#frieza solider

[appuler]

Hello guys, it’s been a while. I made some art of my DBZ OC, Peppah, in Dragon Ball SD.

I love this buff lady ❤️

[evilkitten3]

#first time I heard this quote I lost my shit#can u imagine if Yamcha cuffed Frieza and then got all domesticated n shit#and the rest of the main cast has to just. like. live with that#also I would pay good money to watch then fu

reblogging to main bc this is a bit too personal for a shitpost blog but i have an au in my head where vegeta agrees to bringing back frieza post-top provided that he gets to be the one to do so (claiming that he wants to lord that over him) and then promptly uses the wish to keep him trapped on earth (well, at earth's coordinates) so he can't go back to pto-ing

cue frieza crashing with yamcha

…yamcha just bc bulma banged a space terrorist doesn’t mean you should too.

[grimmcheems]

What if Chichi died from the heart virus instead of Goku….

So I made this AU a long time ago but haven’t drawn it till now. Have a short fic in the writing with this concept but who knows when I’ll finish it lmao. Other than that, I see saiyan lore potential that Vegeta will share with Bulma that sort of explains Goku’s need to distance himself from everyone after Chichi’s death.

Saiyans are a ‘mate’ race, and since they initially were conquering planets (pre-Frieza), they usually died alongside their mates. So this left little possibility of one dying off on another planet while leaving their spouse/mate behind. It’s unusual for saiyans to die before their other partner, they are a pair species so they usually share the same lifespans anyways. This leaves Goku devastated and instinctively in a depression, along with the exception that he also isn’t like other saiyans, the usual saiyan would t*ke their own l*fe but he is just trying to process the grief of losing her so suddenly. Vegeta has only seen this instance happen like twice when he was younger and with his father handling it and explaining to him the biology behind it.

As for Gohan, he is devastated and goes through denial for a solid month until Goku decides to leave him with Vegeta and Bulma. He has to deal with his grief in his own way and without the help of his father, which makes him resent him for a small time until he finally comes to terms with his mother’s death and tries to understand his father and what he might be going through. On the bright side he learns a lot from Vegeta while he stays with his family and grows up for a bit with Trunks. Trunks starts to view Gohan as an older brother during the time he’s with them and they remain close later on in the story.

Everyone else (all of Goku’s other friend’s) is surprised and shocked at the news and they each feel guilty for not attempting to connect with Chichi beyond surface level interactions but they soon appreciate the little moments she shared with them before her untimely death, leading them to believe and later on confirm that she knew she had the virus.

Goku takes years to try and improve himself and find ways to provide for and raise Gohan before he finally takes him out of Vegeta and Bulma’s hands. The two are awkward at first but they quickly comfort each other before they arrive back in their lonely home where they last shared a moment with her.

Overall very angst lmao. Also Goku and Gohan are wearing versions of Chichis outfits, Goku is wearing the light green version of the gown I have Chichi in a previous art I made, Gohan is in her signature purple outfit.

[comicaurora]

I watched Castlevania: Nocturne the otger day and liked it a lot less than you seemed to, so I want to hear a more detailed opinion if you have one. Am I in the wrong to think it was more shounen and less "deep" in some way?

I'd say it's definitely more shounen. Introducing the "Richter can't do magic because unresolved trauma" thing right from the jump meant a Believing In Yourself powerup was pretty much inevitable, but I liked the execution of that scene enough that I didn't mind much.

It doesn't quite have the backbone of the original Castlevania, which was grounded so strongly in Dracula's apocalyptic grief - a motivation the audience is directed to find deeply understandable from minute one - that it gave the characters a solid thematic core to play off of. This let the writing stay pretty tight by letting Trevor serve as a foiling mirror for Dracula in their mutual disgust with the failures of human kindness, Sypha for Lisa in their altruistic use of their knowledge and their vilification for "witchcraft", and Alucard in the middle torn between worlds.

Nocturne is more loose and character-driven, but it still has a core theme - the argument over "the natural order" and how that plays into a fear of change from those currently on top. However, Richter doesn't really have a horse in that race, since his motivation starts and ends at Kill Vampires while everyone around him is more complex, trying to overthrow the aristocracy and free the enslaved and such. I think this makes Richter feel a little less important than Trevor was, narratively, because he sort of stands apart from the core philosophical debate at play. It took me a few episodes to get what his deal was and start caring about his self-actualization, and I think he's definitely got further to go. Possibly Alucard's presence in season 2 will give him more to play off of.

I think Nocturne has several independently interesting villains instead of one really good villain, which is a complaint I also saw about Castlevania season 4 - I liked Death just fine, but he really didn't work for everyone, and the secondary villains like Saint Germaine were much more interesting and complex. Nocturne does, however, pull off something Castlevania didn't as much, which is most of the characters acting on their own internal consistent motivation without cleanly falling into the "good guy" or "bad guy" box, causing them to slide into and out of conflicts and alliances depending on the circumstances.

I feel like Bathory is kind of a weak core villain with almost no human-level motivations or ideas beyond General Villainy, and the extent of her development being a darkest hour shonen villain powerup/frieza transformation doesn't help much, which is why I'm kind of holding out hope that they just bite the bullet and bring back Dracula. He's the nemesis from the Castlevania games, and while they gave him and Lisa a happy ending in Castlevania season 4, I don't think they need to keep him on the bench forever. It's been 300 years, Lisa is almost certainly long dead again and Dracula doesn't need to be full Mad With Vengeance Burn Down The World to still be a credible problem in need of a little Belmonting.

I had fun with season 1 of Nocturne with the understanding that the first four-episode "season" of Castlevania wasn't representative of the final shape of the story either. Sypha's character, for instance, was very flat before she and the gang went on their season 2 bonding adventure, not much more than some banter and infodumps. I think Nocturne did solid setup of the cast and the theme they'll be unpacking, and it has lots of room to explore these characters in interesting ways once they energy-ball-tennis Bathory out of the way first.

[fandoms-are-my-friends-1321]

Dragon Ball Z Fanfic Ideas

We are starting to branch out again here when it comes to fanfic ideas. I have a couple that I’ve been thinking about the past few days, but I want to get some thoughts from people in the fandom. Keep in mind that I am only in the Android/Very Beginning of the Cell Saga right now, so my ideas are centered from what I’ve watched so far. I also have no idea when these will be written because I may jump back and try to complete old requests that I was too busy to complete before (a few JoJo one’s I know for sure). Anyway, here are the ideas!

The main one that I have for Vegeta right now is a fanfic based on the song Poison from Hazbin Hotel where the reader is either a Saiyan or maybe another alien race (if the reader is a Saiyan, Vegeta never realized that they were alive) and the reader is a perform for Frieza and his soldiers (nothing too sexual, more like burlesque dancer if anything). This leads Vegeta to try and convince Frieza to let him train the reader to be a solider and set them free.

This one is based off of Surface Pressure from Encanto (I have a thing for songs right now), where the reader feels like they can’t show their emotions and crack under the pressure, and while Vegeta tends to do the same thing, he wants to help the reader release their pent up energy

1. I also have a few ideas for Piccolo, such as a fanfic where the reader is a Saiyan training with Piccolo and helping him discover what could motivate him to become stronger, also based on the song Out for Love from Hazbin Hotel

2. A fanfic where Piccolo doesn’t think the reader will ever find him attractive because there are other strong warriors around, but the reader proves to him that he is the only one that they love. Will be based on the song Mary on a Cross by Ghost

Anyway, that’s all for now! Please let me know what you think so I can keep them in mind for later!

[dreadsuitsamus]

Hey Ellie! I hope you’re doing good! May I please request sfw prompts #39 and #13 with Vegeta? I got hit with the mood of wanting something soft with Vegeta out of nowhere.

Slow | Vegeta x Reader |

#13- "I didn't think it was possible to love someone this much."

#39- "Why are you scared of loving?"

author's note: something soft with vegeta? sign me the hell up 🫡🫡 this is also (i believe) the second to last request i have remaining from the prompt lists requests, since i lost the lists 🫠

pairing: vegeta x fem!reader

warnings: brief mentions of canon typical violence and death, no dialogue

Stargazing with Vegeta wasn't a new pastime of yours, but it's always somehow felt so special to sit with your prince in the darkened silence, watching the twinkles above you with no one around to interrupt. It's been a long time of this, with plenty lost along the way, but time and time again you've proven your strength to match up to his and that's why you've remained his second for so long.

You find that your eyes keep slipping to look at him rather than the dipper before you, however.

Oh, how he's changed after all this time. He used to be horrific, cruel even for a Saiyan. He was even unbothered by Frieza's annihilation of your home planet! And now he's at ease, though not without an occasional princely tantrum every now and then. Having his ass absolutely handed to him on Earth ended up yielding results you never could have seen coming; perhaps his death on Namek played the biggest role in his changing ways.

Though it was temporary and will continue to be should he perish again, you'll never quite recover from the scars his death left on you.

Vegeta shifts just a tad, his arm brushing against yours as you both lean on the large rock. It's wide and tall, slanted and perfect for gazing at the stars or clouds alike. It's as if destiny curated this spot just for you and your Prince of all Saiyans— you've never once seen or sensed another soul here.

Goosebumps cover your skin at the vague touch. He's attractive, no doubt, and you've seen him damn near naked more than once and vice versa, but the proximity is a thousand times more intimate and only ever occurs here. Any other time, without this setting, you and Vegeta are both highly prone to distance from the world and each other.

You're certainly best friends, having lived through what feels like three separate lifetimes together. And at one point, it seemed this barrier had the potential to lift. Post-Namek, things were… Gentler. Vegeta had hugged you for the first time, and you remember it more fondly than you'd like to.

There's a solid few taps on the door to the bedroom Bulma's given you, and you don't need to recognize the strength behind it to know it's Vegeta. It's late, well past midnight even, and perhaps he's also finding it hard to sleep on the too-soft bed. You can hardly stand to even sit on it, though you've been seated at the end of it ever since the shower you took in the extravagant bathroom connected to your new bedroom.

"Come in."

He enters quietly, not even a word spoken as he crosses the room to join you. The bed dips as he takes his place to your left, and together you stare at the carpet. This place is much different from Planet Vegeta, of which your memories hold an unfavorable fog, or any Frieza Station. There's no tyrant to obey, no missions to fulfill… The world is yours to claim on terms you get to create, for the first time in your thirty years of life.

Will you and Vegeta have those same terms, though? Or for the first time in both of your lives, will you navigate entirely alone?

Vegeta's arm moves around your shoulders, tugging you close enough for him to rest his cheek atop your head, and your lips curl just a bit for the first time in quite a while.

A breeze rolls through and you shiver despite your hot-blooded Saiyan nature. Unbothered by the chill himself, Vegeta tugs off the jacket he's wearing and drapes it over your shoulders. Wearing a small smile, you give his arm a gentle pat.

You find it difficult to believe the man before you is the man you once knew— though he can probably say the same about you. You were his favorite warrior, slitting throats and tearing things apart with your bare hands right alongside him, and now you care for the son he had out of wedlock with Bulma as if the boy was your own.

Vegeta being a father in itself has been hard to believe at times. But just as he's grown as a man, his fatherhood journey has been complex and constantly changing too. In the beginning he chose not to acknowledge the child at all, not until you swiftly nipped it in the bud at least, though one thing you absolutely could not (and wouldn't dream of attempting to) change was his lack of commitment to Bulma herself. Truthfully, it's probably for the best that they co-parent rather than cohabitate as husband and wife.

She's got it all, though. Money, beauty and fame, his firstborn child even. Why he hesitates, you may just never know.

Looking away from the sky and in the face of the man that's already looking at you, his normally sharp features softer than usual and illuminated by the stars and dwindling fire you lit hours ago. You're left to simply stare and wonder as far as your mind can take you.

Why are you scared of loving, Prince? You think to yourself as Vegeta's knuckles brush against you lightly in his effort to adjust his jacket over you properly.

To himself, Vegeta muses something he may never gain the ability to say aloud.

I didn't think it was possible to love someone this much.

[42069memesfordays]

These four have me gripped by my heart, and I cannot help but imagine them in the funniest OT4 ever.

Three Saiyans and a Cerealian.

Brainrot ramblings beneath.

I have Fantasy AUs of them now; sometimes they’re all adventurers, sometimes they’re all knights, sometimes they’re all royalty from different kingdoms, or even the same kingdom. My primary take has Gine as a paladin, Fasha as a barbarian, Muezli as a rogue, and Nion as an alchemist, where they’re all reluctantly brought together and end up bonding over how similar they really are while also finding respect in each other’s differences.

I have modern day AUs where they’re just vibing and not being dead.

I have them as one of the central ships for my Transformers and Dragon Ball crossover on a Discord server I’m part of that’s been going since last April.

They get to be strong enough to do things like break canon MUI Goku from the Tournament of Power over their knees.

Goku has two whole brothers now; three, depending on how solid I am on headcanon Turles to be Nion’s kid somehow.

I’m already thinking of a new modern day AU where they’re all single moms who’d each been with Bardock before and meet up at his funeral; shenanigans happen from there, and there’d also be a B-Plot about their kids all having to learn to get along with each other.

They’d sit on a couch in a massive pile of blankets, sipping on hot chocolate as they watch one of those sappy Christmas movies that Gine picked up; Fasha, Muezli, and Nion probably wouldn’t be wholly into it, but seeing Gine’s smile throughout the whole thing is worth it.

The Transformers x Dragon Ball AU forces them through the worst self-hatred and imposter syndrome conceivable, but it’s all made worth it when they realize that they genuinely love each other in a way that can never be understated.

They try to have a small wedding with just their friends and family, but Bulma, being Bulma, gets way too invested and sends it over the top accordingly.

I have an AU where they’re just office workers and also single moms who find solace in each other as the days go by.

I have another AU where one of them’s just a mortal, the other’s their best friend with a major crush, and the last two are an angel and devil fighting over the former over something petty; it then slowly escalates into all of them genuinely being really into each other through loads of romcom and sitcom type shenanigans.

I have an AU where they’re in RWBY as a major hunter team.

I have an AU where they’re Cybertronians; sometimes they’re all Autobots, sometimes they’re all Decepticons, and sometimes it’s a mix of both, depending on my mood.

I’ve had thoughts about them in Mortal Kombat, where they either become new characters entirely or take the place of Scorpion, Harumi, Smoke, and Kuai Liang.

A Thomas the Tank Engine AU sees them being Gordon’s crew in the modern day, where they and the Number Four have to put up with each other after the latter gets off on the wrong foot with them; their growth comes during a tour across the mainland, where Gordon’s old crew are helping them to finish up the last of their training; this is also a proposal that I have in mind for a co-op project I’m working on in yet another Discord server.

All four of them died without much to them; Fasha and Muezli both did so for the sake of Bardock’s development. Gine and Nion just got wiped out on Planet Vegeta by Frieza.

They’re kinda nothing burgers, and yet I just can’t help but latch onto them like they’re life preservers in the middle of a cold, storm-ridden ocean.

I have many questions that only a select few seem to really care about, but not necessarily as deeply as I seem to; what exactly did Gine and Fasha think of each other? What would Muezli and Gine have thought of each other if they ever met? What would Nion think of any of them, and they think of Nion? What would they think of the others in general? Would it be respect, reluctant or not? Would it be contempt? Hatred? Who knows?

They are my Roman Empire.

They fundamentally mean way too much to me, given that they all died as either background characters, plot devices, or some mix of both.

I have a Star Wars AU with them where Gine is a Jedi, Fasha’s a Storm trooper, Muezli’s a bounty hunter, and Nion’s a scientist for the empire before Order 66 where they also get brought together through sheer circumstance and learn to bond with each other; they run away post Order 66 and then end up settling on some random little planet that’s out of the way.

They keep each other grounded.

They feel comfortable enough around each other to regularly poke fun and make jabs at each other, but so help you if you do the same to any of them while the others are in earshot.

Somewhere in the back of my head lies a Dragon Ball Z: Abridged version of my Transformers x Dragon Ball AU where one of their running jokes is that they’re all absolutely unhinged for each other without the other knowing; when they finally do get to know about what the other is like, those tendencies somehow get even worse.

I’m going mad, and it’s great.

[tobiasdrake]

Alright, here we go with Dragon Ball Daima, episode 3. Onward, to Daimakai!

Hold up, hold up. The transit space is called Warp-sama? With the -sama honorific, which is meant to show respect to venerable elders and mentors and stuff? XD

...I have to know what the dub calls it. One sec.

...

...

Wait, is Daima not being... I think the word is dualcast? Where they release both the dub and sub alongside each other.

Huh. I just assumed.

*google google*

...they're not releasing the dub on Crunchyroll because they want people to turn out for a theatrical release of the first three episodes.

I. Don't know enough about Western anime releases to know if that's weird or not. But it's definitely one solid

from me. Uh. Have fun at Regal Cinema, I guess?

First portion of this episode is spent making the journey through Warp-sama in order to reach Daimakai. Which would probably be more impactful if we hadn't already spent a bunch of time watching King Gomah make the same trip previously.

Like. This would be really awesome to go through for the very first time right alongside Goku, with the same sense of wonder he has, while Glorio's explaining how it all works.

But now I'm just like, "I don't care. I've seen this. I understand what this is. You're rehashing. Get to the new stuff."

Which only reinforces my opinion that the first episode is bad. After spending half an episode watching a Dragon Ball Z clip show, they then proceeded to shortsightedly ruin the beginning to episode 3. This should have been our first exposure to Warp-sama.

I am too, mainly because the closing credits indicated that Bulma, Vegeta, and Piccolo will make it to Daimakai. But I am curious how the PIN number will play into things.

Hopefully this means Team Bulma will get to explore the bureaucracy of Warp-sama and build that out a bit while Goku's having demon adventures.

Especially since it looks like Goku now has a roadmap for getting to Makai #1 without needing to go through Warp-sama to do it. So if Team Bulma does come through Warp-sama, they can probably just meet up with him in Makai #2 or something.

Much like the offhandedly established Tamagami, these pathways blocked by light barriers that we just happen to be passing by reek of plot-building.

Glorio is ominously evasive about his work. TAKING ALL BETS!!! The true nature of his job is:

1 - Something really questionable, like an assassin or personal minion to King Gomah. He can't say it because then Goku and Kaioshin wouldn't trust him.

2 - Something really embarrassing, like King Gomah's pillow fluffer. He can't say it because he wants these guys to take him seriously as a mysterious shonen badass.

This being Dragon Ball, it could go either way.

That Kaioshin too comes from Makai retroactively adds an interesting layer to how fearful he was of Dabra back in the Buu arc. Like.

Before, the context was just that this guy is the strongest guy in all the known realities. He's the ruler of Makai and he makes the mortal realm's strongest, Frieza, look like weak-ass horseshit by comparison. Kaioshin, a legendary super god whose very existence was considered mythical by gods, knew of him by reputation. And what he knew was that this guy is the most to be feared.

But with the new Daimakai lore, Kaioshin was actually one of Dabra's subjects once upon a time. His fear of Dabra isn't reputational; He grew up under Dabra and knows what he's capable of.

And then, one day, he saw Dabra made a puppet to Babidi and brought to the mortal realm. To revive Majin Buu.

Between "Everyone's turned into children again and can't use their abilities effectively anymore" and "The air in Daimakai is super heavy and makes everything sluggish", there's a lot of nerfs in play right now.

It makes sense. They want to do a big RPG fantasy adventure starting from level 1 but with a cast who can sneeze too hard and accidentally break seven universes. There's an effort on display here to try and avoid the "Goten and Trunks are menaced by the STRONGEST SNAKE IN THE UNIVEEEEEEEEERSE" problem that DBS (and GT and often the Z anime, for that matter) had.

Characters don't need to constantly forget that they can fly and teleport and shoot galaxy-crushing super-beams if you bake in a reason why they can't do those things right now.

That said....

Kaioshin ain't kidding. This is moving slow. We're fifteen minutes into a twenty-three minute episode. Apart from the briefest possible altercation with bandits we didn't even get to fight, all we've done is sit in the plane while Glorio reads off entries from the Daimakai Fandom Wiki to us.

Toei, I said this in episode 1 and I'll reiterate: You don't need to write like you're giving the manga space to get ahead.

Riveting stuff. I am on the edge of my seat for Glorio staring into the camera and monotonously explaining Makai #3's geology.

I'm sure this is being established so that it can come up in an interesting way later down the road. I'm just saying, there are better ways to convey information to your audience than by having a character emotionlessly read worldbuilding entries from the Story Bible for 3/4 of an episode.

Robbing the hotel manager that was trying to extort them is the first interesting thing we've seen Glorio do so far. Particularly interesting is his holstered gun, which he used to abruptly cut the bandit attack short a moment ago so he could resume explaining the lore.

It's easy to overlook as an American, given that everyone and their dog seems to have seven different firearms stored under their pillow, on the kitchen table, in the baby's crib, wherever. But having a gun in Japan is a Big Fucking Deal.

So that is certainly interesting.

But at this point, this character certainly has me waiting for the other shoe to drop. He is so deadly serious. There has to be a punchline coming. The ending credits seem to imply that he's got like a little sister or something that will be joining us and I can't wait to meet her because I bet she's going to take the wind out of his sails hard.

Right now, he feels like a straight man in search of an absurd counterpart to bounce jokes off him. Goku and Kaioshin are too busy bouncing jokes off each other to do that.

Ahhh, Toei loves "Big Eater Goku" jokes.

Fortunately, we're far enough removed from everyone constantly popping a Senzu that Goku having his huge appetite back won't constitute a plot hole.

That was a big deal in the Z anime, which pretty much abandoned the "Eating a Senzu means Goku won't need to eat a truckload of food for a full week" rule immediately so they could keep doing Truckload of Food jokes.

But as long as we keep Goku an entire reality away from Senzu, Toei can do as many Truckload of Food gags as they want without adversely affecting the show's consistency.

...I want a Makai hamburger now.

What is the beef made of? Do they have cows in Makai? I bet they have demon cows. Fire-breathing demon cows.

Hey, Exposition Guy, tell me about the fire-breathing demon cows. Can we go fight one?

Oh, Goku had the same question.

...shit, it's probably people. Aww.

That won't bother Goku, though. He is entirely comfortable with cooking and eating sapient beings. I mean, he didn't eat Cymbal, but he was party to it.

YOU, SIR, ARE A WOLF

I know we've established that having pointy ears means you're from Makai. But that man is a wolf. His ear pointiness is entirely incidental and a product of being animal people.

I don't think he's from here. I think he's a fake Majin. I think Earthling animal people are sneaking over here and pretending to be locals.

Goku barfighting local thugs while trying to enjoy his demonburgers is the best part of the episode. Especially for how few fucks Glorio gives about this.

He did a little bit of the fighting to get the action scene started. But then he was just like:

"Ehh, naptime. You guys are on your own."

It's a super fun action sequence, though. Again, the nerfs really help with making a "Goku gets attacked by ruffians" not feel out-of-place. The groundwork has been laid for why Goku can't just punch the air and shockwave them all unconscious in 0.5 seconds flat.

It also helps that Goku doesn't really seem threatened at all by these guys. Instead, he treats this as a training exercise to help him acclimate his body to the thick Makai #3 atmosphere.

So this isn't just a Random Encounter. There's a legitimate narrative reason for him to be fighting them that's in keeping with Goku's personality and character - and also consequences that the episode promises for next episode, too.

But the stakes and the tension are nonetheless kept at a level that seems appropriate for a fight between Goku and some bar thugs.

This is good. More of this, please.

[blueper-saiyan]

Okay so I just want to say about your Vegeta caring about Krillin and Gohan post, that you're kind of overlooking some very important reasons about why Vegeta was looking out for them. The first time he runs into them, he discovers that they had some dragon balls, and threatens to kill krillin over it. When he then finds gohan, he mock's the kid's father, hits him, and then spells out that he's only sparing gohan due to believing he's only minutes away from immortality. he was actually on his way TO KILL gohan and krillin when he found out gohan denied him his wish, only stopping bc he sensed guru powering up gohan. he then only teams up with krillin and gohan bc he knows how dangerous the ginyu force is. to spell it out: once they got all the dragon balls, not only does krillin and gohan betray him, but vegeta also internally thinks to himself how they're fools and he's gonna wish for immortality and be done with them.

when he finds out that they screwed him over AGAIN, he's clearly going to follow through his intention to try and kill them until krillin agrees to get dende to make him immortal. while vegeta is (somewhat hypocritically) astonished with the beat down frieza is giving gohan, he STILL tries to leave them both to die once frieza's far more powerful in his second form than he expected. Not take them both with him, but leave them to die while he escapes. Given Krillin and Gohan were both boosted, he thought of them as useful tools to survive and beat frieza, which was why he told krillin not to help gohan to instead give HIM a zenkai boost.

tldr; Vegeta was being very pragmatic, but the actual level of care is minimal- and therefore more consistent with how he treats raditz and nappa.

Sorry to just dump this in your inbox. but i just disagree with vegeta's intentions are woobified by so many fans, in namek and saiyan saga he was the same level of ruthless, just more pragmatic in namek by necessity. while there could be implied care for gohan, krillin and vegeta aren't at all friends, especially considering all the times krillin has admitted he thought vegeta should die (in the saiyan saga, vs zarbon, and after cell becomes perfect)

like vegeta is a BAD person. he's selfish and would've killed more people had he gotten the chance during those two arcs, and it bothers me when people think him not being a dick at EVERY opportunity equates to him being kind or caring.

Don't worry, I'm aware that Vegeta wanted to backstab Krillin and Gohan. Honestly, when I wrote the post I thought I was giving Vegeta a little too much sympathy and I did consider adding the times he thought about killing Krillin and Gohan to make it fair, but I decided that bogged down the post when the actual question was “why did Vegeta expend more effort on preserving Krillin and Gohan's lives than Raditz and Nappa's when he’d known the former for 1 month and the latter for 25 years?”

Honestly, I think that parkergeorg has a solid explanation of it. Hopefully that has logic that works better for you, since it comes down to it being situational and a result of Vegeta actually being concerned enough about Freeza to realize he needs allies rather than taking allies for granted/using them as a demonstration of how strong he is.

I will say that although you're right about most of Vegeta being shitty to Krillin and Gohan (trying to kill them before the team up, plotting to kill them after they'd teamed up, going to go kill them once they'd taken the dragon balls), this part:

"he STILL tries to leave them both to die once frieza's far more powerful in his second form than he expected. Not take them both with him, but leave them to die while he escapes."

is anime filler, and I'm not even sure if it made it into Kai? It's definitely not in the manga; Vegeta doesn't try and leave the fight. He definitely did do all of those other terrible things though.

"tldr; Vegeta was being very pragmatic, but the actual level of care is minimal- and therefore more consistent with how he treats raditz and nappa."

I'm cool with that explanation. I still think that he put more effort into keeping Gohan alive than Raditz or Nappa, because there was genuinely no reason to save Gohan from fourth form Freeza, or alert them to where Freeza was, but I'd accept that Vegeta's willingness to backstab them both balances it out. I should have been more explicit in the original post that "there wasn't a difference in how he treated them" was a valid response. I do think there's a recognizable difference, but that doesn't mean you have to agree with me.

"Sorry to just dump this in your inbox. but i just disagree with vegeta's intentions are woobified by so many fans, in namek and saiyan saga he was the same level of ruthless, just more pragmatic in namek by necessity."

I don't mind, don't worry. I have seen what you mean about woobifying him, I find it annoying even though I occasionally do it myself (probably inevitable for a favorite character), and that wasn't what the intent of the post was. I did try and propose the purely pragmatic explanations of Vegeta's behavior, but I guess I didn't give it as much focus. I will say that I still think he's lying when he says he doesn't care/that he saved them to show off/whatever, but as parkersgeorg pointed out, the lie doesn't have to be to cover for caring for them in a way that involves actual concern for others. He could just as easily be avoiding admitting that he might need help later because that's humiliating and he's supposed to need no one.

"like vegeta is a BAD person. he's selfish and would've killed more people had he gotten the chance during those two arcs, and it bothers me when people think him not being a dick at EVERY opportunity equates to him being kind or caring."

I know he's awful, it's a solid part of what makes him compelling as a character. It makes the times where he chooses not to be awful more interesting by contrast, which is why I made the original post, along with the comparison to how he treated his other allies. However, you're right that there's a reasonable enough pragmatic explanation for trying to keep Gohan and Krillin alive, barring the final save with Gohan, and that could still be argued as preserving an ally in case he needs him later. I certainly wouldn't call his actions kind or caring even if he did save them out of respect instead of pragmatism though. When I say care, I mean it also in the sense that I care when my favorite tools break, but it's certainly not the way I care about a person. It covers a wide range of emotional investment, that he could be at any level of.

There's another post around somewhere that points out that because we expect Vegeta to be the worst all the time, when he doesn't live all the way down to those expectations it's a pleasant surprise, so it feels like he's done way better than less than the bare minimum. That's what causes the phenomena you've noticed. However, I'm still curious about when/why he is a dick and when/why he isn't a dick, as well as wtf is going on with his worldview, so I made the post, and I got some interesting explanations out of it. I think your perspective on it is worthwhile too so I'll post this.

[heya-moth]

Dog Teeth (1-??)

Frieza x M!Reader

This is a little thing I'm going to write in and when i have time/ motivation

TW'S

Frieza is abusive, there is blood, there is swearing, and mention of death.

Summary

You are an alien solider serving on the Frieza force and Lord Frieza takes a strange liking to you

What is the reader?

You the reader are a species I made named the Stellargon, they're a matriarchal gladiator species. The reader is the only one left because frieza wiped your race out because they were interfering with his plans. You were a male gladiator who was Imprisoned for speaking out against Empress Malvoria Voidshard.

Word Count; 882

He regards you with disdain in his eyes; you're nothing more than a creature unworthy of the love and attention he bestows upon you. So, why does he bother? To him, you're little more than a chew toy.

"You're relieved of your post," Ginyu declares as he approaches. You nod and bow to both him and Lord Frieza before departing the throne room. The lord snorts in disappointment as you make your exit.

You serve as a Stellargon soldier for the Frieza Force, the last surviving member of your species, thanks to the tyrant himself. Stellargons are characterized by their dual-colored skin—shades of red, blue, green, white, and black—along with softer facial features and eyes. You, my dear, are a unique case among the Stellargons, labeled as an "angel." Angels are powerful fighters with a special form, and you wear power inhibitors to control this unique ability. This is why Frieza keeps you close, often drawing comparisons to the Saiyans.

The sterile metal flooring of the hallways echoes beneath your boots as you walk back to your quarters. Another grueling day in service to Frieza is behind you, and you look forward to unwinding until your next shift. The door to your quarters slides open with a metallic hiss from the hydraulics. While the room itself is unremarkable, at least it's your private sanctuary—something your acquaintances, if they could be called that, envy you for.

You shed your shoes, belt, chest plate, and shoulder pads, not bothering to change into fresh clothes. Lying down on your bed in only your undergarments, you gaze up at the ceiling, contemplating the path that brought you here. Reflecting on how Frieza discovered you in the dungeons for presenting as male and essentially abducted you before obliterating your homeworld into dust particles.

"Maybe I should've perished alongside my people," you hum before drifting off into a restless sleep.

Frieza scowled as he peered down at the screen before him. Shaking his head in disdain, he lifted his gaze to the subordinate standing in front of him.

"Take these reports back and don't return until you locate what I desire!" he commanded with a thunderous voice.

"Yes, my lord," the Grunt replied meekly, shuffling away and leaving Frieza in solitude. Frustration etched across his face, Frieza tapped his fingers against the desk while scrolling through the reports. Boredom plagued him—bored with the conquered planets and colonies, weary of the same grunts and soldiers. The insatiable itch for destruction gripped him once more.

"Tch," he scoffed, powering down the screen and rising from his seat. As he walked to the window, he gazed out into the vast sea of stars and uninhabited planets, contemplating which ones to obliterate for his own amusement.Yet, nothing stirred Frieza's interest — not a planet, nor the prospect of annihilating another feeble race could alleviate his boredom. His mind fixated solely on you, his favored plaything, a source of amusement to chew up and obliterate at his whim. Grinning at the thought, he snapped his fingers, conjuring a screen on the window.

"Alert the Stellargon, report to me immediately," Frieza commanded through the screen. The device chimed with a check mark, confirming the transmission. Content with his decision, Frieza smiled as he settled back into his seat, eagerly awaiting your arrival.

An alarm blared, rudely interrupting your slumber and jolting you awake. "God dammit," you muttered, swiftly changing into your armored uniform. Heading to your computer, you checked the source of the transmission. "Why is Frieza requesting me...?" you wondered aloud, securing your hair into a tight, high ponytail before departing. As you traversed the hallways leading to the throne room, you noticed your colleagues and peers glancing at you, exchanging hushed whispers. Though not uncommon, it still unnerved you. Had you angered the lord? Left your station in disarray? Perhaps a promotion was on the horizon? The latter, however improbable, lingered in your mind.

The doors to the throne room slid open, crashing closed behind you as you entered. "My lord," you greeted, bowing to Frieza, who bore into you with his deep burgundy eyes.

He gestured for you to approach with a crooked finger, and obediently, you walked toward him. "Roll your sleeve up," he commanded sternly. Perplexed, you complied, exposing the softer flesh of your right arm. Frieza seized your wrist forcefully and sank his teeth into your forearm. Pain surged through your arm from the bite and the vice-like grip on your wrist.

A sharp yelp escaped you, and instinctively, you attempted to pull your arm away, only intensifying his bite. His teeth pierced your flesh, and your light red blood spilled from the wound, creating a brutal tableau. Frieza released your arm, pulling away with blood staining his teeth and the corners of his mouth.

"Oooh Hohoho!" Frieza laughed, bringing his hand to his face. "You are weaker than I thought!" His laughter echoed as your arm twitched and bled.

Disbelief etched across your face as you tore fabric from your undershirt to fashion a makeshift tourniquet. Wincing and whimpering in pain, you questioned, "Wh... why did you do this?"

Frieza's tail flicked as he smirked. "Because I was bored, and you seemed like the perfect thing to bite," he declared, baring his teeth stained with your blood.

[generallemarc]

Favorite One Piece performance that isn't the main cast?

I've always divided this into two categories: serious performances(as in, who's the best at selling their role) and enjoyable performances(as in, who's the most fun to listen to).

Best serious performance, sub: Akio Otsuka as Baron Omatsuri. While it's the writing and direction that makes that movie what it is, you still need someone who can sell way more malice than what was typical for the series at that time, and Solid Snake here more than delivered.

Best serious performance, dub: Tie between David Sobolov as Kaido and Cole Brown as Blackbeard. It's gotta be the Beast Wars effect, because this guy is able to sell an evil overlord the likes of which the series had never seen before. He's a big part of why the Roof Piece bits never got boring for me. Meanwhile, the late Cole Brown is the reason why Blackbeard became my favorite character in all of fiction.

Best enjoyable performance, sub: Ryusei Nakao as Caesar Clown. I mean, it's Japanese Frieza whose direction was clearly just "go fucking wild". What more do you want?

Best enjoyable performance, dub: Major Attaway as Queen. It is absolutely criminal that this guy has had so few roles despite being in the industry long enough to be the voice of Urouge(yeah, remember him?) all the way back in Sabaody. This guy managed to get up there with Cole Brown in my favorite performances ever, full stop.

Tl;dr-If you haven't seen Blackbeards dreams speech dubbed in English, go do that right now. Here it is on youtube.

[appuler]

Here’s fan art of my husband eating peaches in the sewer.

[empror-frieza]

Hello Lord Frieza, I do say a lot of our food today is manufactured due to the demands of population or making production more streamlined to generate more profits form consumers. Though the best food and drink in my opinion is from companies that still use some of the old more primitive methods. Plus, depending on the region you are on Earth you can get vastly different cuisine and liquor. We have multiple of biomes on the planet with their own fauna that you can't get nowhere else.

Though to someone who been all over the universe it might look kind of stupid and it's probably is. But, to humans great food and liquor is a must in life. That's why we are often experimenting trying to find the next great flavor.

Though do other planets have multiple biomes like Earth? Also, what kind of wines do you like?

Hmm, I like you, you're the first human to not hide behind the camouflage of anonymous, for that I applaud you.

I'm well aware of the vast amounts of foods that Earth has, however to manufacturer to the point were its nearly all fake, is just ridiculous, if Earth was an intergalactic travel/trade based planet, then perhaps the population and the food wouldn't be so bad.

Most creatures within the universe desires such things, as food is a universal need, however the way you humans do it, it's sloppy.

To answer your first question, no, most planets don't have multiple biomes, they usually just have one solid climate and one solid biome, however sometimes they have dual biomes, but never as vast as Earth's.

Now to answer the second, it's blood red wine from the grapes on planet Tarezes, they're extra strong and very large large. Their taste is divinely exquisite.

[geekedoutbunny]

Love the DBZ stories!!! Can I request one? Can I have a one-shot with Broly, where he protects the reader from bullies, & then one time skip later, they comfort him from a nightmare?

Broly x Reader Oneshot - Protective Love

OH YAY!!! ANOTHER DBZ ASK!!!! THANK YOU!!!! For the request, I'll be sure to try and bring it justice!!

MASTER LIST | NSFW CONTENT

Being a crew member on Frieza's ship was rough at times, you were the runt of the group, one of the smaller members, you weren't very strong and you always tried to stay hidden from the stronger warrior types of the ship.

You were usually bullied by the ones who were just a little stronger than you, sometimes Cheelei and Lemon would come to your rescue, but they were only able to help so much before they were off on their next mission to get money. But this time around they came back with a new friend, named Broly.

Broly was kind, he was sweet and gentle. He was giant in size and powerful in strength, yet he always showed you a kind smile. You both became close friends rather quickly. And you were both always seen with one another, but today was like any other day, and Broly was in a meeting with his father Paragus, they were summoned by Lord Frieza himself.

You were slammed into the wall, your back bouncing off of it slightly and you whined from the harshness of it, a gloved hand slammed on the wall next to your head and you jumped. You looked up at your tormentors, they weren't much taller than you but they were stronger and they used that to their advantage.

"Alright starlight so bright, hand over the cash." He said with a cocky smirk as he held out his other hand, you scowled and fired back. "NO!! I shouldn't have to give you my money!! If you weren't so lazy, then you'd probably make a few bucks yourself!!" You defended, you were scared, but you'd go down fighting.

He frowned at you, before he punched you, making you lose your air and your grip on your money bag, it slipped out of your hand and it hit the floor, his partner in crime picked it up and waved it at you teasingly. "Hehehe, that's starlight!!" He said with a cheeky smile. The leader of the two roughly pushed you back against the wall before he stepped back. "Nice doing business as usual with ya." He said in a cruel tone before he and his friend turned to leave.

But they were stopped when they ran into something warm and solid. They both staggered back and growled up at the thing they ran into. "HEY!! WATCH IT, PAL!!" The lackie growled out, his 'boss' chimed up next. "YEA, WATCH OUT, YOU OVERGROWN BUFFOON!!" He said. You looked on in happiness and gratitude as you saw your good friend Broly. "BROLY!!" You happily called out. They all ignored you, in favor of glaring at one another.

Broly spoke up. "Give it back." He demanded. They both glared at him a little longer before they laughed. "Oh, I get it, you're friends with that little shit?" the leader said in a cruel tone. Broly glared at him. "Yes, now give it back, now." He demanded once more. They two looked at one another before they took fighting positions. "Why don't you make us?" The lackie said, a cocky smirk on his face.

You watched as they charged at Broly and your heart went up your throat, but Broly took all of their hits with little to no care, they continued their assault, before they backed up, out of breath and slightly frightened. "What the hell are you?" The lacky called out in confusion and anger. The 'boss' growled out. "A DEAD MAN, THAT'S WHAT!!" He shouted as he raised his hand up and charged a powerful attack.

His friend backed up in fear as he stared at his friend like he was crazy. "ARE YOU INSANE!? YOU'LL BLOW THIS WHOLE SHIP UP!!" He shouted in fear, and his 'boss' shouted back. "I DON'T CARE, NOBODY MAKES A FOOL OUT OF ME!!!" He shouted, blinded by his rage and he shot his attack. "RED CRUTON!!!" He shouted, as the blast shot out and towards the Broly. Your eyes widen from the sheer power and your clothes blew back from the wind of it.

"BROLY MOVE!!!" You shouted out in desperation, but Broly stood there, letting the blast engulf him, it blew up on contact and the whole ship shook. You braced yourself against the wall, enduring the shake until it stopped, you then opened your eyes and you saw that it was black smoke fogging up the hall, all you could see was the one who shot the blast. He was out of breath and he gave a cocky smirk. "Heh, taught him." He said, but his eyes widen and he dropped his hand shakily as Broly's form could be seen through the smoke.

"This... can't be!" He said in shock as he took a step back. His friend shouted out. "HOW IS HE STILL ALIVE!?" He said in shock, you stared on amazed, but you all jumped back when a large hand shot through the smoke, grabbing the 'boss's' head in a crushing grip. He screamed and kicked as he tried to pry his hand off of his head. Broly grunted before he shouted in fury his hand closing its grip tighter. His friend looked on in horror before he got up and took off, leaving his friend behind, while dropping your bag of coins in the process.

But you didn't look at them, your eyes focused on Broly. "Broly... stop it." You said in a small voice, fearful of the beast that he's become. He didn't pay you any mind, his hand constantly getting tighter, blood coming out of his ears and nose as his head was being crushed, and his painful screams made you stand up. "Broly, I said stop!!" You said in a louder voice, but you went unheard again, and the sound of a bone breaking made you yell out. "STOP IIIT!!!!"

Broly snapped out of his rage and he looked over at you, hot tears filled your eyes as you stared up at him. "Put him down Broly, I don't want you staining your hands with blood." You softly said, at your words, he seemed to register that he was holding him, and he quickly dropped him, his breathing got faster as he looked around frantically, but the soft touch of your hand on his arm made him shift his frantic gaze down at you, and you smiled up at him.

"It's okay, Broly. I promise." You said, at that, he slowly began calming down, and relaxed. You smiled, happy to see that you got him to relax. You then walked back over to where your money bag was and you picked it up. "Come on, let's go get your hands clean, and then afterward, we can buy some lunch!!" You happily said. He smiled at your words and he agreed.

A few years later, you and Broly were living on earth, after having escaped Friza's Ship, you both made a life for yourselves on Earth, the only planet that Frieza stays away from, you both eventually got married and settled down on Earth. Life was peaceful and all was calm. You were both having a famous 'Broly Nap', you were both in your bed, cuddled up and out like a light.

You were sound asleep when you felt Broly moving, you thought no more of it, simply as him shifting or getting up to use the bathroom, but he kept on shifting and then he began to grunt and whine. You sat up and rubbed your eyes, rubbing the sleep away, before you looked over at him. "Broly?" You sleepily called his name. He was asleep, but he looked troubled.

You looked at him with concern and then reached over to gently shake him awake. "Broly, get up. It's okay it's just a dream. Wake u-AAAH!!" You screamed as he suddenly opened his eyes and he flipped over you, his fist balled up and ready to punch you into the mattress, but his fist stopped a few inches from your face. You held your breath, eyes closed. But you slowly opened them when you felt him shift.

He pulled his fist back and stared at you for a second before his brain registered who you were, and he relaxed. "Sorry." He said before he sat back on his side. You laid there a little longer before you sat up too and you turned towards him. "It's okay Broly." You said in a soft voice, the guilty look on his face made you feel sorry for him. You both sat there in silence a little longer, before you spoke up. "Wanna talk about it?" You asked him.

He shook his head, no, and then he simply laid down on his side facing you. You stared at him a little longer, before you propped your pillow up against the backboard and you scooted back against it. You then patted your lap, and he quickly placed his head on your lap and hugged your waist. His face buried into your stomach. You gently ran your fingers through his hair and hummed a little tune, while your other hand rubbed his back.

You were used to him having nightmares, they weren't common, but they did happen. But you were there for him, just like he was there for you all those years ago, your love was protective, and it kept you both strong.

MASTER LIST | NSFW CONTENT

[conherofrost]

How do you feel about Yamcha ( Since you probably wouldn’t care if I said how do you feel about Yamcha and Frieza )

…

But hey if you still wanna answer that go right ahead☺️

Also would you ever pull a move out on Yamcha to make Frieza mad seems like something you would do

Ah yes, Frieza's mutty wolf boytoy. I can see some of the appeal, rugged defined features, solid scars... Not enough to make me personally hungry like the wolf like it seemingly did for Frieza. Honestly, Frieza could use the sort of gritty, kinda messy, unkempt vibe that man has going as a nice contrast... or if he just wants a lap dog he can keep on a leash. He seems the type that likes being on top in more ways than one.

On pursuing the man myself, as slow as Frieza's being with making anything official, there would be an opening for me to slip in, but A) I'm not too interested and B) the key reason... I kinda don't want Frieza to DISEMBOWEL ME, thank you...

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super Manga ch.38-42

Let’s put this thing to bed.

So we’re down to just twelve fighters....

U6: Caulifla and Kale (currently fused as Kefla)

U7: Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, 17, Frieza, Master Roshi.

U11: Jiren, Top, Dyspo, Kahseral

Basically, it’s the final eight guys from the endgame of the anime version of the Tournament of Power, plus Kefla, Roshi, and Khaseral.  Why those three?  Well, Kahseral is a jobber-to-the-stars, in this case putting over Roshi so he can have a little more credibility for later.  Basically, he eats the general’s lunch even though his power level suggests that he should be outclassed.

Okay, so Roshi’s got something lined up for later, but what about Kefla?  Well...

She was going to go after Goku and Jiren, when Gohan stepped into challenge her so Goku and Jiren could fight freely.  And that sounds like an interesting match-up.  I loved that Goku/Kefla fight from the anime, so I’m not thrilled that it got cut from the manga version, but hey, maybe Gohan could have his own chemistry with Kefla, and their fight could be a classic in a whole other way.

For example, what made the Goku/Kefla thing so fun was that they could relate to each other as fellow Saiyans.  But Gohan’s half-Earthling, which seems to throw Kefla off.  She doesn’t understand why Gohan isn’t transforming for this battle, and he says he’s pursuing a different path to power, one that draws on his Earthling heritage instead of his Saiyan blood.  Interesting... I’m not totally sold on that idea, but this fight might be a great way to develop it further.

Whoops, it’s already over.  Seriously, they start fighting, then they cut to the other characters, then Beerus ribs Champa over at the bleachers, and Whis is like, oh look, Gohan vs. Kefla is basically over.  They’ve fought so evenly that they’re basically both done for, so they end up eliminating each other with their last strikes.  The difference is that Kefla’s the last fighter for her team, so when she falls, so does Universe 6.

And this is what makes the manga Tournament of Power so damn frustrating.  I don’t know if they nerfed Kefla or beefed up Gohan for this.  Or maybe this version of Kefla just never went to SSJ2?  That’s not my problem.  The problem is that you can have two fighters go to a draw where one of them wins a moral victory like this.  But you have to show the fight, or it doesn’t work!  As it is, this isn’t much different from just having Jiren knock them both off the stage to show off his incredible power.  It’s clear Toyotaro just needed to get Gohan and Kefla out of the story, and he only had so many pages to do it.  And at least they got to have this all-out slugfest, worthy of both characters.  But if you hide most of it from the audience, what good is it?

And what really drives me nuts is that this art is rad as hell.  Imagine what Toyotaro could have done with these two in twenty or thirty pages.  But there’s no time for that, and that’s been the problem with this whole tournament.  It was one thing when it was Ribrianne and Dr. Paparoni getting cut for time, but Caulifla and Kale were pretty major players in this arc, and Gohan?  I mean, Gohan’s star power speaks for itself, but I’ll explain it anyway.  It’s 2023, and some fans still insist that Gohan should have taken over as the main character in the Buu Saga.  I disagree with them, but the point is that they make some solid points, and people still feel strongly about this decades later.  If Toyotaro can’t make time for Gohan in his Tournament of Power, then why are we even doing a manga version of the Tournament of Power at all?

Well, at least Gohan’s fight got cut to make room for more Goku vs. Jiren, right?  Not really.  I mean, we see Goku and Jiren fighting, but not enough to justify the Gohan/Kefla fight.  Like, they might as well have just done Jiren vs. Goku vs. Kefla just to shake this part up.  Or maybe just spend more time on Gohan vs. Kefla, since Goku vs. Jiren doesn’t actually heat up until Gohan and Kefla are eliminated. 

Anyway, at this point in the story, Goku feels like he needs more power, so he charges up, and the U7 guys on the bench compare his effort to the Kaio-ken.  I’m not sure if he’s actually using Kaio-ken like he does in the anime, but this would mark the first time it’s referenced in the manga.   Either way, whatever he’s doing here, it’s not working.

So then Master Roshi scolds Goku for his one-dimensional strategy.  He’s trying to out-power Jiren, when martial arts is much more than mere strength.  To demonstrate this, he fights Jiren himself, and while he can’t actually hurt the big guy, he dodges and blocks all of Jiren’s attacks.

Soon enough, Jiren eliminates Roshi, but not the lesson Roshi was trying to teach.  And this is how Goku figures out how to do Ultra Instinct in the manga. 

It... is very inelegant.  To be fair, the anime made the whole thing seem like a total asspull.  Goku tries a Spirit Bomb, only to have it literally explode in his own face, and somehow it awakened some sort of change in him that let him discover UI. They kind of lampshaded this by having Whis and the others basically admit that no one really understands how this happened.  Obviously, Whis has been training Goku and Vegeta with this concept in mind, so it’s not like Goku was unaware of it, but he was a long way from tapping into UI, let alone mastering it. No one knows how the Spirit Bomb helped him figure it out, but that’s what happened. 

The manga version tries to connect the dots, but it ends up making the whole thing look even more implausible.  Roshi doesn’t fight Jiren for very long, but the mere fact that he could last as long as he did kind of undermines Jiren’s whole deal.  And Beerus and Whis compare Roshi’s performance to Ultra Instinct, albeit in a backhanded sort of way.  His style isn’t UI, but it bore a crude sort of resemblance to it.  And watching Roshi’s primitive approximation of Ultra Instinct was enough for Goku to figure out how to do what Whis has been trying to teach him. 

And... okay, but it still seems kind of dumb.  If Roshi can last fifteen seconds with Jiren, then why didn’t he kick Cell’s ass?  Why didn’t he take on Frieza in Res F?  The lesson he’s trying to teach Goku here is that strength isn’t nearly as important as technique, except that’s sort of the opposite of the Kame’sennin style, isn’t it?  He made Goku and Krillin do chores in heavy turtle shells, just so they would get so insanely strong that they didn’t even need to learn any special moves. 

I think the point of this is that strength and finesse go hand-in-hand, and Goku was trying to use one to the exclusion of the other, which would get him nowhere.  Obviously, Roshi lacks the power to go the distance with Jiren, but Goku can excel in both at once.  But it seemed more effective when Goku seemed to die in a Spirit Bomb explosion. 

Not to be outdone, Vegeta also powers up to fight Jiren when Goku’s UI wavers.  He doesn’t turn Super Saiyan Blue 2 or anything like he did in the anime, but he does get stronger, and Jiren acknowledges this.  But Vegeta’s not interested in achieving UI, because it doesn’t suit his ego-driven approach to combat.  As he tells Jiren, he had no instructor, and he doesn’t even remember learning the basics from his parents. 

This irked a lot of fans at the time, because everyone collectively agreed that Nappa taught Vegeta how to fight, and it’s kind of shitty of Vegeta to just talk like Nappa was never part of his life.  Look, I get it, but Vegeta’s kind of a shitty guy in a lot of ways.  What really helped me understand the Saiyans as a concept was when I realized that a lot of the stuff Vegeta says about Saiyan culture and history is biased as fuck.  Someone taught Vegeta the basics, and if he doesn’t remember then it’s probably because he thought so little of that person that he never appreciated their efforts.

I will say that I do believe Vegeta is almost entirely self-taught.  Remember, he surpassed his father while he was still a child.  Nappa might have been a second father to Vegeta, and he probably taught Vegeta a lot of important things about life and spaceship maintenance, but what could Nappa possibly teach Vegeta about combat that Vegeta didn’t already know?  When they invaded Earth, Vegeta was the one giving Nappa helpful tips.  Vegeta’s arrogant for a reason.  

And it’s not a coincidence that he’s such a prodigy.  Vegeta grew up on the front lines.  If he wasn’t a fighting genius, if he couldn’t adapt and overcome the challenges he faced, then he wouldn’t be here today.  He would have died on the battlefield like some other Saiyan who couldn’t keep up.  Earth was very likely the first time he lost a campaign, simply because he wouldn’t have survived a defeat anywhere else.  You don’t build an undefeated streak like that without being very good at what you do. 

Okay, so what about Top and Dyspo?  Well, they don’t get to do much.  Vegeta clobbers Top pretty good, but it’s not nearly as big a deal as their fights in the anime.  And Dyspo’s still worn out from other fights earlier in the arc.  Finally, Frieza gets Top isolated on one of the floating chunks of the ring, and he destroys all the ring fragments around it, so Top can’t leap far enough to get back to the stage.  Dyspo saves him from getting eliminated, but he ends up getting them both trapped on another ring fragment.  So they have to ask Jiren for help, but he’s in no mood for this, and lets them fall. 

While I’ve complained about a lot of how this version does things, I do like the idea of Jiren turning on his teammates like this.  He sees them as being in his way, and he’s not entirely wrong about that, except that in this situation, he’s outnumbered, and numbers count.  Even if Top and Dyspo couldn’t fight, saving them would have changed the outcome of the tournament, since they would have outnumbered Universe 7 at the very end.

Here we have a nice bit where Golden Frieza takes on Jiren while Goku and Vegeta recuperate, and Whis notes that Frieza is still fighting, despite knowing he’s no match for Jiren.  This was something the anime didn’t really pick up on.  In both versions, Frieza tends to fight alone and ignore the others when they need help.  But he will help when he’s absolutely needed, so the implication is that he’s merely conserving his strength, not being a coward.  Against Jiren, it seemed like he was merely delusional about his chances, but here Whis spells it out for us.  Frieza knows exactly how outmatched he is, but he can’t give up so he’s just going for it. 

As Frieza and 17 try to hold off Jiren, 17 proposes a change in tactics.  Then he tries to blow himself up to stop Jiren, and asks Krillin and 18 to take care of his wife and kids.  I like how Krillin tries to talk him out of this, while 18′s like “Sure, I’ll bang your wife, do what you gotta do.”

Meanwhile, we get this bonus comic that shows us how Goten, Trunks, and Marron are doing on 17′s Park.  A bunch of Cell Juniors are on the island, and he forgot to tell them about that, but he tamed them years ago and taught them to respect park rangers, so as soon as they see the boys’ uniforms, they settle down. 

Back to the action, Goku’s UI fails, and so Goku and Vegeta double-team Jiren to try to maintain the initiative.  Ironically, in the manga, their double-team attacks are well-coordinated, thanks to all those sparring sessions with Whis.  In the anime, their coordination sucked, but that actually made it harder for Jiren to read their movements. 

Anyway, we learn Jiren’s wish is to resurrect his dead master, Gicchen, and seek his approval.  Belmod tells the other Pride Troopers the whole story.  Gicchen never recognized Jiren’s success, and this has bugged Jiren ever since.  It was Gicchen’s idea for Jiren to join the Pride Troopers, but he never explained why.   Jiren assumed it was a way for him to increase his strength, but Gicchen’s actual purpose was for Jiren to learn the value of teamwork.  Obviously, he hasn’t, so wishing Gicchen back to life would be kind of a waste. 

I’m not a big fan of how different this is from the anime, where Jiren refuses to even consider resurrecting his dead friends and family, because he’s so jaded that he won’t even trust the Super Dragon Balls.  Instead, Anime Jiren planned to wish for absolute control over everything, ensuring he would never need to trust anything, ever.  These two different versions of Jiren do tie in together.  It’s the same character with the same personality flaw, but it irritates me how something as fundamental as “What would he wish for if he won the Tournament?” doesn’t get a consistent answer. 

On the other hand, I like how this version explores the relationship between Jiren and Belmod.  Jiren defeated him at some point, and here we find that they were friends for a time, which is how Belmod knows him so well. But they became estranged, and it’s not hard to see why, when Jiren refuses to trust anything but himself. 

Meanwhile, Vegeta’s the one who suggested this double-team attack with Goku.  Vegeta doesn’t enjoy fighting alongside Goku like this, but he’s practical enough to understand the necessity of it, and trust isn’t an issue.  Goku gets on his nerves, but Vegeta trusts him implicitly. 

All right, so let’s wrap this up.  Eventually, Jiren knocks Vegeta out of the ring, leaving Goku isolated and helpless, when suddenly Frieza shows up with a Death Ball.   He tells Goku to hold Jiren so he can hit him with it.  Jiren still manages to deflect the Death Ball...

But that was just a feint to leave Jiren open to Frieza’s Nova Strike.  He tackles Jiren and Goku out of the ring, and Goku’s confused because there’s no one left in the ring to win, but he doesn’t know about...

... 17, who never really self-destructed at all.  It was all a secret plan he and Frieza came up with, and since no one can sense 17′s power, it was easy for him to fake his own death. He still wants 18 to watch his kids, though. 

So I like the way this version uses 17′s vanishing act and Frieza’s sacrifice play as part of a plan.  In the manga, Beerus has Whis revive Frieza specifically for that strategy, as opposed to the anime, where he rewarded Frieza for his fighting in general.  I also like how they show Frieza leaving with Whis, because I never understood how Frieza returned to his minions in space. 

However, I don’t think the manga version really did enough to develop 17′s character.  He just does well in the tournament, then wins the tournament, then says he wants all the erased universes restored.  In the anime, he showed some respect to Universe 2 when they vanished, and there was a sense that he really did develop some compassion for the others as the tournament progressed.  The manga just doesn’t have time for anything like that, which leaves 17′s character arc feeling kind of hollow.

So we’re in the middle of Chapter 42 of the manga, and the second half is the beginning of the Moro arc, so I’m not going to get into that.  I do appreciate this page mentioning the events of the Broly movie, which saves me the hassle of wondering where the movies fit into the manga timeline.  So we’ll call it a night. 

Overall, the manga Tournament of Power just isn’t good enough to compete with the anime version.  That’s a shame, but I really do think that the main weakness of the DBS manga has been with it’s directive to retell the stories from the anime and movies.   With the Tournament of Power finally finished, we can finally move on from that problem, though.  The next 45 chapters are all-new material, so that’s got to be an improvement, right? 

Well, we’ll see, but not until June I think.  I’m kind of tired of this liveblogging thing, so I’m gonna take a nice long break.  In the meantime, here’s one last Winger song for the road.