#must be the fucking frieza force

[flannelepicurean]

my dumb ass:

Sees pic of Fendi handbag with the squared FF logo

Squints

"...when the Frieza Force start makin purses??? guess it make sense it would be fur, Frieza a fancy bitch an' a real mean girl, but..."

"...wait..."

[SIGH] "goddammit"

yeah...😂😂😂

[tobiasdrake]

While you’re on the subject of underexplored Dragon Ball trivia, could you tell us something on the Dragon Balls themselves?

Hmm... not sure how much underexplored trivia I know on the subject. I think most of the details about what the Balls are and how they work are pretty well known. But I can go into a run-down.

Originally based on Journey to the West, the core purpose of the Dragon Balls is to provide a sort of miraculous quest of worthiness to their seeker. On Namek, the planet they come from, each one of six Balls, stars 2-7, is carried by the Choro or "Elder" of the village. To make your wish to Porunga, you must visit each village in turn and pass some great test of virtue that the Choro demands of you.

With the final Dragon Ball, the One-Star Ball, resting in the hands of Saichoro or "Grand Elder". He is the final arbiter of worthiness for your desire to receive a miracle from Porunga.

Krillin, incidentally, is the only person during the campaign on Namek to successfully pass a Namekian elder's measurement of virtue rather than taking a Ball by force. For escorting Dende to the safety of Saichoro's home and for having genuinely good intentions for his desired miracle, Krillin is judged worthy and given the One-Star Ball.

300 years ago, after the Nameless Namekian ascended to the lofty position of God, he was able to make Dragon Balls of his own. Though he didn't have the same organized structure that Saichoro put into his Dragon Ball system, the idea was similar: the Dragon Balls would provide a means for people to produce great deeds when in need.

It didn't pan out. The Dragon Bal ls were a mistake and brought nothing but horror to the Earth, and he regretted ever making the stupid fucking things. After Piccolo killed Shenron, God was more than ready to wash his hands of it.

By the time we meet God, it's hard to disagree. Oolong thwarted a maniac's wish for world domination by spending Shenron's world-shaping miracle on a set of women's undergarments before he could make his wish. A jackbooted warlord shot up multiple regions of the world to claim the Dragon Balls because he wanted to be taller. Bulma shot a child in the face with a gun so she could have infinite strawberries. Or a boyfriend. Either/or.

Honestly, infinite strawberries sounds pretty valid for a wish, NGL. Still wouldn't impress God, though.

There's also a piece of obscure Dragon Ball trivia says that the Dragon Balls were once used to successfully make a wish for world domination. This is why the entire Earth is a one-world nation under the dominion of King Furry. I think it comes from a Toriyama interview? But I don't recall the source so take that with a grain of salt.

In any case, God feels that the Dragon Balls were a horrible mistake and it's hard to disagree. The only thing that convinces him they're worth remaking is Goku's nobility. He sees in Goku the great virtue that has thus far been missing from anyone else who would seek the Dragon Balls, and that makes it all worthwhile.

The process of assembling the Dragon Balls is meant to be difficult. However, Bulma's invention of the Dragon Radar more or less trivialized it.

Notably, as a sign of her genius, the handheld radar that Bulma carries around outstrips the competition every time. She's far from the only person ever to make a Dragon Radar; She's just the only person ever to make a portable one.

That huge wall console is the best that the world's most powerful rogue paramilitary organization could manage. And it's still a hell of a lot better than anything Vegeta or Frieza had. They had to track people and hope a Dragon Ball was nearby.

Though I would be remiss to bring up Bulma's invention of the portable radar and not mention that, fun fact, the Radar that we often see passed around throughout the series wasn't built by her. Bulma's Radar was stolen by General Blue.

It's never seen again after this scene. I guess it was probably still in HQ when Goku stormed the place?

No, the Radar Goku finished the RRA arc with and then continues passing along from character to character is actually this one, created by - I shit you not - a cameo guest star from Toriyama's gag manga Dr. Slump.

Having seen the inner workings of the Radar while it was being repaired, Turbo the flying genius baby is able to reproduce a second copy. This copy would become the main Dragon Radar going forward after Bulma's original Radar was lost and forgotten.

Yeah, Dr. Slump canonically exists within the world of Dragon Ball and has directly impacted the story of one of its most iconic elements. However, this Radar still remains Bulma's genius design. She completely obliterated the entire test of virtue concept. I need you to understand that Bulma is the greatest heretic in the history of the universe, and that she and Vegeta deserve each other.

And now she uses Shenron for plastic surgery.

God was right. Earth isn't worthy of power like this. It was a mistake to bring Shenron back.

With some limitations, the great dragon summoned by the Dragon Balls can grant any miracle that is within Shenron's power. The main restriction this places is simple: Shenron or Porunga may not grant a wish affecting a person more powerful than Shenron unless that person consents.

This limitation serves the narrative purpose of explaining why we can't have Shenron pop any enemy that shows up into oblivion, which had been the Muten-Roshi's plan for dealing with Piccolo originally.

Though I occasionally like to joke about an AU where Bulma uses Shenron to solve the Saiyans. Can't teleport them into the sun or something? That's fine. I wish for you to teleport their spaceships into the sun.

No, I know you still can't teleport them even if you teleport their vehicles. That's fine. I'm asking you to teleport only the ships.

And then everyone lives happily ever after. Until about six or seven years later when the Androids kill us all.

But Shenron's and Porunga's power limitations also mean the story can have fun moments like this.

Goku is able to resist Porunga's attempt to warp him back to Earth because he's too powerful for the dragon to move involuntarily. He must consent to the teleport.

Of note: This particular piece of context doesn't come up in the DBS: Broly film directly, but it provides a fun bit of context to its finale.

When Cheelai used Shenron to save Broly, he had to consent to that. He could have told Shenron to go fuck himself and kept fighting instead.

But he doesn't want to. You can feel it just from looking at his face. Gogeta broke Broly's legendary berserker rage. In this instant, staring down Blue Gogeta's Kamehameha, Shenron asked him, "You want out of this, my dude?" And he said yes please. I'm done. I'm ready to go home.

The power restriction is also the reason why Shenron couldn't revert the Twins to normal humans.

But he can pop those self-destruct devices right out of their bodies, no sweat.

The other key limitation that Shenron has is an inability to resurrect the same person twice - Something Goku just sort of throws in as a new rule at the start of the Saiyan arc.

It's interesting to note that it's not specifically a prohibition against repeated rezzes, but against "granting the same wish twice". This never comes up in any other context, but it's interesting to think about.

Good thing Porunga doesn't have that limitation. Like. At all.

Hey, look at that. He was able to bring back Piccolo, Krillin, and Yamcha even though he'd already revived those two before.

Before the Buu arc, it could be assumed that he could raise people twice because those people had previously been raised by Shenron. Different dragon, different wish history. But no. Porunga's just better.

Our bootleg wish-dragon is a pale imitation of the real thing. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you that. But ours can do multi-rez so suck on that Poru--

Oh, never mind. Muri found out about multi-rez and gave him a tweak. Porunga remains the superior dragon. Of course, he's not the only person to upgrade their dragon. We have Dende to thank for Shenron's upgrades too.

This is a point that I've seen people get confused on. Dende's Shenron grants three wishes like Porunga. However, a multi-rez is so costly that it expends two of those wishes. So you can have three individual wishes or a multi-rez and one other wish.

The language here is super ambiguous, admittedly. It's easy to interpret Dende as saying "If I activate multi-rez then I have to set the limit to two." Like. We can configure Shenron for three wishes OR configure him for two wishes but make it possible to do multi-rez.

But subsequent chapters and authorial statements have clarified the matter. As long as you aren't multi-rezzing, you get three wishes.

It's just. Nobody ever uses Shenron for anything but multi-rez so it rarely comes up. This is not helped by general inconsistency, which Toei is particularly bad about but Toriyama's guilty of too. In the DBS: Broly movie, Shenron inexplicably is back to granting only one!

My dude. What happened to your upgrade? You were upgraded, you defective knock-off! DX

I think he just wanted to get the fuck out of there before Frieza realized he can still make his wish for improved tallness. He grants enough of that shit for Bulma as it is. He doesn't want another person muscling in on it.

This is what his life has come to.

It's also interesting to note that with multi-wish dragons, you can bank a wish if you don't have anything else in particular that you want.

Speaking of inconsistency, they made a multi-rez wish so shouldn't Shenron be down for eight months, not four? Either way, point is that you can cut down Shenron's recharge time by not using some of your wishes. Which makes sense if you think about it, but is more user-friendly than a lot of magical reality-warping macguffins typically are.

Shenron's great about that in general, concerning himself with making sure that the miracle he grants is in line with the intent of the wish, not just the letter. Unlike that bastard Porunga. He knows what he did.

In fairness, that's as much Dende's fault as Porunga's.

That about covers it for the Dragon Balls and their Wish Dragons, I think.

[kxkarot]

@regulus-regent Continued

His first thought upon waking is to analyze where he is. His second is to take immediate note of his current situation. Some unfamiliar planet, different than the one he'd previously been on and the ache in the back of his head suggested that something had hit him hard for him to loose conscious. Tail bristling in agitation at the fact something like this happened, he must have been careless. He's going to find whoever thought this was a smart idea and disembowel them for this transgression.

His gaze eventually clears, there's some type of muzzle on him, from the blood around his mouth he can assume he fought like hell before being knocked unconscious. He had no issue using fangs and claws if it came down to it. There was something around his tail if he moved his head enough, some type of metal clamp, weighing it down and dragging on his sense of balance. Just from his surroundings and the two guards nearby, he knows it's remnants of the frieza force that haven't yet joined up with Cooler's army. No doubt they were trying to use him as a ticket to get in. Fuck.

"The monkey's awake." "Knock him out again. Im trying to get contact with the boss and tell him we struck gold." "Should I even touch him? You doing it Rashp, he looks like he'll rip my arm off." "He's chained up!? the fuck are you so scared of!?" Fingers tightening around the chains digging into his flesh, some look like they're run through his arms. No matter. A few days in a healing pod. "He'll just be another servant, trading one master for another." Gaze locking onto the arrogant guard, there's more coming over, more. Fuck this is going to be a battle.

The spear beams him upside the head, hard. He'll give them that, they know how to throw a hit with it. Spots dance in his vision but he clings to reality. Inhaling deeply as rage flows through his blood, alongside adrenaline. "Resilient ape." They snarl and he ducks his head with their next attempt, prompting them close enough he can lung, snagging the chains before pulling quickly, looping it around the guards head. Pain flares through his body as a spear runs through his shoulder. Panic. Chaos. He snarls as something shoots him. "You..." Another hit. He starts to choke out the guard, turquoise flashing in his eyes.

"I am a saiyan warrior. Beyond the fucking elite!!" The choking sputters are all that responds as he struggles with his restraints, the muzzle cracking along the edges as his ki flares, burning bright with a tint of golden yellow to it's depths. There's a power burning in his veins and he wants at it, but it filters away. Like it hasn't found him worthy of it yet and it pisses him off even more. "I'll use your skulls to decorate that pathetic vessel you call a ship!!" He snarls, straining more and more against the chains to gain some leeway to snap the guards neck before turning to the icoming wave of them. "Come on! I'll kill all of you maggots!!"

[yeowangies]

Blood Stains

CHAPTER IV: A Formidable Woman

❧

PAIRING: Raditz/Reader RATING: Mature CONTENTS: Canon Divergence AU, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Enemies to Lovers. WARNINGS: None WORDCOUNT: 3100

Summary:

This isn’t the kind of conversation you expected to have today, you didn’t even know Raditz was going to show up at your balcony like he’s some kind of Romeo. He isn’t Romeo by any means, but you had never liked any kind of Prince stereotype anyway. When you turn your gaze towards him, you notice how close he actually is.

Notes:

Things are finally moving along 😏

You can check the tag #*bs if you wanna see the previous chapters.

Raditz had remembered what he heard Vegeta and Nappa say through his scouter when he was practically on the brink of death after his fight with Kakarot and Piccolo.

Revive him? We’re better off without him.

That has been Vegeta’s voice talking about him. 

To say that he got mad was an understatement.

He blasted through a mountain, effectively making it explode and leaving nothing behind. It was almost time for a full moon as well, and he was tempted to just look at it and destroy the fucking planet in his Great Ape form. 

But he didn’t. 

The moon never even showed up in the sky in all the time Raditz had been in the open. He guessed it’s probably Kakarot’s doing. It would have taken Raditz maybe a couple of weeks to kill every inhabitant of this planet in that form, but he didn’t want to do that anyway. And he knew it had everything to do with you. 

Thinking about it now, as he flies all the way to a mountain area where he has been the past few days, he knows it wasn’t only because of you. You have been an influence, but it’s not only that. 

As Raditz noticed he could feel your energy, and a lot of other energies around him, he realized that that’s how his brother must have found him when he kidnapped his nephew. He doesn’t have control of that ability yet, but the more he sits down and focuses on it, the better he gets. Yours had been the easiest to find, because you had been around him for weeks, so he got used to it. 

He doesn’t need his scouter, but that’s also when he thinks that there’s a reason why you and your friends need it. Kakarot had the ability to read and find distinctive energies, but you didn’t seem capable of that, it made sense that you would want to keep his scouter as some kind of radar. 

Which makes Raditz think that a radar is the way to find the so-called Dragon Balls. You did mention that they scatter around the world, and that you had to find them. Assuming that you were telling the truth (he can’t be sure since he knows you lied about some details before), then it’s not as crazy to think that a radar to find those magical orbs exists. And if it does exist, then he has to get it and find the Dragon Balls himself.

What for, though? What does he want?

Vegeta wants immortality. Kakarot’s friends want to bring him back to life. But Raditz is not exactly sure what he wants. 

Immortality seems like a safe option, considering how little disregard his own comrades have for him. Especially if they plan on one day confronting Frieza to destroy him. 

But Raditz doesn’t want to live forever. He got a taste of a certain amount of freedom in just a few days since he’s been on those highlands, and he’s enjoying it. He’s just enjoying living. Eating when he’s hungry, sleeping when he’s tired, bathing when he feels like it, and training when his body asks him to. And his mind is not even thinking about living forever because just being able to live like this is enough for him.

There’s only one thing he wants that he doesn’t have. 

But he supposes that asking the Dragon Balls to let him have you is a bit extreme; he never had to force himself on a woman and he never will. He’s pretty sure you want him too anyway. He just needs to make a move, and he would have if he hadn’t seen you look so upset about what he witnessed when he found you. It sent him on edge, so he couldn’t blame you. He really should have ripped that guy’s dick off. 

Raditz feels how ridiculous he’s being the more he dwells on that. He washes his face in a nearby river, staring at the dark sky for a long time. He just needs to get laid, that’s all. It has been a while since he’s had sex, over a year for sure. He’s getting too obsessed over a human girl he just happened to see when he got to Earth. 

He just needs a fuck.

He’ll get more time to think about it afterwards, but he has to get those Dragon Balls. He has to find out if a radar for those exists first.

*

“You’re telling me someone tried to attack you, and Raditz saved you?!”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I just said.” You reply to Bulma, taking a long gulp of her very expensive wine. 

“This is such a wild turn of events.”

“I say.”

Bulma looks you over for a long time.

“So… did something else happen?”

You smile, amused. You were waiting for her to ask that, because of course she would. 

“No, nothing happened.”

“Are you telling me the truth or are you still mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad at you.” You chuckle, eating more of the snacks she had laid out at the table for the both of you. “It’s the truth. I… I thought maybe he would make a move or… I don’t know. Nothing happened in the end. But I didn’t feel well enough anyway, so it would have sucked…”

“It’s weird that we are talking about an alien that came to Earth to recruit his brother and who set the planet up for an imminent destruction.” Bulma commented, way too casually, as she took a sip of her glass.

“Well Yamcha tried to rob and kill you and Goku when you met him so…”

“That’s nowhere near the same thing.”

“I know…” You sigh, drinking the whole glass at once.

“Well, I’m not judging.” She smiles, reaching for some chips. “I mean, the way I see it, maybe you can save the Earth this way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe you can bang him and he’ll decide to convince his buddies not to kill everyone here, you know? Like, the pussy is so good he’s not a bad guy anymore.”

When you burst out laughing, Bulma laughs with you. 

“I think we should stop drinking, you’re just talking nonsense.”

“Oh, I make perfect sense.” Bulma says, but still puts her glass away. “Do you wanna stay? Maybe you’ll feel better here.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I’ll like that…”

You help Bulma clean up the kitchen before you turn to leave towards the room you usually stayed at. 

“Hey, about what I said the other day,” She begins, walking with you down the hall. “I didn’t mean any of it, I was angry…”

“It’s fine. I slapped you so we are even.” You smirk, and she rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m letting that one go for now.”

You chuckle as Bulma pats your shoulder before leaving once you reach the door of your room. 

It wasn’t in your plan to stay at Bulma’s but you always felt a lot better there than you did at your own apartment. Besides, your room is almost as big as your place anyway, and her house is so huge that it’s basically like living on your own. 

Some days go by, and you wonder what the hell is Raditz up to. You have no idea where he’s staying, and the TV news don’t mention anything about a crazy looking guy wrecking havoc, so he must be staying low. But doing what? You don’t doubt that he can take care of himself, you’re not even worried about that. But you’re damn curious about everything else. 

You spend a good amount of time thinking about everyone else; Goku, Gohan, the rest of your friends, and even Piccolo. You hope to God Piccolo did not harm Gohan, explaining that to Goku when he’s brought back it’s going to be awkward. It has been four months since he died, you wonder what kind of training he’s doing. It’s weird that dead people can still train.

Bulma seems less preoccupied, though she still sometimes complains about Yamcha ‘still being gone and all’ (you figure she only does it because she misses him because there’s no way she doesn’t know about the severity of the situation, but you’re no one to preach about it anyway). Sometimes she would ask for your help regarding some technology project or something, but other than that, you used your time to work.

You’re sitting by your computer, when you feel a sudden rush of air hit the balcony windows, making them rattle. You stand to check on them and make sure they’re closed when you practically have a heart attack, as you notice Raditz standing, or floating, right outside. 

“What are you doing here?” You ask him when you step out, confused. 

“Hello to you too, woman.” He says with a smirk. 

He isn’t wearing the shirt you gave him (you figured it wasn’t going to last anyway), and the pants are now basically shorts, though he still has his boots and gloves. With his arms crossed across his chest, he flies a little closer to the rail without actually getting on the balcony, as you step out. You rest your arms on the handrail, looking him over; he looks okay, more than okay if you compare to the last time you saw him, he had scratches on his skin then, but he’s all healed now, and it doesn’t seem like he’s been doing anything dangerous. 

“How have you been?” You ask.

“Is that really what you want to know?” 

“Well, yeah. I don’t even know what you do with your time.”

“I don’t know what you do with yours either.” He smirks and you snort. 

“Ah, so we are doing this, now?”

“I see your hand healed pretty well.” 

Raditz stares at your hand, and you take a quick glance at it. Your nails grew back a bit and your hand looks fine; obviously since it has been just a superficial injury. 

“Yeah, I’m afraid I don’t have a battle scar.”

“Now that would have been sexy.”

“You’re telling me I would look sexy with a scar?” You raise an eyebrow when he chuckles.

“Absolutely, it would be a reminder that you won.”

“Like I said, it was hardly a battle, and I didn't win, you saved me.”

“You still defended your honor well.”

“You’re weird.”

It’s his turn to snort, and you smile. Raditz does look a lot better, the last time you saw he was obviously on edge. He must have been like that for you maybe, but you don’t want to conclude that. 

“It must be a cultural difference.” He says, still smirking. His eyes are lingering on your face for so long, you can’t help but feel your face heat up. “What’s considered attractive on this planet?”

“Uh… I don’t know, it depends…” 

Your eyes trail down his body. You don’t know if Raditz is considered attractive in space, but he sure as hell is attractive on Earth. He’s tall, muscular, he has a defined jaw and his long hair just makes him look rebellious enough to attract those teenage girls who like the bad boy image. You are not a teenage girl, but you get his appeal. 

When your eyes land back on his face, you notice he’s grinning.

“What?”

“So I’m considered attractive.”

“Of course you’d get to that conclusion.” You roll your eyes, looking away to try and hide the blush on your cheeks. 

“Are you telling me you're not attracted to me at all?”

This isn’t the kind of conversation you expected to have today, you didn’t even know Raditz was going to show up at your balcony like he’s some kind of Romeo. He isn’t Romeo by any means, but you had never liked any kind of Prince stereotype anyway. When you turn your gaze towards him, you notice how close he actually is. You have to look down to meet his eyes because he’s flying low, but if you move a couple of inches your noses can touch. 

“I think we already had this conversation, don’t you remember?”

“I remember. I was wondering if you still feel the same way.”

“I don’t know, why are you asking?” Your face is positively on fire, but you can’t help your smile. He’s still grinning widely, and you lean a little closer to him. 

“Curiosity is getting the better of me.”

“So you flew all the way here?”

“Yes, I’ve been up all night and all day thinking about it.” There’s a mischievous gleam in his eyes. You can’t wrap your mind about it; he’s openly flirting with you. 

“I should put an end to your misery then.” You say, biting your lower lip.

“You should, you started this after all.” Raditz takes a quick glance at your lips before meeting your eyes again.

“I started this?”

“If I remember correctly, you’re the one who walked out of that house with those tiny clothes.”

“Like you didn’t come here wearing only an armor and your underwear.”

“That was not my underwear.” He laughs. “You were trying to distract me from my mission here on this planet, didn’t you?” 

“Oh yeah, I sure knew an alien was gonna get here, and my secret weapon was my bikini.”

“What a formidable woman you are.” Raditz smirks, obviously playing with you.

Your eyes light up at the compliment nonetheless, and you smile wider. 

“I suppose I am if all I need is a swimsuit.”

“Maybe I should look at you wearing that again, we’ll see how effective it is.”

“You’re a perv, you don’t wanna check that at all!”

“You’re right,” His nose is almost touching yours as you hold in your breath, unable to tear your eyes away from his handsome face. “I already know that you are the one who has power over me.”

No matter the fact that you see it coming from a mile away, when Raditz kisses you, it still leaves you breathless. It’s surprisingly soft too; it's just his lips pressing against yours, but you feel electricity pulsing through your veins. 

You can’t help your smile when you pull away, and you’re happy to know that he’s grinning just as gleefully. You take a step back as he flies over the rail, wrapping his arms around your waist in an instant and leaning down to capture your lips once more. 

This kiss is a lot more heated and passionate than the last one as he presses his body against yours. Putting your hands on his shoulders, you hum contently when he licks your lips, coaxing you to open your mouth, and you comply with no objections, tangling your tongue with his fervently. His hands are gripping you firmly and you can’t help but gasp, thrilled about it as you imagine what it would be like to feel them on other parts of your body.

You’re not sure if Raditz can read minds, but his hands start roaming your back, stroking your skin through your shirt before sliding downwards and settling on your hips. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, not wanting to break the kiss anytime soon.

Soon comes quickly when Bulma calling your name from outside your bedroom door catches your attention. Raditz doesn’t seem to care as he keeps kissing you, but you know better, pushing him away by his shoulders. 

“Ignore her.” 

“I can’t…” He kisses you insistently, leaving you at a loss of words for a second before you hear Bulma’s voice again. 

“Why not?” He grunts against your lips. 

“Because she won’t go away until I answer… I-I love her but she’s annoying.”

Raditz growls lowly as he pulls away only an inch before stepping back, his body finally leaving yours. He looks frustrated and tense as you look him over. You straighten your clothes, feeling your cheeks with your hands to cool them before walking into your room. 

“Why didn’t you answer?” Bulma asks impatiently when you open the door.

“Sorry, I was with my earbuds.” You lie. She looks you over with a curious look before speaking again.

“I need your help with something, can you come to the lab?”

“Sure, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“…Why can’t you come with me now?”

“Because I… need to use the toilet.” You know you don’t sound too convinced but she shrugs before walking away. 

You sprint across your room to check the balcony, calling Raditz’s name in a whisper when you don’t see him. 

He left, and without actually saying goodbye. You’re a little disappointed, but it’s not like you’re never gonna see him again, so you close the window to head downstairs. 

You almost fall down, startled, when you hear a loud explosion. An explosion that sounds way too familiar. 

“Oh, no, Raditz, what did you do?” You mumble to yourself, heading towards the sound of the blast. 

Turns out it has been on the other side of Bulma’s laboratory, where she kept some of her big inventions and capsule designs. By the time you get there, there’s only debris and dust flying around, but nothing else. 

“This was your boyfriend!” Bulma exclaims in anger, walking through what used to be her lab. 

“Raditz is not my boyfriend…”

“Why did he do this?! What was the point?!”

You don’t know, so you don’t answer. While Bulma keeps lamenting to herself you look around, not exactly knowing if anything is missing, until you hear another explosion that makes you both fall down again. 

“Fuck!” Bulma screams in the highest pitched tone you have ever heard. “I’m going to fucking kill these Saiyans myself!”

You try to contain your laughter as she runs out of the room to head towards where this new explosion was. 

What the fuck is Raditz doing? What was the point of destroying Bulma’s laboratory? 

She stays pissed about it for a few days while all the areas affected get fixed, she would even glare at you whenever you were around. As if you have anything to do. And you don’t see Raditz at all for the next few days. He really just wrecked havoc and disappeared, with no explanation. You’re confused but still a little lightheaded about the kisses you two shared. You feel bad about Bulma’s lab rooms and everything, but goddamnit, you can’t stop thinking about those kisses you exchanged on the balcony. It could even be considered romantic, you weren’t expecting anything like that at all. 

But where the hell does Raditz even go? 

[st-dorothy-minority]

A World of Our Own - (unfinished)

Since a few of you said you were interested in reading some unfinished works, I will start to share! (thank you to those who showed support for this ❤️)

First up is the very first Cell/Gohan fic idea I ever had, though not the first to be written 😄 This was going to be a multi-chapter fic, slow burn, enemies to lovers. Picking up at the Cell Games after Cell self-destructs.

Plot:

Cell "kidnaps" Gohan and works to continue developing Gohan's "hidden potential." They become feared throughout the galaxy, though as more and more time passes, Cell recognizes just how miserable Gohan is and begins to have a soft spot for him. He decides to settle down for a bit on a quiet planet, and as Gohan begins to befriend the nearest townsfolk, so too do they see Cell and Gohan as their new protectors. When some baddies come to try and take over, Cell and Gohan defend it (with Cell claiming it's his and to kindly back the fuck off). Gohan ends up getting severely poisoned by one of their attacks and that's when Cell realizes he would give anything not to lose him.

They end up striking up an intimate relationship, becoming more family with the townspeople, and it eventually gets to be "too much" for Cell. He's so uncomfortable with it all because this is not him and what he was created for. He ends up self-sabotaging by telling Gohan he's taking him back to Earth to be where he belongs. Emotional "break up" ensues, Cell returns to their home, sets it ablaze, and he watches from afar as their adoptive family comes to help them only to find both of them gone.

Cut to Resurrection F plot where Gohan is getting wrecked by Frieza. Frieza is about to kill him when all of a sudden, a large purple forcefield shields him from the blast. Gohan looks up to find Cell. Cell proceeds to wreck the Frieza force like a majestic dance in the sky, and once Goku finally arrives, the two of them finish Frieza off.

There are several other scenes I've thought up for this, but tried to keep the synopsis relatively brief 😅 So with all that said, here's the brief start I got done for it (around 3k words)

****

The dust and debris hadn’t even had a chance to settle. The bright light from the single beam attacks was all that could be seen cutting through the cloud of sand and rock, downing one right after the other. Gohan gasped, his voice caught in his throat despite wanting to scream and call out a name. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, every one of his friends was on the ground around him – a single blast through the chest enough to kill them almost instantaneously.

How can this be?! he thought to himself in panic and total shock. How is he here?! How-

The familiar, condescending laugh sounded from beyond the disturbed rubble, sending a horrible chill down Gohan’s spine. He stood, frozen in place as he waited. Waited to see that smug face again. Waited for the blast that would claim his life. Waited for death.

“That was a clever little stunt your father pulled,” the smooth voice said as the wind swept away the wreckage, leaving Gohan to look upon the face he had believed would only return in his nightmares. “Clever indeed. Frankly, I thought he had me beaten too. However, Dr. Gero was a man of pure genius, and I should not have doubted him.” Noting the utter disbelief written on the boy’s visage, Cell continued. “Allow me to explain. Inside me is a nucleus so small, it can withstand practically anything, including my little kamikaze. As long as it remains intact, I can regenerate again and again and again. You see, Gohan, I am truly perfection. I cannot be defeated.”

Gohan fell to his knees, unable to grasp the severity of what was being told to him. “I….”

Cell cackled. “And there’s the look I long to see – the look of terror. I must admit, your father didn’t sacrifice himself completely in vain. Were it not for him, I wouldn’t have picked up his instant transmission technique that will surely come in quite handy for this new reign of fear I intend to bestow upon the universe. Not only that, having survived such a blast, the Saiyan DNA I possess has made it so that I am far more powerful now than I could’ve ever imagined. Yes, things have worked out quite nicely, wouldn’t you agree?”

With his fighting spirit crushed, Gohan bowed his head and wept. Even if he could harness the intensity of his hidden power again, Cell wasn’t concealing his anymore; the young boy could feel the immense intensity of it, the full exertion of the android’s energy that paled in comparison to what both of theirs had been prior to Cell’s reckless decision.

He kept his gaze on the ground as Cell floated down to stand in front of him. Alone and defeated, Gohan waited for the blast that would claim his life like his friends. There was no point asking for mercy. He’d doomed the world.

“I would be remiss to not acknowledge your valiant attempt at saving this planet,” Cell began quietly, piquing Gohan’s attention. “You are much stronger than I had anticipated, and much stronger than your father. Your potential is something to be feared….Which is why I have a proposition for you.”

Gohan’s head snapped up at this. He stared at the android in disbelief. What is he planning? What is he thinking?

“Join me, Gohan. Travel the universe with me in pursuit of destruction, chaos, and power. Together, we would be unstoppable. Granted, I would be even without you, but it’d be far more entertaining to have someone like you alongside me. Join me and I’ll leave the Earth alone. Your loved ones will be free to live in peace, and your friends can be wished back with the dragon balls. Should you refuse….” He chuckled, a deviant smirk written on his countenance. “Then I’ll follow through with my intent of annihilating the planet and proceed on my own to do the same elsewhere.”

“How….?”

“Make no mistake – I won. But consider this another little extension of the Cell Games, if you will. You could say – a chance for second place.”

[howlingday]

Close EncounterZ

Headcanon - Yang LOVES Dragon Ball. Ruby, however, is TERRIFIED of it. The idea of alien invaders coming to Remnant freaks her out more than anything.

Ruby: I'm out here with my Dragon Radar right here, and I'm pretty sure Goku is up to his bullshit again. I mean, I think I saw a Dragon Ball fall from the sky up ahead, so they must have made a wish that didn't solve any of the real problems we have.

Ruby: Honestly, I'm a little scared some guy is gonna fly down and punch me so hard, I explode into a million billion pieces for even trying to take it for myself.

Ruby: I mean, if somebody did grab the Dragon Ball, one of Goku's goons would just rip it out of our hands like we're nothing. Because that's what we are... compared to them.

Ruby: Like, who else really gets to use the Dragon Balls?

---------------------------------------------------

Bullhead: This is Relic Hunter Y. We've got eyes on you, over.

Ruby: Copy that, Relic Hunter! Uh, just, uh, keep that light on me!

Ruby: I don't want to alarm anybody, but be ready if Goku shows up. Last time Goku showed up, he murdered an entire army. And he was just a kid! So let's just grab this thing and get this over with as quickly as possible.

---------------------------------------------------

Ruby: Oh, why didn't I bring Crescent Rose? If Piccolo comes out of nowhere and uses his Hyper Beam Laser Blast, I am so fucking dead! Just ripped right in half like nothing! Like, it'd be cool, but-

Bullhead: Home Base X, come in. This is Relic Hunter Y. There's a strange blue light ahead. It's getting strong-

Base: Relic Hunter Y, come in! You're breaking up! What the hell is going on out there?!

Ruby: Relic Hunter, uh, be careful up there! I'm coming in closer to you now. Uh, over.

Base: Relic Hunter, abort! Huntress, move in! Retrieve the... Oh god...

Bullhead: MAYDAY! MAYDAY! WE'RE GOING DOWN!

Ruby: WHAT THEFUCKING HELL IS THAT?! SOMEONE JUST LASERED RELIC HUNTER! IS THAT A KAMEHAMEHA?! OH GOD!

Ruby: IT'S GOKU!

Ruby: Relic Hunter... We have a serious pro- Oh, wait, you guys are dead. Uh, Home Base? We have a serious problem. Right now.

Ruby: Home Base?

---------------------------------------------------

Ruby: Come on! Share the Dragon Ball!

Ruby: You guys get it every time, and it's really selfish of you! Maybe I have some wishes, you know?

Ruby: It's called sharing! You ever heard of it?

Ruby: Hello? ...Hello?

Ruby: ...Goku? Goku, you know what, you can have it! I don't really want it anymore. You can have the Dragon Ball.

Ruby: I mean, you shot a Bullhead out of the sky, so what can I do without my god damn weapons?

Ruby: (Hears a rumble) Oh Brothers, he's powering up! I need to hurry! Holy shit...

---------------------------------------------------

Ruby: What... the hell is that?

Ruby: That's... Oh god, that's Frieza's ship. That's not Goku, it's fucking Frieza! Holy shit!

Ruby: Who's there?! Hello?!

Ruby: I... I know you're over there! You... weird... bald... guy!

Ruby: Oh god...

Ruby: (Thinking) I can't believe I'm going to die to Cui from the god damn Frieza Force. This fucking low level asshole is going to kill and that is so damn embarrassing.

???: (Telepathically) At least it's not Appul.

Ruby: True, and I- Wait a minute.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 121

See?   They combined together and got really huge!  This is just like when Ribrianne and the U6 Namekians did all that stuff and everyone loved it!  Universe 3 is just as cool as those characters!  Right? Right?  You’re shaking your head no, what are you not getting here?

Last Episode, Universe 3 attacked Universe 7′s team in a desperate all-out bid for survival.  Their assault was so pitiful that Frieza didn’t even do anything to help and U3 still got their asses kicked. 

So Dr. Paparoni combined his three robot teammates into a big robot, Koicéareta, and when that failed, he combined with Koicéareta, forming an even bigger creature named Agnilasa.  The fact that I have to keep looking up all their names to copy and paste into this post should tell you how memorable these guys were. 

So obviously, this was why Universe 3 didn’t bother trying to use Potara earrings when Kefla made her big play.  Universe 2 tried and failed, Universe 4 was relying on stealth instead of power, and Universe 11 saw no point in fusion because Jiren’s so strong already.  But U3 didn’t use it because they already had Agnilasa in their back pocket, and he’s like four guys already. 

And yeah, this is just like the fucking Sigma Force, when General Rildo absorbed them all after they lost. 

Anyway, let’s go over this.  He’s really huge and strong and fast, and when the whole U7 team tries to attack him from every angle he somehow manages to block them all at once.  17 reasons that he must have ultrasonic radar, like a bat.  Yeah, why not?

Also he can do the Janemba thing where he makes portals and punches through them to hit enemies at unexpected angles.  So he basically controls the entire stage. 

Goku nearly gets eliminated, but Frieza kicks him back in the ring so he can continue winning the tournament.  Frieza sarcastically apologizes for kicking him so hard, and Goku genuinely replies that Frieza’s kicks aren’t enough to bother him.  Sick burn from Goku. 

Then Agnilasa tries to eat 18, presumably because he realized he can’t knock anyone out of the ring without a teammate making the save.  Yeah, but if you kill 18, you get disqualified, dummy.  Unless Agnilasa’s planning to just swallow them all and puke them up over the side of the ring. 

Fortunately, it doesn’t come to that, as Goku and Frieza show up in time to save 18.  Then she pays it forward by saving 17...

But she gets eliminated in the effort. 

Then Agnilasa grows wings, for... no real reason.  Oh, wait, Ribrianne did this, so U3 thinks it makes them look cooler.  Well it doesn’t.   Just give it up, Universe 3. 

So the squad all power up to their final forms, except 17, who only has one form.

Then they shoot their best hand lasers as Agnilasa shoots a giant fireball down at them.  They believe that Agnilasa’s plan is to destroy the entire stage, thereby eliminating everyone while he flies to safety.  Maybe, but Agnilasa could just be really dumb and not understand what he’s doing.  This episode does a lousy job of explaining whether Agnilasa is a mindless beast or a cunning tactician, and it’s kind of sublime how the managed to screw that up.

Anyway, 17 makes a barrier around himself and fliest through Agnilasa’s energy blast, then attacks the big red thing on his head, thinking that it must be his weak point.  Just like Cell Max, I guess.

That disrupts Agnilasa’s functions enough for the other four guys to blow him away...

I’m somewhat surprised to see them separate into their original forms on the bench, but whatever. 

So Universe 3 gets erased, but before they go, Lord Musco opens his robot suit and reveals his true form. No one cares. 

Seriously, this whole two-parter was this desperate attempt to showcase the team that got zero characterization through the entire arc.  And now it’s too late, because this is their last hurrah, and there’s no emotional resonance because they never mattered.  I guess it was supposed to be a big deal that Mosco never came out of his robot suit, but they never hinted at it before, or explained why he stays in there, so why should we care? 

Anyway, we’re not down to the last eight competitors, and the stage is set for Universe 7 vs. the Pride Troopers.  Jiren warns them that beating U3 was the last triumph they will ever experience.

And Goku’s like “Nuh-uh, we still have to beat you guys, silly goose!”

Anyway, here’s KISS with “Strutter”.

[kxkarot]

A low snarl escapes him, any regret and despair fading from his mind as his anger comes back full force with the Prince's beginning sentence. Again and Again the prince couldn't even bother to use his name. He'd long abandoned the name Kakarot. Yet Vegeta seemed intent on reminding him every single step of the way that he'd once had another identity that meant nothing to him because he couldn't even remember. He didn't even know who his parents were! Tail smacking a few rocks aside before he stares the other down, the air heating up again as his ki spikes. He had to pretend. Everyone else relied on him now far too much to step off the pedestal he'd been placed on, even Vegeta had with declaring their rivalry. He resists the urge to lunge at the other, gruesome images flashing in his mind as his hands flex here and there, as if wanting to punch the other. His restraint vanishes entirely when Vegeta makes the statement about his son. Leaving Goten out of it he knows well who this bastard means. "I know what you put him through. While I was fighting Frieza." He says lowly, a growl rumbling in his chest as onyx eyes bore into the others, colors flickering through his ki as his eyes shimmer the intense turquoise. The earth rumbles and shakes with the very power slowly building from him as he assumes a battle stance. "And now..."

"IT'S TIME TO PAAAY!!!" The bestial roar ripping from his chest and the saiyan rips through all the forms up into the latest one. He shoots towards the other, landing a devastating punch to the other. He's lucky he transformed quickly enough to counter. He doesn't even attempt to make it fair. Grabbing the other and slamming his forehead into his, even as blood trickles down his face from the action. A fist slamming into the Prince's gut before a kick slams into his abdomen. He finally lets go only to blast the other point blank. He shrugs off any blasts, bulldozing through them despite the burns and damage to his body. Rage fully consuming him as his pupils blank out, punch after punch, wildly throwing them but with the strength to back it up. It's unclear how long the battle rages as his conscious mind slips here and there, fully absorbed into the rage the other pushed him towards after years of it building up.

It comes down to a massive Warp Kamehameha. So much energy expended and then violent pain. Violent pain that snaps him fully out of the rage. The blast creating a massive area of destruction heading forward, adding a new image to the war torn canvas carved into the area. A choked inhale as he tilts his head down to look at the shorter saiyan who's delivered a brutal punch to his chest. A look of desperation that turns into shock. He drops rapidly through the forms, trying his best to cling on but only super saiyan remains as blood rushes up his throat and splatters onto the side of the Prince's face as he coughs. And continues to cough. He doesn't hesitate to punch the other away, even if its effect is little. He staggers forward, still looking ready to fight with that burning determination, another cough wracks through his body. Dropping to his knees as he hacks up more blood. Dammit! Dammit!! Tears springing to his eyes, born from the pain and all the frustration. A hand attempting to cover his mouth, he can't stop coughing, blood dripping through his fingers. A hand clutching at where the prince had struck. The muscles ache and throb and his chest burns. It feels like his entire body is fighting back against him in this moment. He must look like a wreck.

He rasps when he can finally get a moment to breath. Staring at the other with rage. "You betrayed us. You betrayed your family. You let threats that could have been dealt with sooner get stronger and your actions ROBBED me of my sons lives! I didn't get to see my son grow up because you couldn't put your fucking gloves on and deal with cell while he was weak!" He snaps, another fit of harsh coughs washing over his frame. "So you've swallowed your pride sometimes recently. Good for you. I've been doing it my entire life and you keep haunting me with the ghost of an identity I don't even know!" More blood. It hurts to speak but he's just spewing words now. "I've been placed on a pedestal I never wanted. You want to be known as the strongest!? GO AHEAD! Take the accursed title! I just want to live my damn life!"

The red blur streaking through the sky, He doesn't have a direction at first. He just throws himself to the winds and follows the current, speeding past area's that burn in the edges of his mind until he comes to the spot he'd tried to burn out of his memories for a long time. It's still there, the audacity of it still being there makes his blood boil even further. Staring upon the half destroyed ship the mad tyrant had used to come here. All the way from Namek just because of him, had time not played a different event then his friends and family may have very well been destroyed before he even arrived and even then his victory would have been pointless, given the disease that followed him home. It's boiling, he feels like his blood is boiling in his very veins, teeth grinding against one another as his hair spikes further up, the ki is scorching and wild, rampaging against the area and causing destruction despite his normal restraint which has all but burnt away into the winds and the self inflicted chains snap. His power is boiling over and about to explode if he doesn't release his wrath and he rises fast into the stratosphere, attempting to use the normally cold air to cool down. Yet the prince's words ring in his mind, echoing like a chant he can't run from and it's sickening to him. He's frustrated, every little nagging thing now deciding to pop up, every choice, every sin, every mistake, every action. Anytime he's tried to do something right, more and more consequences pop up. More and More keeps happening and Vegeta had some right to yell at him but- Hands clenching into fists before he starts destroying randomly. Energy fluctuating and random destruction are his outlet for the first time and a part of him feels good to destroy something. To take his anger out on something. It scares him but the anger is too addictive to let go of just yet.

So. He lets loose. Everything.

His lungs strain with the sheer outcry of rage, the winds howl and the atmosphere screams in protest to the Saiyan God rampaging. A memory burning in his mind, his eldest son crying, his wife crying. So many memories and anger sourcing from them. He takes it all from the past and present and lets it explode outwards with his ki, devastating the area around him even so far from it. The earth surface below the raging ball of fury distorting and splitting upwards, the pressure pushing downwards like a massive crater of impact, jagged boulders rising into the sky as his ki rages out of control. Unrestrained by anything now and definitely not his normal restraint.

It rages for so long he's draining his own energy reserves. The explosion of ki slowly shrinks before finally dissipating as he drops from the lethal form, descending back quickly to the segment he's all but ruined. Landing with a heavy thud as the ground nearly cracks further upon just landing on it's battered terrain. He'd made sure no living creature was nearby before letting loose. Even still, to see the destruction he could cause with just half of his power...It's terrifying. Yet it's also a power he needs to grow further, to defend the same thing he's just ravaged in his mental spiral. The first one he's ever allowed himself to have. He stands there, silently taking in the destruction before he turns his gaze. So now the other shows up. Tail lashing behind him, fur bristled as he grunts. He's glad he's done this now, if he acted on his rage then maybe he won't be entirely out of control and run out of steam quickly.

For now his gaze locks onto the approaching figure. There is no love in his blank eyes, only regret, anger and a deep sadness that lingers in the air as the embers of his earlier rampaging ki filters away. Figures Vegeta would pick up on the godly ki that rampaged around, no one else would have been able to sense it besides those who could sense god ki. Which was few. Thankfully.

[floating-mid-air]

The Princess of all Saiyans

 -

 Masterlist

-

Hey Everyone! It's been a while. My life's been kind of hectic the past couple of months. Long story short: I Graduated from Highschool this year, so I was busy with everything having to do with that. Then my summer job sadly prevented me from writing as well. And then I started College, which was a big change for me. For now, there are no more chapters in my life opening or closing. Now I'm finally in a place where I feel comfortable continuing this book again. I could've honestly been writing during all of this chaos. But I wouldn't have been pleased with the quality of my writing. I'm really excited to get back into the swing of things. I don't think this chapter panned out the way I originally planned, but I'm still happy with it. As always, I hope you enjoy it. And if you have any comments or concerns, feel free to let me know. My inbox is always open!

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Chapter 11

-

You've been walking for quite some time now, and the experience has been excruciating. You haven't been in this much pain since you and Raditz were on planet Telia, ten-something years ago. Those damn underlings were able to get a good sneak attack on you. Though you can't say, you let them get away scot-free. You made sure to make their entire dreadful race pay for that injury. You and Raditz had covered up that incident, much like you're doing with your current injury.

"So---" You can hear Goku talking to Krillin from just slightly left of you. "Did you guys find the senzu beans?" Wow, Kakarot may be the least subtle creature you've ever encountered.

"Ya." Krillin chuckles. "All four of us were in pretty rough shape." Goku glances at you with a worried look on his face. You glare at him as Raditz eyes the two of you skeptically. He knows something's off between the two of you. Maybe something serious did happen while you and his brother were trapped together. 

A bit more time has passed, and you've been trying your best to keep up with the others. But it isn't as easy as you thought. You're now trailing behind the rest of them, with Raditz turning back to look at you every so often. The largest Saiyan slows down to catch up with your slower pace, now walking beside you.

He turns to you, whispering in a low tone. "Something's off." Raditz can no longer stay silent about his concerns. First, it was the strange vibes between you and Kakarot. And now it's your out-of-character demeanor making him uneasy.

"About what?"

"You. Typically you walk beside your brother, and when he doesn't let you, you make sure you're always only a few paces behind. But right now, you couldn't be more content to trail everyone. Plus, you're far too confident to not be in the very front." Raditz has been around far too long for your liking. Damn him. He knows you far too well, and you hate him for it.

You roll your eyes at him. "So this conclusion of yours is based on the way I'm walking? I'm tired. When I fought, Burter, that physically drained me. And then I got trapped in a ditch with your moronic brother, that mentally drained me. I'm exhausted, Raditz." 

"It's not just the way you're walking. It's your mannerisms as well." He points at your side. "Your hand hasn't moved from your side from the moment I first saw you."

"God, Raditz." You scoff. "Stop overanalyzing everything."

"Getting defensive now? That's your M.O whenever you're hiding something." He looks back and forth between your face and your hand that has remained glued to your side. The gears in the older Saiyan's head slowly but surely turning. " Y/N, are you hurt?" 

"No." You snap your eyes shut, biting your lip hard enough to draw blood in an attempt to suppress a wince of pain. "I'm fine."

He tilts his head at you. "Y/N, I know you claim otherwise, but I'm not stupid. I know you're in pain."

You chuckle softly in a self-pitying way. "Am I that easy to read?"

Raditz shakes his head, smiling to himself. "No, I've just known you for a long time now." He returns to his serious demeanor, his gaze returning to the area of your wound. "How bad is it?"

"I barely feel it at all. Though, climbing out of that ditch must have reopened the cut."

Raditz snickers. "You're a bad liar."

"That's strange. I've been told in the past that I'm quite good at lying."

A smirk spreads across Raditz's lips. "Well, you apparently aren't when I'm involved."

The larger Saiyan glances at the back of your brother's head. You respond with a glare, firmly pulling on a large chunk of his hair. You know what Raditz wants to do, and it's not happening. "Don't even think about it."

"I-I think we should tell him Y/N."

"No." You let go of his hair, tapping his chest with extreme force. "You're going to keep your big mouth shut. Vegeta will freak out. You know how irrational he gets."

Raditz decides to let you have your way--- for now. The man can't help but wonder why you're so stubborn, but then again, his nature isn't much different from yours.

With every minute that passes, your condition only seems to worsen. Your eyes even start to droop. "Y/N?" Raditz turns to you, his features beginning to fill with worry. He places one of his large hands on your forehead. You're burning up. "You have a fever. Your wound must be infected."

"No." You shake your head in disagreement, almost like a child. As your mental state becomes more and more delirious. 

"Vegeta!" Raditz shouts, gaining your brother's attention.

"Fuck you, Raditz! You're such a blabbermouth!" You shout at the larger Saiyan in front of you.

"What's wrong this time? Is my sister trying to pull you into another one of her elaborate schemes?"

"Y/N's hurt--- bad." Vegeta's eyes widen, and not even a millisecond later, he rushes to your side. "She has a fever. I think her cut is infected."

"Where is it?" He crosses his arms at you, noticing your hand placed firmly on your side. He moves your hand out of the way with ease, lifting your armor. "How did this happen?"

"Burter nicked me during our fight. It's no big deal."

"No big deal? It's infected, you stupid woman!" He turns his attention to Kakarot. "Did you know about this?"

You snicker. "Oh ya, Vegeta. I get hurt, and the first person I run to tell is Kakarot." Vegeta's fists clench at your sarcastic remark, turning his fit of rage back at you.

"You know, in certain situations, you're more prone to infections. And a planet like Namek checks all of the boxes! You know you need to be more careful. Damn our mother and her faulty genetics!" Sadly that's a trait you had inherited from your mother. On most planets, you'd be fine, and injuring yourself would be no big deal. But Namek has specific conditions that result in you being more vulnerable. 

"Raditz, pick her up." Raditz picks you up, giving you a piggyback ride. You wrap your arms around his neck, giving yourself better balance. Vegeta glances up at you. He looks even madder than usual. "With the condition, you're in, you will not be fighting. You will stay away from Jeice, and you won't even enter the same proximity as Ginyu. Do you understand me?"

"But--"

"No!" His voice booms, gaining the attention of every creature for miles. "I'm not kidding around. Do you understand me?"

You bite your lip, tilting your head downwards, avoiding your brother's gaze like the plague. "Yes, Vegeta." Vegeta returns to the front of the group, his mood sourer than ever.

As Raditz begins to walk, he starts talking to you again. "Are you mad at me?" You don't verbally respond. Instead, you claw into his shoulders, your nails digging into his flesh. "Fuck. I'll take that as a yes."

"You're a tattletale."

Raditz chuckles. "No wonder why Vegeta babies you. You'll thank me for this later, you stubborn woman. And I've kept your secrets before, handfuls of them, actually. Like what happened on planet Telia----" Raditz realized the grave mistake he had just made, mentioning that incident in the presence of the very being you worked so hard to hide it from.

You slap the older Saiyan upside the head as Vegeta turns backward, a scowl plastered on his face. "What happened on plant Telia?" It was a rhetorical question, mocking both you and Raditz. "Oh, the three of us will be discussing this in length later. Because it sounds to me like you both lied to me on that initial report." You and Raditz gulp, you've heard that tone from your brother millions of times now, and it has never once become any less terrifying. 

"Oh, lighten up, Geta." You groan. "That was like, what? Around thirteen years ago?"

"The amount of time that has passed matters very little to me. As I said before, this is a discussion for later."

A few more hours have passed, which honestly feels like days at this point. And considering Namek's strange day cycle, it very well could've been. "How much farther?" Your question was clearly directed at Vegeta. And at this point, you're not even sure he has any idea where you're headed either.

"I don't know why you're the one complaining." Raditz huffs.  "You're not the one doing all of the walking! And if you ask him that one more time, I'm going to drop you." Ok so maybe, that wasn't the first time you've asked that question today. Or the second, or third, you're very bored. 

"Man Raditz." You roll your eyes, which are barely open at this point. "You sure complain--- a lot."

"You were just complaining." The long-haired Saiyan grumbles. 

"No, I simply asked Vegeta a question. There's a difference Raditz. I know it's hard for your feeble mind to understand." When you're sick, you tend to act, oh what's the word? Bitcher than normal. And that's saying a lot.

Raditz clenches his jaw. "Vegeta. I need a break from your sister."

"That's how I felt ninety percent of the time I was stuck in a room with you, Nappa, and Cado. And you didn't see me running to wine to Frieza about it."

Before Raditz can retort, your brother interjects. "That's enough! From both of you!"

Krillin, Gohan, and Goku have identical bewildered expressions on their faces. Krillin turns to Vegeta, lowering his voice to a whisper. He doesn't want to be the next victim of your wrath. "Do they always fight like this?" The human finds this perplexing. Back on Earth, the pair seemed inseparable. They appeared to be the Saiyan equivalent of what on Earth would be considered best friends.

Vegeta lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Yes, but typically it's more playful in nature. When my sister is sick, she becomes even brattier than usual."

Vegeta's warning to both of you seems to have fallen on dead ears. Because your quarrel has not ceased, in fact, it has only elevated. "I will drop you, you royal brat!"

"I dare you to you second-class runt. I could still kick your ass even in my delirious state. I wouldn't even have to try very hard."

"I'm considering----"

Before Raditz can even get three words out, your bickering is once again interrupted, and not by the person you may think. "Enough!" Gohan shouts. You honestly forgot the others were here for a moment."If you two keep fighting like this, you're going to get all of us killed!" You and Raditz stare at the boy in shock. It's been a long time since the two of you have been yelled at by a child. The last time being when you were children yourselves. Vegeta hasn't changed much since childhood. He's been bossing you around and shouting at you since you were children, but I'm sure that's not very surprising. 

"Ya, and I can take Y/N---- if you need a break." Goku rubs the back of his neck, chuckling sheepishly. "Not that I want to hold Y/N or anything."

"No." You rapidly shake your head. "Raditz, I'm sorry. I'll be good now--- I promise."

A wicked grin spreads across Raditz's lips right before he grabs your hands with his larger ones. He loosens your grip around his neck, moving your body with ease, scooping you up into his arms. Every step Raditz takes toward Goku seems even more antagonizing slower than the last. Until he's standing directly in front of his younger brother. He elevates his arms slightly, dropping you right in front of an unsuspecting Goku.

Lucky for you, Goku has sharp reflexes. That allows the Saiyan to catch you easily. Raditz look's his brother dead in the eyes, his typical arrogant grin still on his lips. "She's your problem now, Kakarot." Raditz gazes downward to look at you. "Stop pouting. Maybe next time, you'll be nicer to good old Raditz."

A low growl echoes in the back of your throat as you glare daggers at the Saiyan standing before you. "Ya, or maybe next time, I'll rip out your tail and strangle you with it!" The only thing that's stopping you from lunging at Raditz is Goku's firm grip holding you in place.

Rather than arguing that the entire group has become accustomed to, the whole area has become dead silent. You're no longer pouting. Instead, you are glaring at the man who continues to carry you bridal style. You've never liked being held like this. It makes you feel weak like you have no control over your own body.

What makes you even more irritated, Is how Goku reacts to your death stare. He just grins at you. Does he just never get angry? What kind of Saiyan is he? It fills you with so much anger that someone as dopey as Kakarot has Saiyan blood flowing through his veins. 

You clench your fists. You just wanna punch Kakarot so badly. He just has such a punchable face. If you could take away his cheery personality, he'd actually be quite attractive. Wait--- what the hell are you thinking? Kakarot is stupid and way too friendly for you to ever think of him in that way.

 You move your fist up, finally giving in to your urges, attempting to punch the man holding you. Probably not your wisest moment, but your brain isn't functioning normally right now. Goku catches your hand with ease. His reflexes are unreal, or maybe this fever has you more sluggish than you believed. You'd prefer to think that it's the second option. He chuckles to himself. He's still not upset. What the hell is wrong with him? "Come on, Y/N. You gotta be quicker than that." He's challenging you. How Saiyan like of him. You seem to always be able to find specks of Saiyan nature in the cheerful man. And those are the aspects you actually like about him. 

Your eyes begin to once again feel heavy as your eyes droop shut, just before you fall asleep in the arms of your enemy. 

Twenty-Something Years Ago:

You're sitting on your bed, sitting crisscrossed, a book laying open on your lap. Since your father is currently off-planet, you can read all you want. You're enamored with your newest book. It's all about a topic referred to as diplomacy. It's fascinating and has many concepts that are entirely foreign to you, yet at the same time, some of these ideas are also familiar. 

As you read, your door slams open, but you pay the interruption almost no attention, not even bothering to look up from your book. Honestly, the unwelcome intrusion has you more angered than anything else. "God, Vegeta." You roll your eyes. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Something's not right. When Vegeta usually bursts into your room, he's automatically shouting at you.

Out of pure curiosity, you look up from your book. However, standing at your door, you don't find Vegeta. A boy with a very similar appearance but with a much smaller stature stands in your door frame. He's out of breath, desperately huffing for air. "Tarble?" You furrow your brows at your brother, launching off your bed to get closer to him. "What's wrong?" You have this sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Your twin has never behaved in such a manner before. 

"Captain--- Captain Ginyu is here." Tarble is shaking, his eyes watering slightly.

You scowl ever so slightly. "But Ginyu's not scheduled to be on planet Vegeta any time soon." 

"It's--- It's a surprise visit. What do we do, Y/N?"

You contemplate for a moment before your features fill with alarm. "Tarble? Where's Vegeta?"

His lip quivers as he looks down at the floor. "He's with Captain Ginyu."

"Damn it." You mutter under your breath. Diplomacy is a skill you need right now. And Vegeta doesn't have a single quality that a diplomat possesses. Your elder brother is more likely to unnecessarily provoke the Captain, putting your entire race in hot water with the Frieza Force. 

You rush over to your bedside table, rummaging through the drawer. Once you have your scouter in your hand, you run back over to your brother. "Stay in here, and use this to channel our father. Let him know what's going on." You push past your twin, about to leave, before Tarble's voice calls out to you.

"Wait, Y/N!" You turn back to look at him. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go stop our older brother from doing something stupid. Everything will be fine, I promise. Just calm down and do as I said." And with that, you take off, praying that Vegeta hasn't already done something rash.

As you sprint down the halls of the palace, you run face-first into the torso of a large body. "Princess?"

You look up at the bald Saiyan, the one who's supposed to be at your brother's side at all times. Since the future king of planet Vegeta needs to be protected. "Nappa, Where is my brother?"

The imbecile scratches the back of his neck, contemplating much longer for your liking. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen the runt in quite some time. You should probably ask Vegeta." 

You scowl at the Saiyan. "Not Tarble, you fool! I'm asking you where Vegeta is!"

"Oh, Why didn't you just say so?" It's taking every ounce of restraint you have in your body to not viciously attack Nappa. "He's just outside of the palace." 

You run through Nappa, intentionally knocking the large Saiayn onto the floor. His stupidity lost you precious time. It was quite an amusing sight, though. A mere child, being able to take down one of your father's best warriors. 

You arrive outside of the palace, your eyes landing on your target. This is the first time you've ever seen Captain Ginyu. Sure, you've heard stories of the purple man. And much like your people, Ginyu is just as bloodthirsty and just as ruthless. Much to your surprise, the Captain doesn't have an army behind him. This was just before the Ginyu Force had formed. All Ginyu was at this point in time was a captain of one of Frieza's many armies. 

You walk over to them, now standing at your brother's side. "Captain Ginyu." You speak with your hands, an exaggerated smile appearing on your lips. "To what do we owe the honor?"

The man looks down at you, clearly analyzing you with his scouter. "Well, if this isn't a surprise. I think this is the first time I've had the pleasure of meeting you, Y/N." Ginyu extends his large hand out to you, causing Vegeta to feel a great deal of alarm. Your brother's body has gone tense with an apprehensive look on his face. But when your older brother looks over to you, there isn't even a glint of fear in your eyes. You're calm, almost as if one of Lord Frieza's deadliest warriors was not standing before you. You accept the Captain's hand, presenting him with a short but polite handshake. "Your father doesn't like showing you off much, does he?" 

You chuckle softly. "My father likes to hold his cards close to his chest. I'm sure a man like yourself is quite similar." Sucking up to Ginyu is not your favorite pastime, but it needs to be done. And every Saiyan on this planet knows your big brother is far too prideful to do it himself.

Ginyu looks between you and Vegeta carefully. For someone so highly regarded by Frieza, he sure isn't subtle. He's trying to read your facial expressions. Unfortunately for him, your father has raised you both much better than that. A poker face to you feels more natural than a genuine expression. "Speaking of your father, where is he right now?"

"He's of---"

You quickly cut Vegeta off. "He's in a meeting. That's why our father sent me out. He wanted you to know he sends his regards, but his hands are tied at the moment. He will be here at soon as possible. I hope my brother and I can suffice your needs in the meantime."

Captain Ginyu eyes you skeptically, tilting his head at you ever so slightly. "That sounds serious. I hope it's nothing too pressing."

"Of course not. It's nothing my father can't handle."

You're about to continue your schmoozing, but you're stopped by Vegeta aggressively yanking on your arm. "We need to talk-- in private."

You grimace at your brother's words. He just always has to make everything that much more difficult for you. You turn back to Ginyu, offering the man a cheerful smile. "Will you excuse us for a moment? We'll be right back."

Vegeta drags you around a corner, concealing you both from Ginyu's prying eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" He huffs at you in a whisper. "I had everything under control."

You snicker, crossing your arms. "You were just about to tell Ginyu that our father was off-planet. It sounds to me like I got here just in time to prevent you from making a grave mistake."

"I don't see why that matters."

"And that's the issue, Vegeta. Now we don't have time for this. Let's go." You turn back around, walking back over to Ginyu, Vegeta trailing not far behind. "I'd like to apologize for my brother's rudeness, Captain Ginyu." You shake your head but with a slight smirk across your lips. "All Saiyan men are the same, and my brother is no exception. They're incredibly thickheaded and quite savage. I'm convinced they don't even realize what brutes they are." You watch your brother ball his hands up into fists from beside you. It fills you with an immense feeling of joy knowing you're getting under Vegeta's skin for once. You turn back to Ginyu, plastering that disingenuous grin on your face. "Now, how about we give you a tour of our wonderful planet?"  

You and Vegeta have shown Ginyu around almost the entirety of your planet, and you must admit you're beginning to grow worried. Luckily you've managed to hold off any more questions about your father's whereabouts by charming him with various facts about planet Vegeta. But to be honest, you're not sure how much longer you can hold up this charade for. You've exhausted pretty much every idea that you've been able to come up with.

"Captain Ginyu!" Your father's brash voice invades your ears as you turn around to finally see the man you've been anxiously waiting for. You've never seen your father walk in such an urgent manner, and it's pretty funny watching your twin struggling to keep up with your father's pace. 

Your father places himself between you and Vegeta, ruffling your hair affectionately. You look up at him. "How'd your meeting go?"

Your father meets your gaze, catching onto your deception almost immediately. "It went very well. Thank you both for keeping Captain Ginyu company in my absence, but I think I can handle it from here." He directs his attention back onto Captain Ginyu. "Now, how about we discuss you're abrupt arrival somewhere more private."

The two men exit your field of view, leaving the three of you alone. Tarble, in his typical fashion, glues himself to your side. "What the hell was that?" Vegeta spits out with venom. "Where was your pride? You were basically groveling at his feet."

You furrow your brows at him. "I was doing what needed to be done. And if you think our father isn't currently doing the same thing, you're a bigger fool than I thought."

"I know our father is being more agreeable with him, but not at the cost of his pride."

"It's always about pride with you." You step closer to Vegeta, closing the distance between you. "Your pride today would have cost the loss of countless lives today, Vegeta."

"Then so be it. If there are Saiayn's that inadequate on our planet, we should probably just exterminate them now. It'll save us the hassle later on."

You snicker, shaking your head at Vegeta. "Some King you'll be." You turn to your twin. "Let's go, Tarble. I have no desire to be near our foolish brother right now."

The conversation between Captain Ginyu and your father was brief. It was a very anticlimactic ending to the naked eye. The briefness of this encounter only set off more alarm bells in King Vegeta's head. It was clear to the man that Ginyu's excuse for being on his planet was bullshit. He's just not quite sure what the captain's intentions were, but he sure as hell is going to find out.

As soon as Ginyu left planet Vegeta, he promptly set course for his next destination. He's headed straight to Lord Frieza to report his findings, and he's eager to do so.

 Ginyu arrives on the planet in record time, heading straight for the throne room. Ginyu kneels before Frieza, waiting for his boss to speak. "Captain Ginyu. You're sure back early. I trust you were able to gather enough information on the young prince."

Captain Ginyu nods enthusiastically. "Of course, Lord Frieza. The Price was exactly the same as the previous data we collected on him. He's powerful and quite intelligent for a Saiyan. Though, he did inherit that nasty temper from his father."

Frieza sighs. "How disappointing."

"But I did discover something that you may find interesting, Lord Frieza."

Frieza tilts his head at the man. He can't help but feel intrigued. "Go on." It's not that easy for him to find an advantage over those monkeys, so he'll take any information Ginyu can give him, no matter how minuscule. 

"Y/N--- King Vegeta's daughter piqued my interest greatly. She's not even close to as strong as her brother, but she's remarkably clever. She's very good with words, she knows how to manipulate people. I'd say she might even be better than King Vegeta himself."

"Now, that is fascinating. Good work, Ginyu. I'll look into the Princess's abilities more in-depth later. You're excused."

-

This is just something I felt the need to clarify: So in this chapter's flashback, Vegeta is around three, and Y/N and Tarble are about two. In my head, I picture children on planet Vegeta behaving like miniature adults. My idea is once they leave their chambers (the tanks they are raised in to get their basic Saiyan instincts under control), their minds are fully grown, but their physical growth is quite delayed. That's why they curse and stuff. I have a minuscule window of time to squash in all of my plot ideas. So this was the best way to do so.

[iamtheempress]

Cold Blooded

A Dragon Ball Horror Fic {Part 11}

☆☆☆

Frieza’s slow. Patient. Methodical. With every step his little smile returns to his face as he sees the lab with which he made his first realization he felt something towards her. Its almost sentimental to him. 

From within the sterile lab the petrified scientist looked for anything. Anything at all to defend herself, then ran to the opposite door. The only one used to escape by the incinerator. So much for that. With the power out and backup generator fried the only thing working is this horrible white light blinking on and off in the lab…

Shes fucked. SHes fucked and she knows it.. No goodbye to Vegeta or anything. Her tomb is her laboratory. A place of creation. “Dammit...DAMMIT!” she shouts and her eyes meet with the vials of liquid that could potentially save her life... 

The corrosive material. The same which she used to pierce his membrane.

“Perfect…” She whispered out, only to be taken from thought fromthe door creaking open. 

“If theres anything that is perfect here, my dear Carlie it is you…” Hes more clear here, hes golden… this is his form he was talking about right. Its nightmarish and sleek.

“I hate to make things so short but i must inform you my dear… this is your last time on earth… from here i have a fleet at my command waiting for OUR arrival. You will never return to this wretched dirtball again for as long as you shall live.” He promises crossing the room with both arms locked prim and proper at the base of his spine he now easily towers over her, whereas before he was exactly her height.

Shes cornered. The position shes put herself in is foolish at best. Caught between Frieza and a concrete wall and a counter top with 50 vials of liquid.

“And if your moronic primate and his little friends find it necessary to hunt you down…” He raises his hand to her cheek and she flinches, his thumb grazes her bottom lip. Solid scarlet red eyes focused on her mouth and then her eyes as he leans closer. “Ill kill them one by one… and ill make sure that you watch. As my empress you will see that your former friends perish appropriately…” Carlie pipes up as Friezas now mere inches from her lips. 

“And i have no say in any of this… your just going to fucking take me..” She chokes out a cry, tears threatening to spill down her flush cheeks. “OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOO!! Carlie Carlie CARLIE!!! You never had a choice… you accepted me like a true friend… instead of cowering in fear of me… and you assume I WOULDNT take the opportunity to snatch you up??? Your a prize to be won… and one i wont let go to waste for the likes of that brutish little runt of a monkey…” He comments, absolutely preening with success and excitement. 

Carlie reached behind her and grabbed the rack of vials and brought it over her head into the crown of Friezas head, smashing it and pouring the corrosive material all over the Emperor and onto his flesh. The human woman bared her nails and threw any and all caution to the wind. 

“What in the-you…” Frieza backed up adn looked at his shoulders and didnt notice the human girl lunging at him with nails digging into his neck and dragging down harshly. Cutting clean into his flesh leaving a deep scratch like a wild cat.

“You made the worst decision, Carlie…” Frieza lulled grimacing. The scientist reared back and punched the emperor in the face square in the teeth. A tooth came out… he got some of the acid in his mouth too. Carlies minor victory was short lived. With blinding speed Frieza snatched the humans neck and gripped it. Forcing her to the ground. 

“Out of every smart thing you have done, Carlie. That was certainly the stupidest thing any human has ever done. So yes. A job well done is in order. You have infuriated the Emperor of the Universe to the point where i wlll not take pity upon you..” While choking under the golden tyrants grip she used all the strength she had inher not to pull his hand from her throat but to scratch and mangle his chest and any exposed area. With reckless and careless abandon. Shes mindlessly fighting back to achieve a hollow victory.

A very hollow victory. 

“F-Fuck you! Fuck you and y-your damned offer to be a fucking empress! Im Vege-AAAAH!” SHe screams loudly when the worst pain entered her stomach. A fucking death beam straight into her stomach and out her back. 

“You are a filthy mouthed little whore. You were coppulating with the primate, do you truly think id want my reproductive organs anywhere near your own when that monkey has slavved about inside of you…” Friezas fingers tighten more around her neck, her eyes wide and blood shot. 

“Tut tut now… I wanted to actually see this serum your so proud of in action.. Dont go dying on me n-” She reaches her arms up and scratches hellishly at his neck gasping for air that will never reach her pretty lips. He lifts her head abit and moves her head… Like its some sick fantasy to see someone teetering on the edge of life and death so callously.. 

Her eyes wept as she now kicked and scratched as the grinning tyrant… who bit his lip ensuring shes getting closer to death.. The blood she was laying on was her own but the blood that dripped on her from him was cold..

Friezas just as cold blooded as the life fuel that runs through his veins… “You feel that? That is because of you you wretch.. I offered you my blood for your hoidy toidy experiments. I know you done amazing things with it.. You can SEE me as you take your last breaths..OH THATS RIGHT!! I almost forgot.” He smiles and takes a needle and shoves it into her neck as the vision slipped and she was just about to cusp into the otherworld. 

With that very press of her serum coursing through her veins she understood how potent and strong it truly was… She felt alive. Rejuvenated. Her heart pounding and face dark blue from him squeezing the air from her lungs. “See? It worked! And you got to see it yourself… You should be sooooooo proud…” 

Carlie closed her mouth and looked right up at Frieza with petrified eyes. Shaking and feeling the life slip slowly from her body. “I will remember that when i see Vegeta again… that i was the last thing you ever seen… not that he would give a damn…” He sunk down and pressed his lips firm against the cold girls lips, molding them to hers, for several seconds Frieza felt euphoric… eyes closed and reveling in his first and her final kiss.

Before he could pull away he crushed her throat beneath his grip and felt her go limp beneath him. His lips smack as he pulls away from the body of the woman he wanted to call his empress… Frieza stared at her.. At her corpse.. At her hand and then at the ring.

Then up at the window to the viewing room.. HIs neck and chest was ruined.

Scratched and mangled to high hell. Carlies last stand displayed on his neck. Permanently.

The emperor knelt down and took the ring from her corpse and pushed hair from her face, and exited capsule corp out the back and into the night. Emotions very unclear in Friezas head, he was silent. Brooding. Depressed.

Several minutes pass. Capsule Corp was silent.. A dome with a lone corpse inside waiting to be found.

Bulma had returned with Goku and Vegeta who opened up Capsule Corp from its power shut down. Lights thrown back on and the search was on. Vegeta tore up everything. Bulma said nothing and allowed him to search for her. 

“Do you think Frieza escaped with her??” Goku questioned following Vegeta to the door to Carlies lab. Vegeta remained silent, his heart pounding in his ears. He stopped dead in his tracks upon finding the mangled door to the lower lab. 

“No…” The prince burst down the stairs to the most grizzly scene he had ever bared witness too. Despite destroying entire planets and killing millions in his time while working for Frieza.. 

No death had affected him so horribly then her own.

Bulma started weeping, as Vegeta lifted her in his arms. Kneeling in a pool of her own blood. It felt like an eternity before he spoke..

“Kakarot.. Bulma.. Get the Dragon Balls.”

☆☆☆

@dragonblobz @lilfriezatyrant @gallickingun @kamehamethot @gonuclear @memevember @msgreenverse @lizardhipsdontlie @thotful-writing @supremeleadershitlord​ @memevember​ @dragonball-hcs-or-sum-shit​

[tobiasdrake]

What are your opinions on Paikuhan/Pikkon, as well as the Other World Tournament arc more generally?

Could have stood to be longer. Five episodes doesn't seem like nearly enough to get an entire tournament arc over and done with, but it can be enough episodes when there are very few characters to be invested in.

The Anoyoichi Budokai or "Strongest in the Other World Martial Arts Tournament" is an interesting premise held back by a lack of substantively interesting characters to fill a tournament roster. What makes tournament arcs work is getting to see various members of the cast given their moment in the spotlight. However, in the Anoyoichi Budokai, there are only two characters of any interest: Goku and Paikuhan.

Having only two interesting characters creates a problem for a tournament arc. It means the final round is the only match of any interest. The rest of the time is spent waiting for the plot to reach the interesting stuff. At that point, you'd be better off having Goku and Paikuhan slug it out in an exhibition match.

For his part, Paikuhan's introduction is a little janky. They wanted to do the "Meet the new antagonist, he makes the old antagonist look like a joke," bit to puff him up. So we get this?

Every arc has its ups and its downs. This is the weakest point of the Anoyoichi Budokai by far. This is peak "Toei doesn't understand Dragon Ball".

So, despite the fact that you don't keep your body in the afterlife without special dispensation from a sponsoring god, Frieza, Cell, and the Ginyus all have their bodies and are able to use their tremendous power to take over Jigoku.

The Ginyus, at least, were excused in a previous filler episode. Kaio sponsored them, allowing them to keep their bodies so he could use them to train the Earthlings. That episode had its own issues, mind. But at least it's there. No such explanation has been offered for who gave Frieza, Cold, and Cell their bodies back.

Toei just. Really likes this premise of all the old villains still being tremendously powerful and being able to revolt from Hell, even though the metaphysics are designed with built-in explanation for why that can't happen. Toei did it here, they did it in the movie Fusion Reborn, and they did it in GT.

So, Goku and Paikuhan go to put down the Hell revolt and like.

Goku wipes out the Ginyus while powered up in Super Saiyan yellow battle aura and Super Saiyan hair colored black for some reason. Not sure if this is a coloring error or what. Is he supposed to be Super Saiyan here or not? Doesn't seem like he'd need to be.

But then we get this reaction shot from Frieza and Cold.

Staring in slack-jawed amazement. Goku defeated the Ginyus!? That's impossible! It staggers belief that Goku could be so powerful that he could do that to the Ginyu Force! How far must he have advanced since the last time Frieza saw him!?

Y'know. When Goku left Frieza in chunks on the turf of an exploding planet.

Toei.

What the fuck are we doing here. This bit in Jigoku is the absolute nadir of the arc.

Its main purpose is to set the stage for this moment.

Paikuhan works over Cell like he's nothing.

If we're to assume that this is Super Perfect Cell at his full strength, then this is an intimidating yardstick moment for Paikuhan. Goku couldn't even take regular Perfect Cell. He doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell, pardon the pun, of measuring up to Paikuhan in the ring.

Goku, of course, is thrilled by the opportunity to try. Paikuhan here is presented as a new mountain for Goku to climb. The next peak he can ascend to. Today, he met the new Always Someone Stronger Around the Next Corner.

This, at least, Toei does get. This is classic Goku. He watches Paikuhan make short work of Cell and his takeaway is "Fuck yeah, I want a piece of that." Thankfully, Goku getting a piece of that is what the arc's actually about. Goku's in the afterlife for like an afternoon when the Kaios propose a tournament between their four galaxies.

Like I said before, most of the matches don't feel meaningful because we have no investment in any of the other competitors.

This guy's based on Hercules and he's the closest thing to a third important character, in that he and Goku got to exchange words for a bit in this episode. He's here so we can be sad when Paikuhan kicks his ass.

Oh no, Paikuhan defeated that one guy that was kinda nice and now he's out of the tournament. Sucks.

Goku, meanwhile, fights this caterpillar dude who tickles people.

Who he beats by just kinda blasting him 'cause Goku's tremendously powerful so this ain't shit. It ends on a killer joke, though, as Caterpi enters a chrysalis so he can power up and transform into his ultimate battle form!

Look, these things take a while, okay? Not everyone can just eat a spunky orphan and then POP, perfection. XD Ya got me, Toei, that was fucking gold. Caterpi is a nothing character but the punchline kills.

But other matches are stuff like this.

Cool power bro but. Like. I do not know who these people are. Toei, I don't know who these people are. I legit could not care less what the outcome of this match is. I don't know why you made this a tournament.

What makes a fight interesting is not that the guy punches very hard and his ki blast is super big. We care about the fight because we're invested in the characters participating.

Only once in the history of the Tenkaichi Budokai did Toriyama ever make us sit through a match between two randos: Namu vs. Ranfan in the 21st. That was because he was developing one of those randos to be an emotional core for the arc; That fight was meant to serve as our introduction to Namu for a story that would reach its height when he fought Goku in the semifinal.

This isn't that. Half of the arc's third episode is spent waiting for things that matter to start happening again.

Goku's opponent in the semifinals is really cool, though.

He's fighting a fish man with the power to summon water, forcing Goku into a bad position as he has to try and defend himself from Aqua while trying to avoid drowning. This is a really cool technique, setting up Aqua as an interesting and complicated opponent for Goku to have to navigate.

Who he beats by just kinda blasting him 'cause Goku's tremendously powerful so this ain't shit. Gotta admit, Aqua's fight left me disappointed 'cause that was a perfect setup for some classic Goku analysis and counter-fighting. But nope. Goku just Power Levels through every match.

Goku's third fight is barely worth mentioning. He fights the purple lizard guy from that earlier rando match. Malaiko is just a big strong guy who hits really hard. Goku hits harder. It's mainly notable for this one moment.

Where Goku momentarily loses track of Malaiko, and we see his eyes scanning back and forth as he tries to figure out where his opponent's gone.

Goku. Goku, you can sense ki. Goku, you are probably the universe's #1 master at ki sensing. You physically can't lose track of people like this. What are you doing?

He does find Malaiko and manage to sucker punch him before Malaiko can launch his attack. But I dunno. Goku needing to stop and try and figure out where his opponent vanished to for a couple seconds this late in the series feels wrong to me. This happens during the fight with Paikuhan too.

Paikuhan dodges an attack so fast that he vanishes from sight and Goku has to spend a couple seconds looking for him, before Paikuhan announces himself and surprises Goku. Again: Goku can sense ki. What is this?

In any case, rando hits hard, Goku hits harder, and we get this moment of acknowledgement from Paikuhan.

My dude, what are you talking about? We've been given no reason to believe that guy Goku just beat was supposed to be powerful beyond his abilities, nor has he had any opportunity to improve his skills since you met him like four hours ago. We have seen no meaningful improvement from Goku at any point in this tournament. Paikuhan's just saying words that sound like Dragon Ball things to say.

We move right along to the main event and what we're all actually here for: Goku finally steps into the ring with Paikuhan. From what we've seen of these two, Paikuhan should shitstomp Goku. What he did to Cell puts him leagues outside of Goku's capabilities.

Yep.

Yep.

That's about right. Paikuhan dominates this match, as well he should based on how they set him up. His Hyper Tornado is neat, trapping his opponent in a vortex of razor-sharp air currents that cut him up. Most of the fight is Goku facing some new thing or another that Paikuhan's doing. Goku struggles to even land a hit on Paikuhan, with every exchange either leading to Paikuhan wasting Goku or Goku managing to pull it out and fight evenly before the next exchange wastes him.

Paikuhan is never on the back foot, while Goku always feels like he's at the end of his rope desperately trying to pull this out.

There's also a bit of Playing the Hits to this fight, as Paikuhan pulls the "Goku suddenly reveals he's wearing weighted clothes" bit from the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai while Goku basically looks into the camera and calls him a knock-off Piccolo.

Goku, you're not supposed to point out when the anime's being uncreative. That's my job. There's also one of Toei's favorite bits of anime choreography here.

Toei really likes dramatic Super Saiyan transformations when a character's back is against the wall. In the movies, this gets really obnoxious and can feel like the characters are getting shitstomped on purpose. Like, we'll get prolonged sequences of Goku getting fucking shitstomped and we know he can just transform so it's like. Goku. Goku, why are you letting this happen to you?

This never happens in the manga. Saiyans go Super immediately as they step up to fight the bad guy. They only hold back when they have a reason to hold back, such as Trunks reserving his limit-breaker form because he's concealing it from Vegeta, or everyone agreeing at Gohan's behest to not go Super at the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai. Toei's action is all holding-back all the time, because it lets them drag fights out without having to come up with a valid reason for why the tide would suddenly turn at the critical moment.

But here, in this match, it works. For this first stage of the match, Goku and Paikuhan are both starting out small and testing each other's abilities. When Paikuhan decides to get serious, he takes off his weights. Goku repays him in kind by transforming. Goku was fighting Paikuhan at a level that matched what Paikuhan was giving him; now that Paikuhan is kicking things up a notch, Goku kicks things up to match.

This makes sense and feels true to character. Much moreso than, say, Vegeta letting Android 15 beat the shit out of him for several minutes because he loves the taste of fist in his mouth.

And then, of course, there's Goku's ultimate last resort unveiled here in this arc.

Goku uses the Kaio-ken as a Super Saiyan. As ways to remix old abilities for new and creative attacks go, this is a neat idea. Though it does raise a shitton of questions. Like, if Goku can do this, why didn't he use it against Cell?

Funnily enough, Toei forgot they wrote this in Dragon Ball Super. The Z anime and all of its filler is canon to the Super anime, with Captain Ginyu's continued existence being the most obvious example of their connections.

Toei did this again with Blue Kaio-ken, while also offering a lore explanation that Super Saiyan Blue is the only Super Saiyan form that it's possible to use Kaio-ken with. Never before has Anime Goku ever been able to combine Kaio-ken with Super Saiyan, but he can now do it with Blue.

So I guess this never happened. XD That's just as well; It lasts for all of one punch and then he never does it again. I think it's just there for another Playing the Hits moment. Remember that time Goku hit Kaio-ken and then punched Vegeta really super hard? Good times, moving on.

The climax of this fight comes when Paikuhan unveils his inappropriately named Thunder Flash.

"Thunder" in an attack name can generally mean one of two things: A powerful sonic crash or a fancy word for lightning. That. Um. That's fire. It's fire, Paikuhan. Do you know what thunder is? Because I don't think you do.

This is the best part of the entire tournament. Goku says this because characters are just saying Dragon Ball sounding words in this arc.

Which is a funny thing to say when the climax of the fight is going to feature Goku capitalizing on the technique's clear and obvious vulnerabilities. That's right, Thunder Flash finally gives us a chance to see Counter-Fighter Goku in action again.

Obviously, the technique's vulnerability is a) a super-long chargeup time where he has to do about as much random bullshit with his limbs as Recoome's Ultra FIghting Miracle Attack, followed by b) holding him in place while he fires it. Goku seizes on that second one; If the technique doesn't land, Paikuhan's set himself up for a brutal counterattack.

Goku can teleport. So he makes a brutal counterattack. Honestly, not sure why he didn't teleport out of the way the second time Paikuhan hit him with this. I can understand the first; He didn't know what was coming. But I don't know why it took until the third for him to come up with this. Evasive teleportation is not a new thing he just came up with today; He was doing it in his fight with Cell.

He says it took until the third Thunder Flash for him to first see Paikuhan's movements clearly.

I believe that. What I have trouble with is that he stood there and let the attack hit him without even trying to evade it. Dodging's for suckers, I guess.

But, nitpicks aside, this is a fantastic triumph for Goku. The fight up to this point has clearly asserted Paikuhan's undeniable statblock superiority, which makes it all the more hype when Goku wins anyway by exploiting the holes in Paikuhan's technique. Paikuhan is stronger, but Goku outmaneuvers him at just the right moment, in just the right way to clinch a ring-out and claim victory.

A victory that speaks both to Goku's abilities as a counter-fighter and his general familiarity with the atmosphere of the tournament stage.

So, overall, the arc itself is janky as fuck but its centerpiece, the Paikuhan fight, is mostly solid. It takes too long to get to the good part and there's nagging bits of Toei Choreography here and there once the fight begins but most of the fight itself works.

And it ends in a place that leaves Paikuhan and Goku both with much to learn. It's clear by the end of the match that Paikuhan is a stronger fighter while Goku is a better fighter. There are still mountains for both men to climb. This resolution feels true to the spirit of Dragon Ball and lets the Anoyoichi Budokai go out on a high note.

[risingsouls]

Recruited: Chapter 11

[Another chapter in the books! This one runs parallel in time to the last (which will be pretty obvious) and has a little more action! So enjoy, have fun, etc.

And don’t forget: you can find the rest of this series and soem of my other BS for this blog here!]

Nabooru

Their trio of space pods burst through Noya's atmosphere and slammed into the surface, a triangle of craters left in their wake. Nabooru replaced her scouter on the side of her face, a press of the button causing the yellow characters to flash across the orange glass as it started back up. She opened up the door and floated out of her pod, touching down on the maroon dirt. A teal, creeping vegetation sprawled over it as far as the eye could see. In the distance, she noted the silhouette of a city or village  and a range of mountains beyond it.

She stretched and glanced to her side as Nappa and Raditz joined her, both working out the kinks in their own joints from the long trip. "Awfully quiet here. Where do you think that team is? Hope they didn't kick the bucket before we got here," Nappa said, popping his knuckles. "Maybe it means we'll get a good fight out of these guys if they're calling in reinforcements."

The repetitive pings of a scan sounded from Raditz's scouter. "I wouldn't get my hopes up," the other Saiyan replied, turning around to check the other direction. "I'm not getting a single reading, save for five decent ones off in that direction."

He nodded opposite the mountain range. "Make that three."

Nabooru raised an eyebrow and began her own scan, Nappa following suit with a huff. "You're fucking with us. Why the hell would we be called here if they didn't need us?"

"No, he's right. I'm only getting those three readings, too. That must be the team we're meant to rendezvous with."

Raditz flew up several meters and gazed around. "Looks like something went down over there," he called down to them. "Might have been a settlement or something. Doesn't look like there's much left now."

"Let's go check it out. Something feels off here."

Nabooru followed Raditz and Nappa to the site of what could have potentially been a compound of sorts, a decent sized village, or something else entirely. The damage sustained in the area made it difficult to tell, the edifices reduced to little more than a half foot of wall at best. Scorch marks and craters dotted the area, and they could hardly walk a few feet without finding a corpse or the remnants of one. Each had a variant of blue skin, ranging from near white hues to navy. A few wore what she guessed were plain clothes, while most sported a sort of white armor. Soldiers. Most of the bodies were heavily mutilated, physically torn or shot with concentrated ki blasts to pieces, others sporting deep gashes as if from claws. Maroon soil was stained with emerald blood. Fresh.

"I thought I recognized that power level." Nappa squatted down next to a corpse missing every limb. The lower half of its skull had been crushed as if beneath someone's foot. "Looks like Shikoo and his team's work, don't you think, Raditz?"

"Seems that way. Doesn't seem like they need our help, though. And they never have before." His frown deepened. "Maybe it's some kind of trap."

Raditz vocalized Nabooru's growing fear as each piece of evidence seemed to confirm the theory. "Who's Shikoo?" she asked, turning her attention from the massacre and back toward the direction in which their scouters pinged the readings. Two of the power levels weren't much and would hardly be a challenge for even Raditz. But the third was more powerful, and while only around Nappa's power level, her insides squirmed. Why would they be sent here if this team had everything under control? Was there some secret of this planet they weren't privy to that presented a danger they couldn't handle?

"One of Frieza's favorites, and I'm sure you can see why. What the guy lacks in power he makes up for in brutality and dirty tricks," Nappa told her, folding his arms over his chest. "Makes us Saiyans look soft. But I'm sure you've seen the guy. He's bigger than me, looks like a cross between some kind of reptile and a dog. Red fur and scales. Loud and brags constantly."

Nabooru's brow furrowed and she clicked her tongue. "Mm, yes I've seen him around the base once in a while. Never considered him important enough to learn his name, especially after he and his idiots tried to force themselves on me back when I first started on the force." The corner of her lips quirked upward in a malicious smirk. "He didn't take being turned down very well. But I took care of him and made it clear he should leave me alone."

Raditz chuckled. "Good. The blowhard deserves all the beatings that come to him. Especially for that shit. Nappa and I may have heckled you for a romp in the sack, but he's so full of himself, of course he would try to force his ugly ass on you. I hope these guys took him down a peg or two."

"Confirms the rumors anyway," huffed Nappa. "Guy's disgusting. Pretty pathetic when you gotta resort to force to get off. Guess he ain't much of a charmer, no surprise there."

She kept her surprise about their stance on rape to herself. Considering the violent nature and disregard for life, their history of taking what they wanted by force, rape didn't seem like it would be far off the table for them. Both the Saiyans with her had taken her refusals without much hassle, so she supposed it shouldn't have with at least these two. A point of respect for them, at least, considering the rampant trouble they had with men attempting such with her people back home. As a race of all females and how their style of dress revealed far more skin than Hylian garb, men had a sense of entitlement to Gerudo women, and seemed to believe that meant they were asking for it. 

"I suppose we should contact Frieza," she said at last, reaching up to her scouter and selecting the proper channel. "Let him know what we found and what we're meant to do instead."

Once the scouter connected successfully, Frieza greeted her before she could open her mouth to speak: "Ah, what good timing, Nabooru. You have landed on planet Noya and met with the other team there?"

"Yes, my lord. But we are confused. When we landed, we found the planet had already been successfully purged of its in--"

"Yes, yes, I am aware of the success in purging the planet. The instructions to rendezvous with the soldiers sent to Noya were...purposefully vague. The task for you and the Saiyans is to kill that team. Don't worry your pretty head over why, dear. It's unbecoming of a soldier. Their punishment has been a long time coming."

He broke the connection before she could confirm her understanding, but by the questioning expressions in her comrades' faces, her own revealed her opinion on the troublesome news. Surprised wasn't the right word for what she felt. Frieza was known for orders that felt out of place or cruel. Unwarranted and harsh. But piecing together their situation, Nappa's words, and the fact that they had been split from Vegeta only further impressed upon her a sinking feeling of dread. She less suspected a trap for them than viewing it all as one for Vegeta, a "favorite" of Frieza's like Shikoo. Or if it was one for them, was this a precursor to the orders Vegeta would be handed? To end his team and allies in the rebellion they plotted?

"What'd he say?" Nappa asked at last, snapping her out of a spiral of paranoia and back to the task at hand.

"He means for us to kill Shikoo and his crew."

"Really?" Raditz's brow furrowed. "What did they do?"

"He didn't say. Just that their punishment was a long time coming."

The Saiyans exchanged a look of disbelief with a hint of concern. Nabooru wondered if they considered the same possibilities as her. If they wondered if some other team or Vegeta and Frieza themselves lay in wait to off them, too. As much as she wanted to ask, she didn't know who could be listening. And they had a job to do. If anything followed this, they would have to face it once they dealt with Shikoo and his cronies. The memory of them offering to help her find her way back to the barracks and then cornering her, how they tried to touch her anywhere they could reach and tugged her hair, their taunting words from how pretty she was and how good she probably felt to insulting her lack of control of her ki yet. Maybe she didn't back then, but her strength proved enough to subdue the three of them and send them to the hospital ward. She escaped their disgusting behavior, but how many hadn't, if what Nappa said rang true?

Back then, she still tried to cling to her no killing rule for her sanity and her ignorance to the sort of backlash killing fellow soldiers would have. But now she not only had permission, she had the will to do it. If not only for her own revenge, but for the horrors they inflicted on others, too. This time, she wouldn't hold back. She didn't have to.

Three scouters beeped to signal approaching power levels, and Nabooru couldn't help but snort as the hulking beast Shikoo and his cohorts landed before them. 

"Come to see how real soldiers work, apes?" Shikoo grinned at Nappa and Raditz, showing off sharp, yellowing teeth in his elongated, canine-like muzzle. A forked tongue flicked out to taste the air. "Where's your diminutive leader, huh? Someone finally give the prince with no subjects the licking he deserves?"

His cohorts snickered and Nabooru noticed Nappa's fists and jaw tighten with the flare of his temper. "You idiots won't be laughing in a minute." The Saiyan general smirked and cracked his knuckles. "I've been waiting for a chance to stomp you."

The smaller two--an orange skinned male with a too-blonde Mohawk and a weedy, birdlike soldier with beady black eyes--shifted in obvious discomfort under Nappa's threat, but Shikoo remained unperturbed. "Please. You wouldn't dare. Not with my favor with Frieza. The alliance my people have is too precious for him to allow a couple monkeys to pick a fight with me."

Nabooru snorted, but his claims had her mind shifting back to her people. The fate of the Saiyans. "That explains a lot. But too bad for you, Frieza seems to think killing you is more important than whatever deal you and your people have with the empire."

Yellow eyes snapped to her, slit pupils dilating for a moment in recognition. His hackles rose and hair surrounding a line of spikes along his back stood on end. His aggravation melted back to sick amusement and he laughed. "Well, well. I remember you. Come crawling back for that fun I promised you after all, huh?" His attention fell back to Nappa and Raditz. "Taking orders from women now? You Saiyans really are a joke. Guess it is a step up from short, angry, and overcompensating. Easier to look at, too."

"Can we get this over with? This guy's voice is making me sick," Raditz complained. "I'll take the two wimps in the back alone if I have to."

"You're still on that?! What did I tell you?!" Shikoo snarled. "Frieza will have your heads if you try anything!"

"And what did I tell you? Frieza himself sent us here to kill you." A smirk curled Nabooru's lips and she turned her attention to Nappa and Raditz. "You mind if I take him? I'm really kicking myself for not finishing him off all those years ago."

Nappa huffed and folded his arms, making a show of his indignance. "Damn, guess I can't argue with that. Much as I wanna bury this mutt myself, I think you've got a bigger stake." He nudged Raditz. "You take the orange one and I got bird brain." Without waiting for a response, the larger of the two surged forward and slammed his leg into his opponent's side, sending him sailing with a squawk. The general laughed and swept after him. "Try and make this fun for me, birdie!"

Raditz shot a series of magenta blasts toward the other minion who, more prepared for the onslaught than his companion, dodged backward nimbly and blocked what he couldn't with raised arms. "Give him a few good ones for me, won't you Nabs?" He shot her a wry grin and pursued his opponent with ruthless abandon. 

“Stupid move on their part, leaving you alone with me,” Shikoo snarled, vicious grin back on his mug. “You don’t have the stomach to kill me. I saw it in your eyes then, and I’m sure you’ll falter again now. And that’s when I’ll finish what I started all those years ago. Maybe I’ll make your monkey friends watch.”

Nabooru rolled her eyes skyward. “Please. I feel so bad for you, I’ll give you a free first hit.” She beckoned him with her index finger. “Come on, big guy. Let’s see if you can do more than just flap your ugly mouth.”

As she hoped, Shikoo snarled at her taunt and lunged. Black claws extended outward and he swiped them toward her throat. Nabooru’s hand shot up and she grasped his wrist, her hand barely covering half of its circumference. He grunted and struggled against her strength. “So you’re a whore and a filthy liar…”

Her grip tightened, and bones crunched beneath her hand. “I’ve kind of proven the first one wrong by turning you down, haven’t I?” She caught his opposite fist. Her smirk widened when his eyes flashed in rage. “But I suppose you’re right about the liar thing.”

"I'll kill you, bitch!" he roared, tugging back in an attempt to free himself. 

She held fast, orange energy flaring up around her. After a few more tugs, she released him, forcing him to stumble backward when he lost his balance. Nabooru shot forward and buried her fist in his scaled belly. Shikoo wheezed and doubled over. Head at her level, Nabooru wheeled back and kneed him in the face with bone-crunching force, whipping his head back and sending him wheeling backward once more. Blue blood oozed from his nose and mouth.

"This has been fun." Shikoo seethed as he raised his head again and spat blood on her boots. He shook with his rage, and Nabooru only wished Nappa and Raditz had remained with his crew to witness his embarrassment. She flexed her hand, forming a cylinder of ki in her palm. She wrapped her fingers around it like a hilt and willed it outward, curving and widening it into the shape of a blade similar to those she favored back home. "But I'm tired of playing. You're not really worth breaking a sweat over."

Using his shock at the sight of her ki blade, she shot forward again. She swept the blade downward, tip aimed at the ground between his feet. She brought it back up in a swift arc, between his legs and through his skull, splitting him vertically in half. His responding punch halted mid-swing, and his body fell apart with a stomach-churning squelch and a pair of thuds as each half fell to the ground.

"Geez, Nabs. Did you have to go crotch up? You made me cringe."

Her ki blade dissipated and she rested her hands on her hips. She turned to face Nappa as Raditz rejoined them, neither appearing to have taken too much damage. Raditz looked slightly ruffled with a bloody lip, but otherwise, both defeated Shikoo's goons without issue. "Of course. A disgusting bastard like him deserves it. If I wasn't supposed to kill him, I might have stopped at around his belly button."

Raditz wiped his mouth and grumbled. "Has anyone told you you're terrifying? You've been around Vegeta too long."

"I didn't realize you two were so squeamish," Nabooru snorted. She glanced at Shikoo's split corpse, the glee from her victory short lived as she remembered his claims. How Vegeta was within the tyrant’s clutches and, if Frieza knew what they planned, could be in danger.

 "Speaking of Vegeta, what do you think Frieza has him doing?" A subtle attempt to probe their thoughts on the matter while potentially gaining some reassurance. "He's done this before right?"

“Sure. And I didn’t realize you were such a worrywart.” Nappa and Raditz exchanged knowing glances. “I thought Vegeta was just messing with us, but you two really are up to more than just training when you’re left alone with free time, huh?”

Her posture stiffened and heat rushed to her cheeks. “What is that supposed to mean?” She narrowed her eyes and marched over to them. Their grins only widened and she prodded both of them in the chest with her index fingers. “Just because the two of you can’t keep it in your battle suits doesn’t mean we’re a couple of horny teenagers who can’t handle being alone together. We actually want to get stronger unlike you slackers.”

“I have noticed he’s been in a better mood than normal once in a while,” added Raditz, ignoring her. “Sort of confirms that his smug attitude when he told us ‘maybe, maybe not’ last time we asked wasn’t just him messing with us.”

“Makes him a damn hypocrite though. He told us to quit trying. Guess he didn’t want to share.”

“We’re not sleeping together! Ever! Not even once!” Nabooru could kick that idiot for basically bragging to the other two Saiyans. She had faith neither of them would spread it around whether they believed it or not, but their insistence still pissed her off. “We train. That’s it.”

“It’s not a big deal. In fact, I approve. It’s about time the two of you got laid.” Nabooru slapped Nappa’s hand away before he could plop it on her shoulder. He winced. “Besides, it’s beneficial for us all because, like Raditz said, it puts Vegeta in a better mood for a little while. We all win.”

“Maybe he’s just in a better mood because you two aren’t bothering him as much.” She flipped around on her heel. “Can we please just get out of here? Seeing that ugly bastard again did nothing for my mood, and if you two keep this up, I’ll do the same to you as I did to him and make up the most embarrassing stories for your deaths I can think of.”

She heard the two snigger, but they joined her in flight without more of their incessant teasing. It at least distracted her from her paranoia and concern for the prince’s wellbeing outside of the usual sort of abuse or inanity he would suffer in Frieza’s company. A premature assumption, perhaps, but she decided to take at least Nappa’s lack of concern as a good sign. Or enough of one to keep her from fretting until she knew otherwise. 

[medea10]

My Review of Magical Girl Site

How did I get into this anime? I…huh…Good question! I don’t recall. Probably some other anime reviewers mentioned it and I put it on the Amazon/Netflix list hoping I won’t have to watch it any time soon. Two years later and here we are!

Aya Asagiri’s life is a living hell. She is constantly bullied at school and no one does a thing to stop it. Her teachers don’t care about her well-being. Her father barely notices she exists. And to top it off, her brother beats the crap out of her just for him to relieve stress! Is it any wonder that she wants to commit suicide? One night, her computer mysteriously turns on to a website, promoting Aya to become a magical girl. She brushed it off and thought nothing of it…

That is until the next morning when she finds a note and a gun in her shoe locker. After being tortured by her bullies and almost raped, she finds herself at the end of her ropes and pulls out the mysterious gun. When she pulled the trigger, her bullies disappeared. Turns out, the targets are transported to another place. In the case of some of her bullies, they were transported to in front of a moving train.

Karma, bitches!

It’s unknown why Aya was specifically chosen to become a magical girl, but fellow magical girl Yatsumura feels she could use Aya’s magic to combat a looming threat to other magical girls. But they must not overuse their magic, otherwise they will die.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: As of this moment, this anime seems to be in the capable hands of Amazon Prime. And we all know how well they treat animes, right?! Hahaha! Funny! Anyways, don’t expect a dub! The cast seems to be comprised of many female seiyuus I’m not particularly familiar with. I mean with the exception of Aina Suzuki, I hear her sounds every day thanks to the Love Live game apps! Add to that the creepy, raspy voice of Frieza playing the site administrator! One voice actor however I heard the second he let out a creepy, hygena-like laugh, I knew exactly who this crazy bastard was! Nobuhiko Okamoto plays a great psychopath. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Aya is played by Yuuko Oono

*Yatsumura is played by Himika Akaneya

*Sarina is played by Haruka Yamazaki (known for Ruka on Hayate the Combat Butler, Mero on Monster Musume, Aika on High School DxD, and Natsumi on Danganronpa 3)

*Nijimi is played by Yuu Serizawa (known for Shera on How Not to Summon a Demon Lord)

*Shioi is played by Aina Suzuki (known for Mari on Love Live Sunshine)

AUTOMATICLY THROWN ON DISLIKED LIST: Okay children, who automatically ends up on my hate list for life?

Fuckers who commit rape and fuckers who kill animals for fun!

Damn right! Give this anime some credit for not showing Aya’s bullies throwing a cat in front of a moving train. If this were 10 years ago, they probably would have animated it and I would have been puking afterward. I’m not sure which of Aya’s bullies threw a cat in front of a moving train, but for the time being, I’m throwing them all on the list.

And while I’m here, Sarina! She was like the ring-leader in the bullying of Aya. I’m almost certain she’s the bitch that killed the stray cat but I have no proof of that. With my history with horrible people like that, I have no sympathy for bullies in the slightest and feel she got what was coming to her. Bitch, you got that big, ugly scar on your neck for a reason. You got what was coming!

DEFINITELY BELONGS IN DISLIKE HISTORY: Now that I got the usual gripe off my chest, gotta add Aya’s onii-chan, Kaname! Sweet merciful crap, do I love hearing Nobuhiko Okamoto play a psychopath, but this is going way too far. And Kaname is just irredeemable! He has this complex that makes him think he’s on God-tier and everyone else is beneth him. Now I do have to hate Kaname and Aya’s father for placing this kind of pressure on Kaname and beating the shit out of him if he gets bad grades. But good fuck, this guy just pushes past the line of no return when he tries to manipulate little girls, steal their power, and lose control. And this wasn’t like he had no control over his own body and wants to stop this from happening! Kaname meant every thing he did to his sister and her friends. OH…and that one guy he forced to off himself! I just can’t even with this guy!

SHIPPING: I know a lot of people ship the hell out of Aya and Yatsumura and yeah, I can see that and I would ship them too. But for reals, I just want these two girls to live a life of peace together for as long as they’re around. For fuck’s sake, did you see the shit they put up with in their lives? Aya was bullied relentlessly at home and school. Yatsumura watched her whole family be slaughtered by a creep. These girls deserve some sort of peace! I know this is the shipping category, but I felt the need to say this.

STICKS: Okay anime, what are you doing? Aya uses a magical gun! Sarina uses a magical yo-yo! Nijimi uses magical panties (insert immature laugh here)! Yatsumura uses a magical remote! How hard is it to have them say that! And I probably shouldn’t put blame on the anime and holler at the manga! But calling magical items “Sticks”, that feels…I don’t want to say stupid, but I can’t think of any other word to go along with that. I just feel like the manga was on some deadline and they were frantically finishing what to call their magical items and just went “FUCK IT, IT’S STICKS”.

COULD HAVE FOOLED ME: In the “Could have fooled me” category we have a boy who identifies as a girl magical girl! Man, 2018 definitely was the progressive AF year! I mean, we had Lily from Zombieland Saga, we had the girls who transformed into magical buff men in Magical Girl Ore, and now THIS! So we have Kiyo! An openly transgendered magical girl that’s not a token joke! Okay, well done guys! Pearl points all around!

ENDING: Early in the series, we learned about a moment called “The Tempest”. A catastrophic even set to take place once enough negative energy is caught. There are a lot of Magical Girl Site administrators that take advantage of “POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS”. They pick the most unfortunate girls as pawns in their game. And once “The Tempest” hits, everyone will die and the world will start over anew. Aya and Yatsumura end up meeting new magical girl allies and even a few that were coersed by different administrators. Not to mention one of Aya’s bullies is a magical girl too with a score to settle! What could be worse?

How about we add Aya’s disgusting brother to this mix?! As I’ve mentioned before, Aya’s brother Kaname would use Aya as a personal punching bag in order to get rid of stress. When Aya became a magical girl, she would spend more time with Yatsumura or the other girls, leaving Kaname to go without slugging his sister. So fuckface over here manipulates another magical girl, Nijimi to do what he says. This leads to him stealing Nijimi’s underwear and gaining her magical power of mind control. I never thought I would have to say a sentence like that, but here we are.

Kaname went out of control with this power as he managed to injure all of the girls and give a fatal blow to Nijimi. But another possible enemy dropped a bomb on us when they kidnapped Kaname. THEN, these girls are targeted at Nijimi’s funeral and they almost died. Add another plot-twist, a police officer that’s been seen from time to time in a lot of the tragedies in the show is in cahoots with one of the magical girl site administrators. This keeps getting fuckier by the minute! Well, the girls felt it was time to take action and try to take out the administrators that screwed them with this doomed fate. But once they took out one of the administrators, they came across an ugly truth.

Sight administrators are magical girls who died previously!

Yeah, not that big of a shock! Madoka Magica gave us magical girls who end up so corrupt that they become witches they’re supposed to fight. While some of the administrators ended up falling to these girls, Nana (the creepy one we’ve been watching since ep 1) is the hardest one to take out. She ends up killing Yatsumura (because she used up too much of her power), but then manipulates her to become an administrator.

Once she manipulated Yatsumura, she ends up going after Aya. And after a lot of back-and-forth between the two girls, Yatsumura was able to snap out of Nana’s control and they managed to take out Nana. And we end the series with a brighter future for Aya and Yatsumura as their lives become a little less unfortunate.

Yeah, few issues here!

1.) There are still a butt-load of site administrators. Isn’t there still a “Tempest” going to happen? 2.) Aya and Yatsumura’s lives aren’t in danger anymore after using fuck-tons of their power? WTF?! 3.) What was the point of Aya shooting herself to get Yatsumura back? I am not following you. Is this some sort of Insception shit?! 4.) That detective! Misumi was his name? Why was he just casually talking to Nana a few episodes back? 5.) Why don’t we see him until the final few moments in the finale? 6.) WHY DID HE RAPE KANAME?! 7.) WHY WAS THIS SCENE A THING? 8.) I don’t want to say Kaname deserved it, buuuuuut… Uuuggghhh…Mumble, mumble. I can’t finish that thought. 9.) These site administrators are probably pissed and are going to want revenge on these magical girls. What’s going on here?

…Let me guess, I need to read the manga to get all my questions answered…

FUCKING FIGURES!

Seriously...what Misumi did. That scene is forever etched in my brain forever. Next to that scene of Kaname wiggling his junk in front of a guy.

This anime was pretty bad. No wait...

This anime was way too edgy for me! Episode 1 was just absolute torture porn involving Aya. The first episode managed to combine the bully scene in Vivid Strike, the puppy killing scene in Elfen Lied, and every bullying episode of Hell Girl all into one single episode. As for the rest of this series, they go above and beyond to grab some of the worst aspects of other animes and implement them here. Aya’s older brother almost has a God-complex that rivals that of Light Yagami of Death Note. Nijimi has a devoted fan that’s almost crossing over from the movie Perfect Blue. Body mutilation scenes on levels not seen since Higurashi! And fill this world up with the worst kinds of humans imaginable like in Elfen Lied! This was just too much hatred! Too much!

Add to that, there’s absolutely no resolution to this story. Yes, Aya and Yatsumura are alive and together. But guys, there are still some other-worldly strong site administrators looming! Tempest is still happening. KANAME IS STILL FUCKING ALIVE…literally and figuratively speaking! And with how much this anime has been panned by anime fans across the board, I doubt if this anime will ever receive a sequel. Guys, if you want a really good 12-episode anime about magical girls with an edge, just watch Madoka Magica. But if you’re a curious idiot like me, whatever, you do you!

As this anime is an Amazon Prime exclusive, I’m afraid that’s the only legal outlet for this.

Now that this is over, my next Amazon/Netflix/Crunchyroll anime is…

Grand Blue!

Oh, it’s set in a cute ocean town. Am I going to enjoy some cute absurdity like I did with Tsuritama?

Sort of!

OH GOOD FUCK, WHAT FRAT HOUSE WAS THIS BIRTHED FROM?!

[wr1tersblock42]

The Two Of Us - Chapter 3

Story Summary: All Vegeta wants to do is train to defeat Kakarot and maybe get laid. The ghost of Frieza has other plans.

Start the story on FFic or A03.

Chapter 3...

Bulma was tempted to blame the whole incident on her overactive imagination. After all, to be a scientist, one had to have an imagination that lead to discoveries outside the realm of current possibilities. Or maybe the scary movie she’d watched last night had affected her more than she’d thought. Because while Bulma knew the universe had far more crazy shit than most Earthings even dreamed about, ghosts were not real.

“But you didn’t think aliens were real until they showed up,” Bulma muttered to herself, glaring at the computer screen as it played a slow motion recording of how Vegeta received his most recent injury.

No, no, no . Ghosts weren’t real. Her friends had all died and come back to life without any mention of the dead wandering the Earth in their spare time. Once dead, they stayed up there (or down there in Frieza’s case) unless they were granted a second chance at life by the dragon balls.

Even so… Bulma zoomed in and replayed the last five seconds of the video, swallowing hard. If the apparition of Frieza was not walking the halls of Capsule Corp, what exactly was that purple blur on screen that had so clearly startled Vegeta mid training?

Vegeta took a bite of steak, relishing the juices as he chewed. Every time he lifted his chopsticks to his mouth, his arm burned with the effort, and even sitting upright and breathing at the dining table made him feel as tired as he had training in increased gravity, but after days of being forced to eat the nutrient-rich but flavourless mush Bulma called recovery food, this was heaven. Lightly stir fried in soy sauce and garlic, just as he preferred.

Bulma Briefs might think herself the most intelligent person on the planet, but as far as Vegeta was concerned it was Mrs Briefs who was the real genius around here. Every mouthful that woman prepared was sublime, and if he hadn’t a need to prepare for the androids arrival he would have been tempted to stick around anyway.

“Maybe I’ll force the blonde woman to cook you and your girlfriend,” Frieza mused, sidling up beside Vegeta to bend over his plate and inhale deeply. “I’m sure she’d be able to make your stringy carcass into something edible.”

Vegeta clenched his jaw but kept chewing, even though the food now tasted like ashes in his mouth. He would not give Frieza - even an imaginary Frieza - the satisfaction of knowing that his words affected him.

“That Bulma though…” Frieza’s pink tongue darted out. “With those curves…” he brought his fingers to his mouth and kissed them.

Vegeta risked as glance at Bulma, who sat opposite him, not eating which was very unlike her considering she’d moved onto dessert and had strawberries in front of her. She had an odd expression on her face, and he realised she’d been watching him, but he had no idea for how long.

Frieza let out a cackle, and clapped his hand on Vegeta’s shoulder. Vegeta couldn’t feel the grip, but it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“Are you feeling okay?” Bulma asked, picking up a strawberry and dangling it from her fingers. “If your injuries are still bothering you maybe you should hold off on getting back into training.”

“I’m fine.” Vegeta stood up abruptly, bitterly disappointed that what promised to be a delicious meal was ruined by his old master.

“You haven’t finished your food,” Bulma snapped, dropping the strawberry and rising as well.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’re always hungry.”

“Not all of us are guided by our base instincts,” Vegeta growled out. “Stop trying to distract me.”

A flash of hurt crossed Bulma’s face. “I’m just worried about you, Vegeta. Something is wrong. You can tell me, you know…”

She kept talking but her words were drowned out by Frieza’s sudden rambling and the subsequent ringing fury in Vegeta’s ears.

“Everything is wrong with you , my dear boy,” Frieza said. “It’s a pity your father didn’t cull you at birth. Would have made everyone’s lives a great deal easier. You killed your mother you know, just by being born. If that wasn’t a sign of things to come then I don’t know what is.”

“Shut up!” Vegeta’s ki erupted and everything on the table flew off around the room.

Bulma remained standing, looking oddly calm even as her hair whipped around her thanks to the raging ki. “Is Frieza bothering you again?” she asked, sounding so matter of fact that Vegeta completely dropped his ki in surprise.

They stood there, facing each other across the table that now looked like a disaster zone, and an eerie silence fell across the room. Even Frieza kept his mouth shut, his gaze flickering from Saiyan to human curiously.

“How… what… what are you talking about?” Vegeta finally stammered out, the lunch he’d just eaten threatening to resurface. Gods, if she knew just how crazy fucked up he was she’d throw him out of the house without a second thought. It was one thing to invite a psychotic alien to stay when he was planning on saving her planet, but a whole other level of crazy to let him stay once she knew how unstable he was, and just how likely he was to kill them all - accidentally, probably - before the androids came close to arriving thanks to his severe delusions.

“Where is he?” Bulma asked, her tone gentle and a complete contrast to how she normally spoke to him. “When you were injured, you said he was next to me.”

Fuck. Or as Bulma liked to say every time she had trouble with one of the bots, fuckity fuck, fuck, fuck. Vegeta sat back down in his chair. This wasn’t good. She knew. She fucking knew he was crazy.

He must have mentioned Frieza when he was high on those drugs she insisted on pumping into him whenever he got so much as a scraped knee. Gods, of all the idiot things to say.

Wait…

He’d clearly said something when he was high. Surely she couldn’t believe take anything he said then seriously?

“I don’t recall that conversation,” he said carefully, laying his palms flat down on the table in an attempt to ground himself, to prevent him from incriminating himself any further.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo!” Frieza chortled, hopping up on the buffet against the wall and standing with his hands on his hips. “Now this promises to be quite the show.”

Bulma sat down as well, scraping her chair noisily to come closer to the table. “Vegeta,” she said in that same tone. Her hand reached across the table and she placed her cool fingers on top of his.

He would have normally pulled away, recoiling from any touch of hers that wasn’t specifically designed for pleasure. But he was frozen, unable to bear the weight of what was about to unfold. Frieza was right. He was weak, and pathetic, and-

“I heard him too.”

Finish the rest of the chapter on FFic or AO3.

[duhragonball]

Chronology of Wishes

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, and I’ve got some time to kill this afternoon, so let’s spend it by going over all the wishes in Dragon Ball.

I think I’m just gonna avoid the Super Dragon Balls for now, because that would require me to delve into the Zamasu arc, and fuck that shit.

Main DB/DBZ Continuity

9/9/749: Emperor Pilaf summons Shenron.  Oolong wishes for panties to prevent Pilaf from becoming ruler of the world.  [GT: This wish gives rise to the Six-Star Shadow Dragon, Oceanus Shenron.]

5/12/750: Goku summons Shenron and Upa wishes for the resurrection of his father, Bora.  [GT: This wish gives rise to the Two-Star Shadow Dragon, Haze Shenron.]

5/8/753: King Piccolo summons Shenron and wishes for his youth to be restored.  He then kills Shenron to prevent anyone else from using the Dragon Balls against him.  [GT: This wish gives rise to the Four-Star Shadow Dragon, Nuova Shenron.]

5/9/753: Kami reactivates Shenron and allows the Dragon Balls to be used immediately.  Bulma and Yamcha wish for the resurrection of all of the people killed by King Piccolo and his underlings. [GT: This wish gives rise to the Three-Star Shadow Dragon, Eis Shenron.]

11/2/762: Master Roshi and Bulma summon Shenron and wish for the resurrection of Son Goku.  [GT: This wish gives rise to the Five Star Shadow Dragon, Rage Shenron.]

12/24/762: Dende summons Porunga on Namek, and wishes for the resurrection of Piccolo, the teleportation of Piccolo to Namek, and the teleportation of everyone but Frieza and Son Goku to Earth. 

Upon his resurrection, Kami reactivates the Earth’s Dragon Balls and sends Mr. Popo to collect them and summon Shenron.   Popo is instructed by King Kai to wish for the resurrection of everyone killed by Frieza and his soldiers. [GT: Popo’s wish gives rise to the One-Star Shadow Dragon, Eis Shenron]

5/3/763: Dende summons Porunga on Earth, and wishes for Krillin’s spirit to be relocated from the Namek system.  He then wishes for Krillin’s resurrection, and Yamcha’s resurrection.  

9/10/763: Dende summons Porunga on Earth, and wishes for Tien’s resurrection, then Chiaotzu’s resurrection, then for all of the Namekian people to be relocated to a new homeworld.

?/?/766?: The Pilaf Gang summons Shenron and wishes to be made younger.  [This wish was established in Battle of Gods, but it is unclear when exactly it occurred.  Since they appeared to be the same age as Goten and Trunks in BoG, they must have made the wish no earlier than the year of Trunks’ birth.]

5/26/767: Dende summons Shenron and Yamcha wishes for the resurrection of everyone killed by Cell. Krillin wishes for the explosive bombs to be removed from the bodies of Androids 17 and 18.

5/7/774: Bulma summons Shenron and Yamcha wishes for everyone killed that day to be brought back to life, except for the very bad ones. [GT: This wish gives rise to the Seven Star Shadow Dragon, Naturon Shenron.]

5/8/774: Dende summons Porunga on Namek, and makes three wishes at the request of Vegeta: The restoration of the destroyed Earth; the resurrection of everyone killed since the day of the 25th World Tournament, except for the very bad ones; and the restoration of Son Goku’s strength.

11/7/774: Six months after the previous wish, Goku summons Shenron and wishes for everyone’s memory of Majin Buu to be erased, with the exception of Dragon Team.  [GT: The Dragon Ball GT: Perfect File book states that this wish created Eis Shenron, but this directly conflicts with the information stated in the anime itself.]

DB/DBZ movies

Age 749: Bulma summons Shenron to defeat King Gurumes.  Pansy wishes for the Blood Rubies to be removed from the kingdom.  [DB Movie 1: Curse of the Blood Rubies]

Age 749: Bulma (?) summons Shenron and Goku wishes for the resurrection of Android 8. [DB Movie 4: Path to Power]

Age 753: Goku summons Shenron and wishes for the resurrection of Bora. [DB Movie 3: Mystical Adventure.]

Age 761: Garlic Junior summons Shenron and wishes for immortality. [DBZ Movie 1: Dead Zone]

Age 762: Dr. Cochin summons Shenron and wishes for the ice to be melted around Dr. Wheelo’s fortress. [DBZ Movie 2: World’s Strongest.] 

Krillin and Gohan summon Shenron and wish for a forest to be restored from a fire caused by Turles’ probe. [DBZ Movie 3: Tree of Might.]

Lord Slug summons Shenron and wishes for his youth to be restored.  [DBZ Movie 4: Lord Slug.]

Age 774: Goten summons Shenron (maybe?) and wishes for Goku to join them in battle against Broly [DBZ Movie 10: Broly - Second Coming.]

Gohan summons Shenron and wishes for the dead to be removed from the living world.  However, Shenron is unable to grant the wish.  It is unknown if any other wish was granted instead. [DBZ Movie 12: Fusion Reborn.]

Age 775(?): Goku summons Shenron and wishes for Tapion to be freed from his music box. It is stated in the movie that Shenron will be used again to repair the damage in West City, but this is never shown. [DBZ Movie 13: Wrath of the Dragon.]

Dragon Ball Super, Battle of Gods, Resurrection F

8/18/778: Goku summons Shenron and wishes to hear the story of the Super Saiyan God.  [DBZ Movie 14: Battle of Gods.]

?/?/779: Sorbet summons Shenron and wishes for the resurrection of Frieza. Shu wishes for one million zeni.  [DBZ Movie 15: Resurrection F.    Note: In Dragon Ball Super, Mai also wishes for ice cream, taking advantage of a third wish not mentioned in the film.] Bulma later speaks of using Shenron to restore North City, which Freiza destroyed, but this is never depicted.

?/?/779: Goku summons Porunga on New Namek to resurrect Piccolo after the battle with Golden Frieza. [DBS Episode 27]

?/?/779: Beerus summons Shenron and wishes for information on the Super Dragon Balls.  When Shenron proves unable to grant this wish, Beerus wishes for him to go away. [DBS Episode 29]

Unknown: Kibitoshin summons Porunga and wishes to be separated into Kibito and the Supreme Kai. [DBS Episode 32]

?/?/779: Goku summons Shenron, and Gohan wishes to have Pan cured from a fever.  Though Shenron still has one more wish to grant, he deactivates due to the extraordinary time spent waiting for the wish to be made. [DBS Episode 68]

?/?/780: Cheelai summons Shenron and wishes for Broly to be teleported back to Vampa. [DBS Movie 1: Broly.]

Dragon Ball GT

Age 789: Emperor Pilaf summons “Ultimate Shenron” using the Black Star Dragon Balls, and wishes for Goku to become a child again.

Baby summons “Ultimate Shenron” using the Black Star Dragon Balls and wishes for Planet Vegeta to be recreated in the Earth’s solar system.

Age 790: Goku attempts to summon Shenron to undo the damage done in the Super 17 crisis, but releases the seven Shadow Dragons instead.  After defeating the Shadow Dragons, Shenron is restored.   Goku’s wishes to revive those killed by the Super 17 and Shadow Dragon conflicts. 

Observations

Part of the reason I wanted to do this was to get a better handle on Dragon Ball Super’s continuity.   It seems like a lot of wishes get made in a very short span of time.   Although, now that I count them out, Shenron only grants six wishes in a two year span:

Telling Goku about the Super Saiyan God in Movie 14.

Resurrecting Frieza for Sorbet in Movie 15.

Giving Shu 1,000,000 zeni in Movie 15.

Giving Mai ice cream in DBS Episode 19.

Going away for Beerus in DBS Episode 29.

Healing Pan’s fever in DBS Episode 68.

However, there are still some inconsistencies in this.  In Res F, Shenron said he could only grant two wishes that day, while in DBS #19, he said he could do three.   Either way, his wishing capacity was all used up, and yet Dragon Team was already planning to summon him again to revive Golden Frieza’s victims.  (Maybe they used Porunga for that, since they had to revive Piccolo anyway?) 

Beerus wished for nothing in DBS 29, but apparently that still counts as a wish, so by the time Episode 68 rollled around, Shenron still had two wishes left to grant.  So this cycle of wishes would have to be one year after the events of Res F.  And maybe they are.   It’s hard to tell with Super.

It would be handy if they would just establish that Dende increased Shenron’s wishing powers after the Buu Saga.  In the latter half of DBZ, Dende fixed it so Shenron could grant at least two wishes, and these could be used up to six months apart.  At times, it’s implied that Shenron can grant up to three wishes, so long as none of them involve resurrecting more than one person.   But Toei & Shueisha have never been clear on this, and the discrepancy between Movie 15 and DBS #19 make that pretty clear. 

At other times, Shenron only grants one wish and leaves without mentioning a second or third.    I guess you could chalk this up to Shenron having already granted another wish earlier in the year, and he’d have no reason to explain why he only has one left. 

The “cooldown” period on the Earth’s Dragon Balls is supposed to be one year, but that’s never been well-observed.  Toriyama whizzed it on the first go-round, because the first and second Dragon Ball hunts were eight months apart.   Then the third and fourth summonings of Shenron were less than 24 hours apart, because Kami agreed to suspend the rules “just this once.”   He did it again a few years later, so that Popo could wish back everyone killed by Frieza.

I guess this lends credence to what the Elder Kai said in Dragon Ball GT, about the Dragon Balls needing to “rest” for centuries between wishes.  Throughout the main story, the Dragon Balls weren’t even getting the full year a lot of the time.  And DBS played so fast and loose with it that I’m forced to consider that Dende augmented them without telling anyone.  

I kind of like the approach Dende used in DBZ Abridged, where he told Porunga that they had six wishes, and suggested that he just grant them all up front instead of everyone having to come back and do this again 130 days later.   Maybe DBS!Dende had the same idea.  

Regarding the GT continuity, I think the Shadow Dragons were an interesting concept.  “Use the Dragon Balls too much, and you have to fight a cool monster!”   The trouble was that most of the monsters were decidedly uncool, and they really didn’t explain why some wishes created Shadow Dragons while others did not.   Like... okay, Oolong’s wish for panties created a Shadow Dragon, but why that one in particular?   Presumably, that wish was the first one anyone had made in hundreds of years.   It was the later wishes that compounded the problem, right?   Also, why didn’t the wishes made after the Cell Games create an eighth or ninth Shadow Dragon?  I mean, there wasn’t enough Dragon Balls for them to each have one lodged in their head, but it seems like a missed opportunity. 

One last note: It seems like there would be a decent window for Movie 13 to fit into the main canon.  I once questioned how you could work the extra wishes in between the “Forget Majin Buu” wish and “Battle of Gods”, but it’s like a four-year gap.  The only plot hole is that Gohan and Videl would still be in school, and that their school is inexplicably in West City.  Maybe I could do something with that, though...

[ladyvegeets]

T.I.T.A.N. - 01

- 1 Gooseflesh Skin - 

The entire dock was flooded with people, every last head craned up to take in the massive scale of the new spaceship. Everyone except Vegeta. Where others ogled and marveled the F.F. TITAN, singing its praises in awed tones, Vegeta kept his eyes forward and struggled to keep down the black stone of helplessness that rolled in his belly. This was no ship of dreams, but a slave ship taking him home in chains.

Outwardly, he was everything a titan recruit should be: strong, proud, composed. But inside, he was screaming.

The Lord Commander, Frieza, was ahead of him, walking up the gangway to board his new vessel. Though small in stature, the commander was oppressive in presence. Vegeta could feel the weight of his malevolence even across the dock. His father was making a valiant attempt at small talk, a wasted effort given Frieza was far more interested in soaking up the adoration of the crowd than listening to anything a king from a trifling planet had to say. As usual, neither were paying him any attention. They didn’t care or even notice him. He was merely an accessory to this arrangement, the punctuation point of his own indentured sentence.

It struck Vegeta that he could easily slip back into the crowd and disappear before anyone had the chance to discover he was gone.

Unconsciously, his feet slowed.

“What’s the hold up, Vegeta?” The slimy dulcet tones came from Frieza’s right hand man, Zarbon, the last voice he wanted to hear while flirting with the notion of escape. “I understand your stunted stature makes walking difficult, but if you could find it within yourself to trot along inside, I can have a nurse fetch you a hover chair.”

Vegeta’s fists clenched at the humiliating suggestion, but he swallowed back his pride, refusing to rise to the bait. “Forgive me, Titan, I was appreciating the craftsmanship of the ship and became distracted.” It was a good a lie as any.

Zarbon stepped up next to him. He was much taller than Vegeta, wearing ornate dress armor that left his hand and face tattoos proudly on display. The titan looked up at the vessel they were about to board. “Yes, it is impressive, isn’t it? An indestructible ship for an indomitable Lord. I hear they employed the finest minds in the galaxy for its construction.” He looked down at Vegeta, a nasty twinkle in his unnerving eyes. “No one from planet Vegeta, though. But then your kind have never been very bright, have they?”

Vegeta felt the lancing insult cut through him. Back home, such a remark would have been rectified in blood. Here he had to suffer it. “Our talents lie elsewhere,” he growled, his tone barely acceptable for addressing a superior. 

Zarbon smiled, amused to see the Saiyan struggle at reigning in his temper. He held out a hand towards the threshold of the ship. “After you, little prince. Wouldn’t want you getting lost, would we? That would reflect rather poorly on your father.”

Vegeta felt the bitter truth of that burn in his mouth, and he stepped inside the ship. As the door slid shut behind them, so too were his fancies of freedom closed to him forever.

~xox~

Bulma held the holographic tablet in her hand and pretended to be doing a series of last-minute checks on the cargo-hold. In truth, she wasn’t supposed to be here. Despite her conniving and flirting, she hadn’t been able to convince the right people to get her on TITAN’s crew staff for its maiden voyage — apparently her transient background put a crimp in their rigorous screening process. She had left Earth at a tender age with a thirst for adventure and little else. Upon discovering intelligent life — and a lot of  incredible technology — she jumped from space station to moon to planet until, years later, she eventually caught wind of the most ambitious spaceship project to date. There was no way that was going to happen without her throwing her hat into the mix. The chance to be arms-deep in the most sophisticated technology the galaxy had to offer was too good an opportunity to pass up.

But as the project started wearing down, her future grew uncertain. She was told at every corner that she was not wanted once the ship was completed. But like hell she was going to let that stop her. She had helped design and build the F.F. TITAN. She knew every corner and circuit board and system program of the whole damn ship. It took barely a few hours to come up with a plan, a few days to implement it. Stealing a pair of crew overalls and sneaking aboard hadn’t exactly been rocket science (of which she was also quite skilled in). All she had to do now was lay low until the ship broke the atmosphere and it would be easy-street from here on out.

A couple titans marched by; they were easy to spot with their telltale armor, facial tattoos, and unnerving eyes. Bulma kept her face lowered over the cargo dossier, doing her best to be inconspicuous. Titans gave her the creeps, and not only for their fearsome reputation on the battlefield. There was something… off about them. Just a little too arrogant and a little too obedient. Not to mention their eyes; the light didn’t reach them. It probably had to do with the tattoo process they underwent which turned the sclera — the white part of the eyes in humans — black. When a titan looked at you it was like being eyeballed by a shark, and just as potentially dangerous. It was deeply unsettling.

Thankfully these titans had better things to be do than concern themselves about her, the largest of them curling a nasty-looking whip about his tattooed fist. When they were gone, Bulma checked the area one last time before closing her tablet and slipping inside the maintenance room. On the far wall was a hidden door she had installed. She slipped inside to a little room she had built, complete with a bed roll and some supplies. She laid out on her bed and turned her tablet back on, scrolling through the influx of information from the ship’s start up logs — yes, she had hacked into the ship’s computers, what of it? — and got settled in. It wasn’t a big or glamorous space, but hey, it was free. What more could a stowaway ask for?

~xox~

Vegeta let the dinner conversation wash over him. It was hard to concentrate, not only because the topic held little interest for him but because his body was screaming. He was positive the wounds on his back had split and were freshly bleeding. Luckily he had thought to wear his cape to hide any stains. Still, just the act of sitting straight in a chair was agonizing. He refused to let it show, refused to give any of these bastards the satisfaction.

As soon as the TITAN had taken off, he was sent to meet his soon-to-be fellow titans. He suspected it wouldn’t be pleasant. Even prepared for a hazing, he never anticipated they would whip him, one lash for every titan ‘sibling’ he would gain. Something about ‘sharing the burden of responsibility’, ‘bearing your brothers and sisters on your back’, ‘rights of passage’… blah blah fucking blah. He stopped listening after the first few lashes bit right through cloth and muscle and began exposing bone, blood dripping down his back and filling his mouth as he bit his cheeks to keep from screaming.

He lost track of how many lashes he earned. Frieza had a lot of titans.

His Saiyan genetics meant he had healed — at least enough — to make dinner. He sure as hell wasn’t going to lie in a hospital bed and let rumors of weakness spread about him or his people. Whatever these assholes wanted to throw his way, he would take it. He had to, for his own pride and the pride of his people. It was his duty, or so his father kept insisting. “We need this treaty, my son. Our society won’t survive without the technology of the empire.”

Food was put before him, but his usual vigorous appetite was lacking. “Care for some wine, Vegeta? You look rather peaked,” Zarbon drawled, knowing full well why Vegeta was pale. His lashes had been some of the cruelest to bear.

“I do not partake,” he replied curtly, forcing himself to stab at his dinner so as not to appear weak. “It dulls the senses.” He shoved the forkful of food into his mouth and forced himself to swallow.

Frieza laughed airily from the head of the table. “Oh ho ho, your boy is disciplined, I’ll give you that, King Vegeta,” he complimented. “I do appreciate that quality in my titans.”

“I think you’ll find my son to be a fine addition to your ranks,” the king promised. “He is the most accomplished among our people, and at such a young age.”

Frieza’s eyes narrowed. “So you keep telling me. I grow bored of hearing it.”

“Ah… Yes. Well then, Lord Commander, I’m curious. The name of this vessel. Was it inspired by your elite force?” the king hastened to change the subject.

Frieza leaned back in his chair, swilling his wine about in his glass. “Yes. I am ever so proud of my titans, so what better name for my new ship, wouldn’t you agree?” His lips curled in a dark smile. He didn’t wait for a reply. No one would dare to disagree. “And I quite liked how the name encapsulates the sheer magnitude of its size too.”

“One would think you have an unnatural preoccupation with size,” Vegeta grumbled under his breath as the others at the table voiced their agreement. 

A sharp elbow jabbed him in the side. He winced, more from the wounds on his back than anything else, and looked to his right. His father was glaring murder at him. “Remember your place, boy,” the king hissed furiously, casting Frieza a furtive look to make sure the commander hadn’t overheard the insulting remark.

Vegeta thinned his lips and kept his mouth shut for the rest of the meal. By the time dinner was over he was feeling extremely poor, his back on fire and his face sweating. He must have overestimated his healing, or underestimated the severity of his lashes. Either way, he excused himself before he passed out on his plate or threw up what little he had eaten, and headed for the observation deck to get what counted as ‘fresh air’.

~xox~

The observation deck was situated near the front of the vessel and domed by a large glass bubble that protected the onlookers from the vacuum of space while also allowing for a spectacular view of the galaxy.

Bulma lay sprawled on a bench on the lower deck. The view wasn’t quite as good but it was unoccupied and close to an exit in case security came by and she needed to duck out. The stars she could see were breathtaking. She would never grow tired of looking at them. Any time she grew homesick she just looked up into space and considered all the unexplored planets, technology, and adventures there were awaiting her, and she would be motivated to push on.

She heard footsteps. Turning her head to the upper deck, a man in armor approached the railing. Bulma hitched a brow at the sight of him — human? Wait, no… not quite. Was that a tail around his waist? And something about the hair seemed a little unnatural by Earth standards. Still, it was kind of nice to see someone human-ish. Not bad looking, either. The only detractor were a couple tattoos around his eyes. Titan markings, though far fewer than she was used to seeing. And no all-black eyes. Interesting.

Her curiosity piqued, Bulma found herself staring. Though the man’s armor appeared battle-functional, his red cape was less so, the marking of someone important. Most intriguingly of all, it wasn’t titan-standard issue. Neither were the gloves that hid his hands which now dangled over the railing. Who and what was he? A dignitary perhaps? He certainly held himself with importance, even managing to lean against the deck in an aristocratic manner. The man was an enigma.

His sixth sense must have been tripped, for his eyes turned and locked directly onto her. For a moment they stared at each other from across the divide of the decks as stars were born and burned out and died around them. Nothing was said, no smile or nods exchanged. There was just this moment, this raw fleeting moment where they recognized the existence of the other, and were seen in turn.

Then another approached the railing. This alien Bulma did know.

The Lord Commander.

You didn’t get far in the galaxy without quickly learning who Frieza was.

The diminutive lizard-like alien approached the other man, his tail whipping slowly back and forth in his wake. He placed his claw-like fingers on the man’s shoulder and leaned in, whispering something that Bulma couldn’t hear. Whatever it was, it caused the man at the railing to pale. Frieza’s fingers tightened and the man’s cheek twitched, struggling to keep the pain from his face — but she saw.

Then Frieza threw back his head and laughed, the sound carrying all the way to her on the lower deck. He walked off, leaving the man sweating and alone. He stood frozen for several minutes before he came back to himself. Consciously or not, his eyes sought hers out, but something in his expression had changed. The light in his eyes was gone. It was like staring into the eyes of a dead man.

Her skin broke out into gooseflesh.

He turned and left the deck. Haunted by what she had seen, Bulma decided to do the same and retreated back to her hidden room.

~xoXox~

AN: Written for The Prince and The Heiress’ 2019 Smutfest. Find them on discord or reddit or twitter. I know this is a smutfest, but this one’s gonna be a slow burn, sorry guys.

Based on a little known movie, not sure if you’ve heard of it, called Titanic by James Cameron. Movie buffs will notice that I’ve used a couple quotes from the film — though modified to fit the narrative. 

DBZ characters are, obviously, Toriyama’s creations.