called something like the "Super Dragon Balls"!”

Champa then looked directly at Beerus and said, “How’d you like that?! You’re super jealous, aren’t you?” 

Beerus grunted in response. “If they’re worthless without all seven, then what good would your six do me? Add in the fact that you’re so quick to wager them and it’s clear to me that you have neither hope nor expectation of ever finding the last one! So I hope you understand when I tell you that I’m not–”

“I bet Bulma could find it in no time!” a certain someone interrupted. 

Everyone turned to look at Goku. “What was that, Son Goku?” Brier asked. “What he says is correct, Lady Brier.” Vegeta said. “Knowing my wife, she could whip up a device capable of locating the Super Dragon Balls. Although. . .” 

Noticing him trailing off, Brier thought about reading his mind to learn what he was planning to say, but stopped herself from doing so. It wouldn’t be good if she was too nosy. 

“So what do you guys say?” Goku asked Brier and Beerus. “Can we? Can we compete? Pretty please?” The way he was practically begging reminded Brier of when her two children would try to convince her to get them something sweet from when they were younger. The memory practically made her smile.

“You seriously want to do all of this?” Beerus questioned, raising a ‘brow’. “Yeah! Are you kidding me?” Goku answered. “Fighting the strongest warriors from another universe? This is like every fighter’s dream come true!”

“And what about you, your highness?” Brier asked Vegeta. “Do you wish to partake as well?” The Saiyan Prince took a minute to think it over before giving his answer. “Yes, I’m in.” 

Beerus then lightly tapped Brier on the shoulder to get her attention. “What is it, darling?” she asked. He then leaned close to her and whispered, “Do you want to give it a shot? If not, then I can make Champa go away.” Brier smiled. “I don’t see why not. After all, it’s not as if you two are the ones going to compete in the battle.” 

Beerus then looked at his brother to give him his answer. “All right then, Champa. Count us in.” 

“Splendid! We have ourselves a deal!” Champa exclaimed. 

The only ones who showed signs of distress were none other than Whis, Vados, and Camellia. The first one to speak between the three was the pink haired Titaness. “Ok, since we’re actually going to do this, let’s make one thing clear: under no circumstances can my and Brier’s father learn of this. Got it?” 

“Of course.” Beerus, Champa, Brier, Whis, and Vados said. "We don't have a death wish." Whis added.

This naturally made Goku and Vegeta curious. What was the big deal with Brier’s father? What could he possibly do if he learned about this?

. 

. 

.

.

After Champa, Camellia, and Vados left, Brier went to her son and daughter’s separate rooms to check on them. She first went to Blanc’s room, and saw that Rosa was with him, sitting on his bed alongside him. “Mother! What are you doing here?” Blanc asked, surprised to see her. “Is the meeting with Uncle Champa over already?” Rosa questioned as Brier went to sit near them. 

“It did. It was. . .eventful, to say the least.” Brier said. “Huh? What does that mean?” Rosa asked, a brow raised. Brier let out a sigh before she answered. “Your father Beerus and your uncle Champa made plans to have a tournament between Universes #6 and #7.” 

“Woah! Really?” Rosa exclaimed, sounding excited. 

“Yes, it’s true.” Brier confirmed. “For what reason?” Blanc asked. “What kind of bet did those two make this time?” 

“Let me guess: it was something about food, wasn’t it?” Rosa said. “Something like that.” Brier replied with a closed eyed smile. “Anyway, I was wondering if you two wished to watch it with me. Normally I’d take you two out to do something more fun and peaceful, but this ended up interfering with my original plans.” 

“Sure! I don’t see why not.” Rosa answered. 

“I have to agree as well.” Blanc said. “Besides, it’ll be interesting to see what fighters those two will choose for the competition.” 

“I’ll tell Beerus that you two are coming along.” Brier said. As she stood up, Brier was about to walk to the door and make it back to the others. But she immediately stopped in her tracks when she remembered something important to ask them. 

“I almost forgot! Did you two do your familiar summoning ritual already?” Brier asked. Blanc and Rosa’s faces brightened almost immediately. “Oh yes, we did!” Blanc said. “We brought them with us, but they’re resting right now since they got tired from the flight.” 

“Do you want to see them, Ma?” Rosa asked. "We just have to be quiet so that they don't wake up." Brier nodded her head with a smile. “All right. Rosa and I will show you where they are.” Blanc said as he led his mother to his and Rosa's familiars. In a corner of Blanc’s room, there was a desk that had two soft white pillows, where there were two small creatures laying on top sleeping peacefully. 

The first that caught Brier’s attention was a tiny leafy creature with insect-like wings on its back. Brier immediately remembered seeing the creature a while back, around the time she and Beerus first met Goku and his friends. ‘It's certainly nice to see them again.’ Brier thought fondly, glad to see that she was right with the fact that her daughter was the one to form a contract with the little being. She looked at the other creature to see that it was a tiny bone-white colored bat-like creature with the tips of its ears being colored a light shade of purple with its heart-shaped nose being a similar color.  

Brier looked away from the familiars and asked her son and daughter, "So, what are their names?" 

“This little leafy guy is Cedar and he’s bonded with me, and this fuzzy little gal is Belladonna and she’s bonded with Blanc.” Rosa answered, gesturing to each of the sleeping creatures respectively. "Though Blanc likes to just call her 'Donna' for short." 

“Cedar and Belladonna." Brier mumbled, testing out their names. They sounded perfect. "How lovely. I hope to get to know them better in the future.”

——————————————————————————

AN: I know that this chapter is pretty short, so I apologize, but writing can be a bit hard sometimes.

[tobiasdrake]

Hey there! What are your thoughts on the infamous and legendary Tenshinhan-Yamcha relationship?

It's something the anime created to try and make Yamcha more prominent of a character. Toei loved Yamcha. They sprinkled all kinds of things throughout the anime to try and make him seem like a bigger, more dignified, and more important character. In the anime, Yamcha is basically the guy; The brave, cunning, and talented leader of the human martial arts crew, with Ten as the prominent anime rival figure who does his own thing but is still part of the group.

The anime also pretty aggressively takes his side in the largely ambiguous relationship drama going on in the background between him and Bulma.

Part of that was setting him up as a sort of bro and rival to Tenshinhan. Which is kind of funny because it plays straight something that was done as a bit in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai.

Tenshinhan's initial read of the Kame-senryu students is that Yamcha is the serious and capable martial artist in the bunch, and Goku and Krillin are his juniors. He seizes upon Yamcha as the adversary he must defeat in order to break Kame-senryu on the world stage.

Yamcha, in turn, banters back with Tenshinhan. This is probably where Toei got the idea to make them rivals. Goku, meanwhile, pays little mind to the verbal jousting; He's already made up his mind about Tenshinhan.

Krillin thinks he's a big jerk face and Yamcha's raring to make him eat his words, while Goku's reading Ten and going "This guy's an incredible martial artist and I can't wait to fight him!" Ten, in turn, is making bad assumptions probably based on the ages of the Muten-Roshi's pupils.

In fact, he's paying Goku no mind at all. When he uses Chiaotzu's psychic powers to rig the drawing of lots, he sees a formidable foe in Jackie Chun and wants to get a glimpse of what Jackie's made of before fighting him.

While taking Yamcha for himself.

And letting Chiaotzu have Krillin, since Chiaotzu had a bone to pick.

Meanwhile, Goku was pit against Pamput as the leftovers. Not one single solitary shit was given for who Goku would fight. Ten had his eyes on breaking the best of Kame-senryu and in his mind, that meant Yamcha.

And I do mean breaking. Ten humiliates and brutalizes Yamcha in the ring, then claims victory over Kame-senryu. He's faced down the best of the best and it's going to be smooth sailing from here, as long as he doesn't let himself get cocky and make a mistake.

But then Krillin and Chiaotzu's match began, and while watching the fights, Tenshinhan overheard some shit.

The junior underling of Yamcha's that he's been ignoring killed Taopaipai, his master's brother and the greatest practitioner of their art. That's when Ten realizes that he's made some bad assumptions and needs to adjust his expectations accordingly.

This is the last significant interaction Ten and Yamcha ever have. Ten and Chiaotzu do train with the Kame-senryu boys when they're undergoing a heavenly trial together.

But Ten and Chiaotzu are kinda like Piccolo. They do their own thing in their own space and don't have relationships with the others. They'll train under a shared master with Kame-senryu students but they don't, of their own volition, train or socialize with Kame-senryu.

Ten and Chiaotzu go their own way and don't form any sort of relationship to the rest of the group at all. They are only ever, at most, associates from work. Ten's primary interest is in cultivating his new ex-Tsuru-senryu art and his secondary interest is in testing his developing abilities against Goku. He's never paid Yamcha much mind at all after that one fight.

No, Yamcha's greatest bro and rival and comrade is much closer to home. It's the character Toei utterly disrespects, and goes out of their way to downplay and trivialize at every opportunity in the anime and movies. It's the person who happily banters with him whenever they're together.

The character who has Yamcha's back when people are being shitty.

Who (along with Goku when he's around) races to Yamcha's side whenever he gets hurt.

Krillin is the guy that the anime tries to make Yamcha out to be. And Krillin is, to Yamcha, the guy that the anime tries to make Tenshinhan out to be.

My biggest beef with the anime is that it fundamentally misrepresents the characters and their relationships to one another. This creates expectations for how they'll be handled in the story moving forward.

Yamcha never got to be the guy because he was never supposed to be; Toei was setting viewers up for disappointment by promising a more plot-critical and more formidable character than what he was designed to be. Toei promised that Yamcha would be #1 among the humans and the main protagonist whenever Goku isn't around. And that never materialized. Because he's not. He never was.

They did this to Gohan too, with episode after episode portraying him as an enthusiastic and battle-hungry chip off the ol' block, chomping at the bit to become a great martial artist just like his dad. Toei's Gohan is a ready and willing Goku Jr., except when the plot forces him to be a sensitive boy in over his head because that's who the character actually is in the canon that's being adapted.

A lot of people like those interpretations. And, like, you do you. I'm not going to say anyone's wrong for liking them. I'm not here to say those interpretations are bad. Just that they're basically fanfiction, which is a problem because being in the most prominent adaptation of the source material disguises the fact that they're fanfiction. It creates anticipation of payoffs in the main story; Payoffs that will never come, that can never come, because the plot points building to them are fanfiction.

I honestly do wonder how much of the resentment and frustration fans have with Dragon Ball canon stems from the fact that Toei kept writing checks that the manga wasn't going to cash.

[db-gochifan]

GoChi Week 2023 - Day 2: Letters/Flowers

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Title: The Secret Admirer Pairing: Goku/Chi-Chi; minor Bulma/Yamcha Characters: Son Goku, Chi-Chi, Bulma Briefs, Yamcha and Ox King Summary: A letter brings up the romantic side of Goku. Do not copy, repost, use it in any form or claim this work to be your own. Cross-posted on AO3

It was a typical winter day on West City. Valentine’s Day was just around the corner, which meant the halls from Orange Star High School were filled with pink and red hearts and other Valentine’s decorations. Goku sighed deeply when he got closer to his locker and saw the amount of boxes around it.

“I don’t get why you’re so annoyed with that.” Yamcha stated with a confused tone, as he tried to get near his own locker. “Most guys would love to be on your shoes right now.”

“I would gladly trade places, without even questioning it.” He opened his locker and a bunch of letters slipped down to the floor. “How the hell did these girls managed to push all these letters through my locker?!”

“You should never underestimate them. They are capable of anything.”

“Tell me about it.” Goku growled when he accidentally kicked one of the many boxes near his feet. He bent down and grabbed one that has a full-page picture of a brunette attached to it.

“So what are you going to do with all these presents?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.” He glanced at Yamcha and couldn’t help but laugh when he noticed he was nearly drooling at the photo. “Could you be less obvious?”

“What?” The long-haired man blinked a few times and shook his head.

“We were close to getting drowned here.” He teased and then handed the box to his friend. “Do you want to keep this one? Maybe you can get lucky.”

“You don’t want it?”

Just as Goku was about to answer, his eyes fell on a brunette girl walking down the hall. She was so distracted talking to Bulma that she wasn’t paying attention to anything or anyone else. His neck could have easily been broken due to how much it followed her around.

“Earth to Goku.” Yamcha waved his hand in front of his friend’s eyes, to get his attention.

“What?” The spiky haired man shook his head slightly. “Do you really want it? I mean…”

He glanced at the direction the two girls had gone and Yamcha followed him suit.

“Yeah, it’s better not to. Last thing I want is to piss Bulma off. It can often get pretty bad.”

“That’s true.”

****

“I can’t believe you’re not gonna give to him.” Bulma stated with astonishment as she and Chi-Chi headed to their class.

“Believe it or not, I’m not.”

“I don’t get it, you wrote it for nothing?”

“Did you see how many things there were in front of his locker? I don’t stand a chance.”

“Are you kidding me?” She shouted. “I guarantee the other girls don’t come anywhere near you.”

“I feel flattered, but I still don’t believe it.”

“Well, you should. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you’re distracted.”

“It doesn’t matter, I’m still not giving it to him.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“It is.” Chi-Chi ended the conversation and the two girls headed to their seats in silence. ****

Bulma waited hidden for Chi-Chi to leave the dressing room after changing into her fighting outfit later that day. She sneaked in very slowly and went through her friend’s stuff to get the letter.

“I’m sorry, Chi-Chi. But you’ll thank me later.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Yamcha asked for what seemed to be the millionth time.

“Yes, I ‘m sure.” She replied firmly and with some annoyance. “If you don’t want to help me, that’s fine. But I can’t just stand here and do nothing to help my friend.”

“What happens when she finds out? She’s gonna be really pissed.”

“I can deal with it when the time comes. For now, let’s just put our plan into action.”

“Fine.”

“I knew you’d be part of this plan!” The bluenette exclaimed with excitement and threw her hands around his neck. “Before we know it, Goku and Chi-Chi will be in each other’s arms.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Honey, I always am.” She said, full of confidence.

****

Chi-Chi was feeling rather uncomfortable with so many guys looking at her during martial arts class. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Much to her surprise, someone else seemed to have noticed her discomfort too.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“Huh?” She looked at him with her eyebrows raised. “Yeah, yeah. Everything’s fine. I just don’t like being the center of the attention like this. For some reason, guys look down on women being fighters. Or they think it’s sexy, which is kinda disgusting in my opinion.”

“Hey, leave me out of this.”

“So you don’t think it’s sexy?”

Goku couldn’t help but think her tone almost sounded a little disappointed. “No, that’s not what I meant. Of course I think it’s… anyway, guys may look down on women who fight, but not me. I actually think it’s great.”

“Do you really?” Her face beamed in happiness after hearing what he said.

He couldn’t help but think she looked cute when she smiled like that. He automatically smiled back at her.

“Yes, I really do. Would you feel better if I told these guys to stop looking at you? Or I can just beat them up if you want.”

“It’s not necessary to beat them up.” She put her hands up between them, almost close to his chest. “Just telling them will be enough.”

“Alright.” He was slightly disappointed with her request, but tried his very best to hide it.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

****

Goku and Yamcha made their way to the changing rooms after taking shower when martial arts classes were over for the day. The latter was feeling a little nervous about the letter his friend was about to find. He still didn’t have a good feeling about this.

“Some nice training today, huh?” The spiky-haired brunette asked while he dried his hair with a white towel.

“It surely was.” The other brunette tried to push his worries away and replied in the coolest tone possible. “Once again you couldn’t stay away from Chi-Chi.”

Goku couldn’t help but grin when he was nudged on the ribs by his friend. “You know me.”

“I sure do.” Yamcha very discreetly looked over his shoulder to see what his fellow martial arts friend was doing. He put on his best fake surprised face. “What’s this?”

“It’s a letter.” Goku flipped it around, looking for any signs that could tell him who it was from, but he couldn’t find anything.

“You don’t know who sent it?”

“No, there’s nothing in the envelope.” He didn’t bother hiding his frustration, though he was also full of hope it would be from Chi-Chi.

“So you got yourself a secret admirer, huh?”

“That seems like it.” With a sigh, he put the letter in his bag, flinging it on his shoulders right after. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Yamcha quickly followed him out of the changing rooms. “I’m surprised you didn’t open the letter right away. It almost seemed like you weren’t too thrilled about it.”

“It’s probably from one of these girls who are desperately to have a boyfriend.” Goku shook his head and shrugged, keeping a very cool tone as he spoke. “I will open it when I get home.”

“I see.” He pressed his lips together. “Either way, I’m curious to know what you will think about it.”

“Really?” He spiky-haired boy looked at him with his eyebrows raised. “Why is that?”

“For no reason.” Yamcha began to panic and his eyes widened when he realized he almost gave himself and Bulma away. “I just want to know what’s in the letter.”

“Alright, I guess.”

****

Goku was lying on his bed chilling and staring at the ceiling when he remembered the letter was still in his bag. He jumped out of his bed and ran to it, returning to his previous position as soon as he grabbed the envelope. He carefully tore it open, so he wouldn’t accidentally rip the paper inside. Then he unfolded the paper and began to read its content. He didn’t remember seeing that handwriting anywhere before, but his heart still started beating faster on his chest. He couldn’t tell whether it was his wishful thinking or something else, but he was sure that handwriting belonged to the girl he had been crushing – sometimes not so subtly – for quite a while.

Hi, Goku!

I hope you forgive me for writing this letter, but I couldn’t find any other way to say what I wanted. In person would be an option, but I’m just not brave enough to do it. Anyway, maybe I should go straight to the point. Okay, so… I’ve been observing you these past few days… maybe admiring would be a more suitable word. Honestly, I don’t know what I intended to do with this letter… maybe just let you know I admire you? Well, either way, I hope you don’t feel embarrassed with it and my confused thoughts. I surely do, now that I’m reading it.

I guess I’ll see you around.

Your secret admirer.

Goku had a huge grin on his face by the time he finished reading the small confessional letter. But he didn’t find it embarrassing in the slightest. It was the opposite actually. He found it sweet. He folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. When he was about to put it away in a drawer, the scent of lilies invaded his nostrils and he shivered slightly. If there was any doubt Chi-Chi had written that letter, it was just gone. For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Goku jumped out of his bed. This time, however, he rushed out of his house.

****

Chi-Chi was about to leave for school that morning. She yelled bye to her father and opened the front door of her house. Her eyes immediately fell on a single flower lying right in front of it. She bent down and picked it up, silently looking to her right and to her left for someone or something that could tell her who had put it there. But there was nothing.

“Chi-Chi?” The Ox King, her father, walked into the kitchen and saw her frozen on her spot. “Is something wrong?”

“Someone left a lily here.” She walked in again, grabbing a glass and filling it with water for the flower.

“A flower?” He asked while she turned around and put the glass in the center of their table. “It was just there?”

“That’s right.” Chi-Chi nodded and looked at the flower for a few more seconds before shaking her head and smiling. “Well, I should go to school or I’ll be late.”

“Alright. Have a good day, darling.���

“You too, dad.”

****

Chi-Chi was taken aback when she stopped in front of her locker and found another lily attached to its lock. She had just grabbed it when Bulma stopped beside her.

“Well, well, looks like someone’s got a secret admirer.”

“I’m sure that was an accident. Someone must have confused someone else’s locker with mine.”

“Do you really think so low of yourself? Why is it so hard for you to accept someone may have a crush on you?”

“That’s not…” She pressed her lips together, deciding not to argue with her friend. She may have a point. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I know I am.” Bulma bragged with a grin. “And looks like this person actually knows some of your tastes. Not everyone has lilies as their favorite flower.”

“It looks like it.” The brunette bit her lower lip as she placed the flower on her locker. She could only hope it wouldn’t die before she went home.

“Don’t you wanna know who sent it?”

“Of course I do, but apparently they don’t share the same thought.”

There was a bitter tone in Chi-Chi’s voice; almost like she was disappointed for some reason, but she couldn’t understand why. Or maybe she just didn’t want to admit it.

“It’s possible, but I think we both know who put it here.”

“And also who had left another one at my door earlier.”

“What?” Bulma asked, visibly surprised.

“I came across another lily when I left for school this morning. Whoever left it must know where I live.”

“That’s so sweet!”

“More like creepy.”

“Why must you ruin everything?”

“Come on, you have to admit it was a little creepy.”

“Well…” The blue haired girl had to agree with her friend. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.” Chi-Chi looked at her. “Wait and see if this boy will reveal himself eventually, I guess.”

****

“Why are there so many petals near your locker?” Yamcha couldn’t take his eyes off the floor while he and Goku went to grab their things to go home after class.

Goku didn’t say anything, he simply opened his own locker and showed him the bouquet of lilies inside it.

“What the…? Did you receive them from a girl?”

“Nope, I’m actually sending them to one.”

“Chi-Chi…” He said after he fully understood the situation. “What did she say about it?”

“Nothing yet. I didn’t tell her they were from mine, so she doesn’t know. At least I don’t think she does.”

“Chi-Chi is smart, she will figure out. If she hadn’t already.”

“That’s true.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Now it’s time to put the final part of my plan into action.”

****

Goku felt his heart pounding hard on his chest and began to get nervous with everyone glancing at the bouquet of flowers in his hand. He noticed a group of girls standing not far from her, undoubtedly wanting to know who was the lucky girl that would get the lilies. He prayed Chi-Chi didn’t take too long to walk out of school or that she was still inside. Otherwise he would make a fool out of himself.

The single lily swung smoothly under Chi-Chi’s grasp as she and Bulma left the school building and headed towards the exit. Her heart skipped a beat when she found another one in their path and she knelt down to pick it up.

“Whoever this guy is, he’s really good.” Bulma commented when her friend returned to her previous position.

“Maybe.” She couldn’t help but smell it. “I’m surprised no one took it, to be honest.”

“I guess not everyone likes lilies.”

“Yeah, that may be it.”

For some reason, Chi-Chi felt her heart racing as they got near the gate. She noticed there were more people around than usual that day, clearly waiting to see how things would unfold. As soon as she crossed the gate, she saw Goku from the corner of her eyes, standing on her left.

“Goku.” Her voice was barely a whisper as she watched him get near her. “So it was you all along.”

“That’s right.” He gave her one of his signature smiles and handed her the bouquet. “I heard lily is your favorite flower.”

“It is.” She smiled kindly and was surprised to see he had offered her his arm.

“May I take a beautiful girl home today?”

Chi-Chi felt her cheeks blush slightly, but still linked her free arm with his.

[justagamerandaweeb]

What-if Crossover - Akaza vs. Goku

This is just a random thought that was in my head, like what if Goku didn't have his Saiyan genetics, but kept the knowledge of his martial arts? And what if Akaza wasn't a demon, but kept his years (115) of knowledge of soryu shiki?

Don't virtually crucify me if your favorite character loses, this is for shits and giggles. (And lowkey a interesting fight if this ever were to happen.)

_______________________

Akaza violently coughs as he succumbs to his unconsciousness. He looked around to see that he was in some sort of white, empty room. It was like there was no start, or end to it at all. Something must've happened to him as he couldn't remember why he was unconscious. He just suddenly passed out, and he was just here.

The hell? Where am I? What is this place? He looks down, and coming to realize that he was wearing his gi when he was a human. What the? He then raises his hands up to see that they were no longer a bright green-tinged white complexion, but rather a light tan skin tone. He then notices the tattoos covering both of his forearms, the ones he got when he was marked as a criminal. Is this... some sort of dream? Am I dead? Akaza pondered as he was still confounded at this ac​tu​al​i​ty.

"Hey! You there!" Akaza heard the sound of a middle-aged man behind him. He turns around to see a man wearing an orange gi with a blue shirt underneath it. He had a blue belt, blue wrist wraps, and blue boots. He had a kanji on the left side of his top that reads Go. His hair was black and spiky, and his eyes were round and pure looking, while his pupils were a solid black. He raises his hand up, and waves at him as he shouts, "Hi, my name's Goku! What's your--"

Goku was interrupted when Akaza came at him at light speed when he tried to knee his head. Luckily, he blocked it with his left forearm, leaving Akaza a little bit stu​pe​fied that he blocked it so quickly, and so easily. Akaza then flipped back away from him, landing him on his feet, and getting into his fighting stance.

Goku bursts out a joyful laugh as he says to Akaza, "Wow, you're really fast! Had I not blocked that, you would've for sure taken my head off!" Akaza said nothing to him while maintaining his stance as he thought to himself, How did he block that so easily? I got to him within the fraction of a second, and he somehow defended himself. Who the hell is this guy?

"Hey, there's no reason to be so hostile, why don't you tell me your name? My name's Goku, what's yours?" He said as his hands were on his hips, and he nonchalantly stood there, swaying himself left and right, waiting for him to respond.

"Akaza." He spoke out as he was still defensive, not taking the chance of letting his guard down. "Where the hell am I? How did I even get here? And how did you get here?" He said with a faint sense of ma​lev​o​lence in his voice. Goku scratches the back of his head as he looks up and says, "Honestly, I'm kind of just as lost as you are. I was just training, and suddenly I felt very tired. So I passed out, and well, here we are." And lets out an awkward giggle.

A vein popped into Akaza's forehead as he thought, Just hearing him talk tics me off. How is he so laid back about being in a place like this? There's nothing here. Can you even consider this a place? Goku then thought to himself as he was looking around the white void of space around him, Now that I think about it, this does look like the hyperbolic time chamber. But, I don't even feel the force of gravity. And he would be struggling to properly stand if that were the case... he hums out of pe​cu​liar​i​ty as he started to bounce.

Akaza was slowly losing patience with this guy ignoring him. Is he unaware that he is an Upper Rank Demon? Well, was an Upper Rank Demon. "Hey." Goku's attention went directly to when he called him out. "Hm?" "Why don't you just cut the crap, and fight me? I want to see what you're capable of as you blocked my knee attack so easily."

Goku's eyebrow rises up as he says, "Are you sure? Can't we just talk this out, and figure out how'd we even get--" Goku got interrupted again as Akaza tried to attack him, making a fast jab as Goku quickly dodged it and weaved back from his roundhouse kick. He then back flipped and said, "Okay then, if it's fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!" He said determined, but having a smile on his face.

He took the same stance as when he fought Vegeta for the first time, and launched toward Akaza. He performs a spinning roundhouse kick, but Akaza leans back far enough to see the soles of them. What he did not expect however, is how quickly he transitioned the roundhouse kick, into a cartwheel kick, and a superman punch.

He he dodged the cartwheel kick, and blocked the superman punch, and so he quickly dodged Goku's flurries of punches weaving his head left, and right. Damn! This guy's quick! Once Goku threw another jab, he pushed it slightly to the left, to throw him off balance, and gave him a left hook on the jaw.

Goku stumbles back as he is awestruck that he was the first to take the hit. He wipes his lips and sees a line of blood on his skin. He then looks at Akaza to see an audacious smile on his face as he says, "Come on, is that the best you can do?" Goku then smiles, and spits out blood as he responds to him, "I was gonna say the same to you."

Him saying that, got into Akaza's skin. So much so, that he zipped at him, and was about to punch him in his chest, but Goku fell back on purpose, caught himself with his hands, and kicked him in his chest with both of his feet, launching him into the air. Goku rolls on his back, and onto his feet as he concentrates enough energy for him to jump high into the air.

Akaza was stunned at how powerful that kick was, and how fast he did it. It was almost as fast as when he tried to knee him, if not faster. But he quickly came to his senses when he saw him jumping up at him, was about to perform another superman punch. Move, move, MOVE! He shouted out in his head as he moved his body to the right, and did a spinning roundhouse kick on Goku's back, launching him.

He then landed on the floor and began to bolt to Goku who was still in the process of falling as when he was almost about to land on the floor, Akaza caught him with one arm, spun him in the air, and did a bicycle kick on his abdomen.

He watches Goku get rag-dolled as his body rolls across the floor like a piece of paper against the wind. Once he stopped, Goku was striving to get up after that combo he just got hit with. It felt like he couldn't breathe after he got kicked in the stomach as he spat out more blood, and wiped some off his chin as he noticed his gi was all tattered up.

Goku smiles as he lets out a giggle and says, "I haven't fought anyone this strong in forever... it's almost making me excited..." he then started to take off the top of his gi, and now all that he was wearing was his orange pants and blue shirt. "And I never thought I would use this technique again..." Akaza heard him say technique, and that instantly put him on edge. Technique? You mean he's been holding back?

Goku then closes his eyes and softly exhales through his mouth as his steam started to radiate off his body. He began to elicit sounds of strained grunting and growling as he balled his fists, crouches down and grits his teeth as hair started to flail.

Akaza couldn't help but stare at him. It's like his body was emas​cu​lating as he was struck with this aura he was feeling. "KAIO-KEN!" Goku shouted out as his body became engulfed in this red fiery aura, and his clothes and body were in a reddish tint. Goku then lets out a shout as he then locked his eyes on Akaza as he got on he crouched all the way down, put his hand on the floor, and dug his feet into it.

"Get ready!" He then bolted to Akaza with a sound of a train whistle passing by. Akaza tried to prepare himself early by getting into a defensive stance, but it was futile as he was met with Goku's elbow on his cheek. He then was met with a flurry of kicks and punches, before ending the combo with a brutal uppercut to the stomach.

This caused Akaza to cough and vomit out blood after the beatdown he just endured. The pain was so in​con​sol​able, all he could do is clench his stomach and curl into a ball as he grunts in pain. Goku then jumps high into the air and cups his hands behind his hip as he started to build up his move. "KA... ME..."

A blue sphere started to appear in his hands, it started to glow brighter and grow bigger. "HA... ME..." Akaza opens his eyes to see Goku floating in the air as something behind him was glowing, and he couldn't do anything but close his eyes, and accept his fate. "... HA!!! " and so Goku formed a Kamehameha and fired it towards him and it landed on him.

Or so he thought.

When the dust finally settled, all Goku could see was a crater in the floor, but no body of Akaza was found. Goku's breath trembles as he deactivates Kaio-Ken and lands back on the floor. He walks to the crater and crouches down at the crater that he caused as he thought, Man, Akaza, you really were a great fighter. I hope someday that we meet again, and have another sparring match. If, you are alive of course. And he chuckles.

Akaza jolts out of his nap, to see that he was back in the Infinity Castle. His demon clothes were back and his complexion was back to its regular state. Not to mention, the lines surrounding his body. What the fu-- he then felt someone touched his shoulder, and he quickly took his stance and came to find out that it was Douma. "Whoa, easy there, Akaza! I'm just seeing how you're doing! You kind of spaced out on us when we were having our talk." Douma said as he pats Akaza's back.

Akaza's head formed a vein when he touched him, and so he started to walk to the edge, and jumped. As he was falling through the infinity castle, he started to think back that he fought in his supposedly "dream". That Goku was an interesting fighter. I've never seen a technique like that before. It makes me want to fight him even more. His body turned red, almost as if he was on fire... I have to find him. I need to fight him again.

___________________________________________

Little short story, trying to see how good I can choreograph fights in written form. Hope you enjoyed this fight I wrote.

And if you think about it, Goku and Akaza would be great fighting partners as they both have a lust for fighting.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

This means we might get Ryu vs. Goku... which might be Goku's first win. I say might since I have no idea if a composite Ryu is stronger than anything Goku has done, and there may be some obscure street fighter comic that has him destroy like 6 universes.

//I really want Goku to win, but it is hilarious to realize that Son Goku, the guy who everyone asks "Can they beat Goku," is one of the most commonly recurring DB competitors, and has NEVER won a battle.

//(By the way, on top of all three bouts with superman, I am including Gogeta, Vegito, and Goku Black. Yes, he won as Vegito, but he also lost as Gogeta, which balances that out.)

//I'd like to see Ryu Vs Goku, just to let Goku have a dub, but I'm not too crazy about it.

//As for the characters themselves, Ryu's power stems from his martial arts expertise, mastery of the Hadou, and some superhuman accomplishments in specific games and crossovers. To his credit, he has faced gods, demons, and superhuman opponents in a variety of media. His strongest form, Evil Ryu, or the Power of Nothingness, has demonstrated enormous destructive power.

//However, even at his most powerful, as seen in crossover titles such as Marvel vs. Capcom, Ryu's skills are largely limited to superhuman martial arts rather than cosmic-level capabilities.

//Sure, he can go toe-to-toe with people like Spider-Man, but what does that really mean in comparison to the Dragon Ball universe? Goku's skills are far superior to those of normal superhuman characters like those in the Marvel Universe.

By the end of Dragon Ball Super, Goku has attained power levels such as Ultra Instinct, where he can equal gods of destruction and exceed normal limitations, so he already exceeds Ryu in that ballpark. He has demonstrated the ability to destroy planets, galaxies, and potentially even more if his power is expanded. He has battled reality-bending monsters and cosmic threats, and his speed, strength, and durability are on a universe-threatening level.

//His only real weaknesses are the fact that he has limited stamina, even at his peak, and he has to train to make himself as strong as he can be, but other than that, he literally doesn't have a limit.

//Goku is significantly stronger than Ryu, composite or not. While Ryu can reach incredible levels of martial prowess and has some reality-bending feats in certain crossovers, Goku's universal, even multiversal-level power, speed, and abilities place him far beyond Ryu's strongest forms.

-Mod