#yamcha positivity

[celticcatgirl2]

God I fucking hate Vegeta so fucking much holy shit. Holy shit, every frame he's in, every scene, every gif, every jpeg, he's got this painfully smug, stupid as shit, fuckass look on his stupid scrunkly face. Absolutely no part of his ugly as sin piece of shit character design is endearing. His stupid fucking hairline? Who the hell makes a "bad boy" boy friend of the main girl with a hairline like that. His dumb short ass stumpy legs? His shitty, lumpy bastard head? The three thousand percent unnecessary dumbass shitass fucking POINTY HAIR STANDING UP IN ONE DIRECTION that no Saiyan has EVER FUCKING HAD IN tHE HISTORY OF GOD'S GREEN FUCKING EARTH? God, I hate him. I hate him so much. So FUCKING much. Every time I see a stuffed toy Vegeta or an Vegeta gif or a shitty goddamn anime clip, it ignites my primal rage response and I'm overcome by the need to punt this shitty little homunculus into the fucking sun. "Bhurr blur, I'm Vegeta the fuckshit monkey fucker, I am the prince of all Saiyans ". Fuck you. Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you. You look like the grumpy troll from trolls world tour summoned a patronus. Your dumb fucking twig hair makes your whole shitty head look like a hairy skin tag. I hate your dumb fucking creased forehead and your stupid, empty souless eyes and your over-the-top douchey ass arrogant asshole personality. Any scene he's sad it invokes all the wrath and fury of a spoiled child having a meltdown over a chocolate bar in a w*lmart checkout line. And I know its irrational. That's the worst part. I know he's just a shitty fucking side character in a stupid fucking Shonen anime, I know it doesn't matter, I know I shouldn't care. But that's part of the problem. The part where no matter the might and fury of my hatred, the locus of my homicidal intent is alltogether inconsequential. I find myself laying awake in the dark in the early hours of the morning consumed by the spirit of Wrath itself, all the force and might of a flaming hurricane directed at a bottle of piss in a ditch by the highway. The absurdity of it all burns me to my core. What better things could this energy be directed towards? And yet my disdain for this stupid, useless, insubstantial failure of endearing character design utterly eclipses the intrigue of all other pursuits. I hate him. I hate him on a level of my mind reserved for the worst of the world's array of sinners, and I can't even begin to justify it. Shitstick the Prince of all shitfucks is, for all intents and purposes, the animated corpse of all of humanity's saccharine pretenses- every condescending, passive-aggressive statement of meaningless upper middle class suburban drama distilled into a single, hateable form. The fucking. Fuck. I have no words. There is no cuss or epithet in any language that can encapsulate the height of the emotions I am experiencing. God, I hate him so much. I hate him so, so fucking much. I want to light his ugly little dumpster body on fire. I want to graphically beat him to death with his own stupid fucking scouter. I want to punch him to death. You know that weird feeling you get, when you see a picture of something so cute you find yourself overcome with the bizarre, inexplicable urge to squeeze it? It's EXACTLY like that, except instead of cuteness it's disgust. The wordless knowledge that his existence as a fictional work is evidence of all the failures of mankind. I find myself possessed by the will of a Holy Angel gone rogue with the belief that God has made a mistake, and I alone must correct it. This is the trial by which Samael himself fell from grace. This wild, meaningless rage. A thousand blades of shining steel cast with inhuman force in the direction of a plastic grocery bag floating on a breeze. What horrors must I have committed in a past life to be plagued by this torment now? I must Unmake this fictional alien

[fabuloustrash05]

Some Fun Facts According to Sparking Zero’s Encyclopedia (aka Girl Talk)

Chichi still thinks ALL Super Saiyans are delinquents (and yes that includes Frieza’s golden form) meanwhile Bulma defends the Super Saiyan forms.

Chichi considers Krillin to be just as tough as a Saiyan because of all that he’s been through.

Bulma LOVES Vegeta’s red hair when he turns into a SSJ God.

Videl wonders if she and Future Gohan ever crossed paths in the future timeline. She also wishes she was there to fight by his side when he faced the androids.

Chichi thinks SSJ3 Goku and SSJ4 Gogeta are scary looking.

The girls all agreed that Krillin hit the jackpot with Android 18.

According to Videl, Vegeta is a good cook.

Chichi still hasn’t forgiven Piccolo for kidnapping Gohan, but looks past it cause Gohan looks up to Piccolo.

Bulma thinks Piccolo’s fusion with Nail and Kami is unimpressive compared to the other fusions she’s seen.

Bulma has a biased towards SSJ Blue, cause well, blue hair lol

Videl believes Goku and Bulma were positive influences on Vegeta (she’s right).

The girls don’t like Paragus for what he did to Broly (Super).

Bulma thinks SSJ4 Vegeta is “cool looking” and “wild”.

Videl thinks Baby Vegeta is scary.

The girls don’t understand the purpose behind Frieza stretched out head in his 3rd form. They think he looks gross.

Bulma defends Vegeta as a father and husband, saying he’s a good dad to their kids.

Videl hopes that Yamcha will find love someday.

The girls think Garlic Jr is Pilaf

Bulma is glad Trunks doesn’t have a tail, fearful of what would happen to the house if her husband and kids could transform into a giant apes.

Bulma mistook Recoome for Android 16.

Videl is shocked to learn Piccolo was once a villain.

Videl wants a “foodie buddy” like Whis is to Bulma.

Bulma confirms she’s the breadwinner of her family while Vegeta is the protector.

The girls wonder and are envious that Android 18 will most likely stay young and beautiful forever.

Bulma wonders why Zamasu didn’t steal Vegeta’s body instead of Goku’s.

Videl did not know that Bulma and Yamcha used to date.

The girls criticized Baby Vegeta for constantly changing forms so quickly XD

Chichi respects Bulma for slapping Beerus across the face.

Chichi hopes to one day meet Bardock in Otherworld and thank him for bringing Goku to her

[tobiasdrake]

Hi! Absolutely adore your DBZ analyses, thank you so much - just spent a delightful time reading them all. I was wondering, since you've commented on Chi-Chi and Goku's marriage, what do you have to say about Vegeta and Bulma's relationship? (I've always been entranced by it - mostly because as with all his romances, Toriyama had the wisdom not to show any of it onscreen. But I'd love to know your thoughts about it.)

Bulma and Vegeta are a match made in Hell, and they deserve each other. (Which is to say yes, I love this ship.)

Hooking Bulma up with Vegeta was a hell of a narrative swerve. Generally speaking, stories rarely do this; They rarely let characters break up once they're already invested in a romance, unless it's supposed to be like a love triangle thing.

And Bulma? Bulma was invested. At least, to a degree.

This was the birth of the original Bulma romance that ran through about half of the manga. Two teens interesting in the opposite sex suddenly realize the availability of the other and a relationship is born.

Toriyama says he's bad at writing romance but to be honest, this has always hit me as more believable than your typical drawn-out five-seasons-of-pining Will They/Won't They affair. I'm a girl. You're a boy. Wanna go out and see what clicks?

And these two... these two do not click. We only really see their relationship from Bulma's perspective but it's clear that these two are miserable together.

The manga sorta takes Bulma's side, in that we never really get to hear Yamcha's opinion about their relationship one way or another. When he's around, all he wants to do is talk shop about martial arts. Since Toriyama doesn't like to write romance, we simply don't see much of it from them. What little we do hear about it comes from Bulma complaining about how miserable she is.

Bulma is pretty much always pissed off whenever the relationship is in focus at all.

Anime filler tends to take Yamcha's side instead, portraying him as a put-upon victim of Bulma's jealousy and abuse. A nice guy who doesn't deserve the way she treats him.

It's not hard to buy into this interpretation of their relationship since, as noted, we rarely get anything from Yamcha with regard to his relationship to women or Bulma specifically but we know Bulma's a lot. It's easy to accept Bulma as the "bad guy" of this relationship because. Like. Remember that time she enslaved a sentient being? Good times.

Though one particular moment from Yamcha later on kinda stands out as a bit of a retroactive Yikes.

Yeah. Uh. Threatening violence against a woman for rejecting his bro is a bit of a Yikes. Is this who we were supposed to see Yamcha as all this time? Because, if so, it might have helped to let him opine about the relationship more. Just saiyan.

According to Toriyama in interview, Yamcha and Bulma ultimately broke up because she caught Yamcha cheating on her. I guess that's what him being "popular with girls" was supposed to mean: Once he got over his gynophobia and found confidence with the opposite sex, Yamcha became a player.

But that doesn't necessarily come across from the statement, "Bulma can't stand that Yamcha's popular with girls." A lot of fans took that to mean girls just like him for no reason, and Bulma's unreasonably jealous about it. The anime took that position too.

Note that the "Yamcha is popular with girls" thing isn't helped by the fact that we never see it on-panel because he's only ever talking shop when he's around. But we do see a wandering eye from Bulma often enough.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying the aesthetic appeal of another party even when you're in a monogamous relationship, but it doesn't really present the "Other party is a womanizer and cheater" case when you're the only one ever seen doing this.

So it feels like there's a lot about Yamcha and Bulma's relationship that never made it to print yet influenced later decisions. Those decisions ended up being controversial because the foundation for those decisions was never laid. Here, Toriyama's disdain for writing romance worked against him.

But ultimately, regardless of whose side you take, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter who the "bad guy" is. A healthy relationship does not have a "bad guy" in it.

Whether or not Yamcha cheated, whether or not Bulma's just an unreasonably jealous hell-beast, it doesn't actually matter. What matters is that once you reach the point where you're taking sides over which party is the most obnoxious asshole and I hate you and I wish we never met... this relationship is not working for anybody.

It doesn't matter who the bad guy is. It doesn't matter who deserves the blame for this relationship being a toxic shithole. That there is blame to throw around in the first place is the problem. Every relationship has its ups and downs but if one party is constantly miserable for years and has possibly been looking for an escape hatch since year 1, that's not a little tiff.

What matters is that these two are not working out. Any time we see their relationship in focus, they are miserable together. The anime tried to do some patchwork on that with audience reception by giving them some cute moments as well, but because those moments aren't canon the pair remained miserable.

And then this happened.

Despite everything, I think we all assumed that Bulma and Yamcha were going to work it out. Fictional relationships are often portrayed as tumultuous. To a writer, nothing says true love like being constantly miserable and despising every waking moment you spend with your awful, nagging ball-and-chain of a spouse. That's just. Like. What the straights think romance is. It's weird.

I think we all thought that was going to be the deal here too. And then Trunks came along and said, "Nope, actually, they finally severed the cord."

Again, Toriyama says he's bad at writing romance but holy shit, the toxic and miserable relationship actually ended. The two characters involved who only got together out of loneliness and desperation later found they were incompatible with each other. That's so real. Much moreso than a lot of fictional romances.

Instead, we got the absolute crack ship that is Vegeta and Bulma. What a wild-ass revelation for Trunks to drop.

Like. Until the end of the Namek arc, this was the only time these two characters even met.

She also saw Vegeta for like two seconds here.

That was it. That was their entire history together until Goku defeated Frieza while Kaio sent everyone to Earth. But that's when everything changed for Vegeta.

Stranded on Earth with no ship, no affiliations, no ability to leave the planet and nowhere to go or be and no obligations to anyone but himself, Vegeta's circumstances were wildly different than they'd ever been before. He had become one of the Namekian refugees.

And Bulma was offering refuge.

Hard to resist, indeed. That moment is absolutely hilarious in retrospect. Bulma rolled a Nat 20 on that charisma check. It's pretty clear who the instigator of this relationship was.

Like. It needs to be stated that at this point, the only thing Bulma knew about Vegeta was that he tried to kill them all multiple times, and also he's kinda hot. But. Like.

It's Bulma. Anyone who doesn't expect this from her by now either hasn't been paying attention or started watching the English dub of the anime when they did Z first.

So, naturally, Vegeta is a kind and loving man and became a phenomenal husband and fa--

Wait. No. I got my notes mixed up. It says here Vegeta's a rotten dirty bastard. Like. Chronically. He has Supreme Dickshit Syndrome. It's genetic.

Most of Bulma and Vegeta's developing relationship happens offscreen. From what snippets we get, Vegeta has a tendency to vanish during the day, but he still lives at Capsule Corp so Bulma sees him around.

By the end of the three-year timeskip, it's official. Or semi-official. Yamcha and Bulma broke up at some point during that timeskip and Bulma's given birth to Trunks.

As for Vegeta, he's evidently moved out of Capsule Corp and into his own place.

I guess he's still keeping contact with Bulma since she knows what his intentions are. Not to mention he found his tranquility during these three years, though it's somewhat ambiguous as to what exactly brought that peace to his heart.

But the relationship is off to a rocky start nonetheless. Clearly something went down between Vegeta and Bulma that drove Vegeta out of Capsule Corp. To. Uh. Somewhere.

I like to imagine Vegeta living in some shitty West City apartment he rents off a stipend Bulma's sending him that he refuses to openly acknowledge. Like, room 101 is a down-on-his-luck tax accountant, room 102 is a couple with a kid trying to make ends meet off two retail workers' salaries, and then room 103 is Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans. Sometimes he goes to community events and pretends he isn't having fun.

No lie, I would absolutely watch that as a sitcom.

As for Vegeta himself, he's still a rotten dirty bastard.

Worth noting that Vegeta's saying this as a Super Saiyan which means he's drunk on the form's enhanced aggression. But. Still. Vegeta is an absolute monster being dragged kicking and screaming into a pleasant life that he'll one day resent himself for enjoying. This is his arc moving forward.

It's not so much a redemption arc as it is a domestication arc. The uniquely evil even by Saiyan standards Vegeta is gradually being changed by his new terrestrial life. He doesn't want to own up to how much he enjoys it here. Seven years later, he's still desperate to avoid owning up to it.

He doesn't want to be happy here. He doesn't want a loving wife and a son who looks up to him and the most lavish home wealth can afford him and easy, comfortable days spent with friends and loved ones by his side. He doesn't want a happy ending.

But it's like Bulma warned him: Dragon Ball's queen bee is hard to resist.

Welcome back to Capsule Corp, Vegeta. We hardly even noticed you were gone. Honestly, Future Trunks deserves a lot of the credit for this; Watching him die at the Cell Games was what flipped the switch in Vegeta's head that he wants the family he and Bulma have spawned together.

Sure is a good thing we have Dragon Balls because this is a hell of a time to suddenly decide you love your son. But we see the consequences of that seven years later, since Vegeta moved back into Capsule Corp from... I don't know, wherever he went. They're gonna miss him at the next community poolside summer BBQ event for all tenants.

Part of what makes Vegeta and Bulma work, I think, is that they're on the same page about one crucial point. For Bulma, there is one person who will always take precedent in her life above all others. Romance comes and romance goes, but this is the relationship that matters most to her.

Especially when it comes to martial arts and fighting. Bulma doesn't know a lot about the subject, but she knows that Son Goku is her #1. She has no reservations about saying that to her lover's face either.

When fists start flying, Bulma knows who she's rooting for. If Goku's involved, then it's not her guy. That's. Just. Something that anyone who wants to be with her has to be willing to understand. The single most important relationship in Bulma's life will always be her friendship with Goku.

And the thing about Vegeta is... He kind of agrees? Like. See above, re: I wanted Babidi to destroy my feelings for Bulma so that I could become the warrior that can fight with you, Kakarot.

As much as Goku will always be Bulma's #1, he'll also always be Vegeta's #1. He even gets included into Vegeta's fond farewell to the family he loves.

Goku is basically the platonic third in a two-person polycule. This is the second marriage that this poor ace plays a vital role in despite having no real interest in romance whatsoever.

Bulma is selfish, spiteful, petty, and vain. At one point, DBS: Broly directly compares her to Frieza; A comparison that manages to be unbelievably unflattering to both participants.

They're the same picture. A revelation that would probably be horrifying to both.

And Vegeta. Especially Vegeta. But. Like. She warned you she was irresistible. You didn't take her seriously and now look where you are. Married to the She-Frieza. Maybe you should think about your life choices.

This is just. So much fun. As I said at the outset, Bulma and Vegeta are a match made in Hell who make it work because they're both similar brands of awful.

As for Yamcha, it's a little known fact but Yamcha rebounded and moved on with his life. He stops having much story relevancy after he leaves Capsule Corporation so we see very little of his private life from there. After retiring from martial arts and splitting up with Bulma, Yamcha's left without any story hooks to keep him involved.

But there was this interesting moment, when he realized they had a Shenron wish to spare.

After Krillin comes up with something better to use the wish on, he takes it back and claims it was a joke.

This is, surprisingly, a point of contention in the fandom as some of Yamcha's fans prefer the idea that he died miserable and alone after Bulma ruined his life by leaving him. This takeback gets pointed to as proof that he made up his girlfriend entirely. However, in context, it's clear that a) he's trying to brush off his earlier attempt at making a petty wish and b) the thing he's transparently pretending was a joke is the necklace wish, not the existence of his new girlfriend.

Like Bulma, Yamcha moved on with his life after the break up of their miserable relationship. And that was the final word that was ever uttered on Yamcha's romantic prospects, because this was the last time he was ever meaningfully involved with anything at all.

[paganminiskirt]

Goku loves Vegeta but he loves him the way he loves all of his people. As soon as he saw Vegeta clawing at the dirt with a hole in his chest, desperate to get his final words out, he started to slot him into the mental place he slots his loved ones - as someone who was allowing him to be responsible for them, even while visibly hating every second of it, as someone he could help give the chance to grow. Vegeta provides him with the first positive (“positive”) look into their shared heritage, but loving Vegeta isn’t like, a form of love Goku has never experienced before. Goku upended Vegeta’s whole preconceived notion of power, humanity, right and wrong. There’s visual symbolism invoked of him literally making the ground under Vegeta’s feet crumble. Vegeta lost the will to pursue his singular passion in life after Goku died. He’d rip Goku’s skin off to be enveloped in his smell if he could.

And I think that’s part of why Bulma is so into him? You can choose to believe Yamcha cheated or you can not, but the underlying problem was still that she felt unstable in their relationship. Vegeta’s identity revolts against that issue. His whole introduction to the culture of earth was oriented around obsession, the stringent role of “rival” that can evoke as much insecure jealousy and possessiveness as a romantic relationship. (See how Vegeta got when it seemed like Goku liked fighting Hit more than him?) It fits!

[lil-bri]

Mk1 Incorrect Quotes pt. 9:

God Liu Kang: “You’re not ascending to godhood, you’re just dehydrated!”

Shang Tsung: “Outta my way, gayboy! I’m about to liberate my divine self from this mortal shell!”

Shang Tsung, later, laying on the ground on Yamcha position: “hopital”

[sundove88]

DBZ: Waves of Freedom Chapter 4: Out of The Cage

At those very words, Goku perked up. Never had anyone requested they be transformed into a merperson, until now. Vegeta’s sentence immediately became clear- he had wanted to leave behind his life on land in favor of a life beneath the ocean waves. “Of course, best buddy. I’ll gladly do that, but we have to do it step by step- this is a big step, and you can’t rush it!”, Goku replied enthusiastically. “Then what do we do, Kakarot? Because I really do want to become a merman and stay with you.”, Vegeta asked as he looked down at his human legs sorrowfully, knowing that they’d merge into a merman tail when the time was right. “How about we discuss a plan to ensure you have everything you need?”, Goku asked. Vegeta nodded. “I’ve decided that I want to leave Empire Oil Drilling Corps- but if Frieza finds out, I’ll never get the chance to stay with you.”, he said. “Then why don’t you write a resignation letter? I’ll get something to help with your transformation. We meet back here tomorrow.”, said Goku as he splashed back into the water gracefully. Vegeta nodded, and both boys immediately began to plan.

Inside his apartment, Vegeta immediately began writing down his resignation letter, wanting nothing more than to let Frieza know he was leaving his oppressive company once and for all. Taking out a piece of paper and a pencil, he wrote down with all of his heart and soul, putting strong emotions into every word he wrote down, which then resulted in a letter that would surely get the attention of Frieza:

To: Lord Frieza, CEO of Empire Oil Drilling Corps

Subject: Resignation

Dear Lord Frieza,

After much contemplation, I have decided to resign from my position effective immediately. While I appreciate the opportunities I have had at Empire Oil Drilling Corps, I can no longer ignore the call for a life beyond these walls. This company, which once seemed to promise greatness, has become a gilded cage, suffocating my spirit and stifling my true potential.

I need to find my own path, one that allows me the freedom to breathe and live fully. This is not a decision made lightly, but it is one I must make for my own well-being.

I am somewhere you can never reach me and never will.

Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,

Vegeta

Vegeta let out one massive sigh of relief as he placed the letter in an envelope and began to pack the shell collection that he had made himself- and amongst those shells and sand dollars were the bracelet Goku had given him and the abalone that his father gave him. And he even added a few if not all of the pictures of his parents, his Agate Mermaid, and some other important mementos. This is it. The start of a new life. He thought as he placed the lid on the box containing his shell collection, pictures of his parents, other mementos, the bracelet Goku gave him, and a few other trinkets, including the Agate Mermaid he genuinely treasured, he immediately snuck down to the beach under the cover of night and waited for one of the other merfolk he had met to arrive. At once, Piccolo and Yamcha immediately came to the surface and took the box. “We’ll keep this safe until you arrive in Atlantis.”, the octopus merman replied as a third merman, Master Roshi (A common dolphin merman) surfaced and ensured Vegeta everything would be fine. “Don’t worry. You have us to help.”, replied Launch, a spunky marlin mermaid as she surfaced alongside the others. Krillin and his daughter Marron, a young seahorse mermaid, also surfaced. As Vegeta watched Piccolo, Launch, and Roshi’s fins and Yamcha’s tentacles disappear beneath the surface, he felt like everything was going as it should’ve. “Hope to see you in Atlantis, bud!”, Krillin replied as he and Marron disappeared beneath the waves.

At the same time, Goku and his family swam across Atlantis all the way to the Upper Terraces of the metropolis known as Chalchiuhtlicue’s Falls, with cascading waterfalls and beautiful coral formations, and colorful fish went and came as they pleased, which was also where Bulma and Trunks resided. As they made their way there, jellyfish lit the way until they came to the door of the glamorous residence the innovative siren called home. “Bulma, I kinda need to talk to you. I wanna change Vegeta into a merman, and from what he’s told me, I think he knows what he’s getting into.”, he said as Bulma perked up from a project she was doing and swam over to her friend, while her son was stroking a gentle coelacanth. “Well, at least he knows how big of a change it is, but follow me.”, Bulma replied, swimming over to a case filled with seashells that looked like they were made from precious stones, her long blue hair floating in the water. She opened the case and pulled out a scallop shell made out of sapphire. “This is a Crystal Shell- it’s the only thing capable of turning him into a permanent merman, but his fins and freedom come at a massive cost: His life on land and any connections he’s made with land dwellers.”, Bulma explained sternly as she placed the shell into Goku’s hands. “So in short, he’s able to shapeshift as well, he can never be a true human again, and his heart will always belong to the ocean.”, Goku said as he placed the shell in a pouch and tied it shut. “Yes, yes, and yes. He can shapeshift to walk on land, but no matter what form he takes, whether it be human or merman, he will always answer the call of the ocean.”, Bulma said. “Thanks, Bulma. I’ll ensure he knows that information.”, Goku replied as he and his family swam back to Mazu’s Harbor to get some rest and prepare for the upcoming day.

The next morning, Vegeta woke up stronger than ever, knowing that this was his only chance to get out of the life he loathed and to resign from the company he had spent long hours at. Taking one last look at his apartment, he immediately made his way through the hallways with his resignation letter in hand, telling the landlord who ran the apartment that he was never coming back and was ready to take the next big step for himself. But before he made his way to Empire Oil Drilling Corps, he stopped by the water to explain to Goku that everything was going as it should. “Vegeta, you’re doing amazing. You’re almost there to your new life,” Goku said as he took out the crystal shell from the satchel. “What’s that? Is it some artifact, Kakarot?”, asked Vegeta as he sat down on the rocks. “Mhm. It’ll turn you into a permanent merman, so you never have to come back to a life that made you feel captive.”, the citrus tailed merman replied as he began to explain more. “I-I’ve made up my mind already. Is there anything else I should know?”, Vegeta questioned. “Well, there’s a price for your transformation, and that’s not your voice.”, said Goku. “Then what is it?”, the soon to be merman asked. “It’s your life on land,” the merman said.

Vegeta pretended to be shook, but he had made up his mind already. “My life on land? Well, the land holds nothing for me anymore anyway.”; replied Vegeta solemnly, clutching the resignation letter. “And also, you have to sever any connections for your own good. But then again, you didn’t have any good connections with your coworkers, didn’t you?”, he asked. “I never had, but I’ve got some amazing friends thanks to you.”, Vegeta said. “Ok. And once you’ve transformed, there’s no turning back into a human again. But then again, you have us, so there’s that- and you can shapeshift.”, Goku explained. “I’m ready to become a merman, no matter the cost.”, Vegeta replied as he felt the cooling Seabreeze against his face. “I’m glad you’re ready. Now go deliver that resignation letter, and we’ll head somewhere you can be transformed!”, Goku replied happily as Vegeta nodded and stood up, ready to deliver the resignation letter.

It would only be a matter of time before he would no longer be a true human.

[impactdial]

i’m thinking about a personality swap au for sanji and usopp so here’s a some thoughts:

usopp had already made a name for himself being a notorious sniper in his village, to the point a few marines have tried to recruit him but he refuses as he sees himself as his village’s protector (for context, i was thinking usopp thinks he’s simply filling this role for his father under the false assumption yasopp will return, unaware yasopp left to become a pirate. he promised his mom he wouldn’t leave until yasopp returned, anyway).

known as liar usopp on account of his skill at bluffing his way through a fight while keeping cooly calm. likewise, he keeps up a cool and well collected facade but once he’s let down his guard it’s apparent he’s got a flair for the dramatic and does have a goofy side to him that his crew mates bring out.

i cant decide if this usopp would still use his slingshot or not, but i did have the thought he uses a pistol he’s inherited from yasopp

sanji is a relatively unassuming bus boy at the baratie despite his culinary skill due to a lack of self confidence in his ability. zeff’s never forced him to take the sous chef position but that doesn’t stop him from bringing it up constantly. besides that, customers love his energetic (albeit clumsy) demeanor. he’s good at entertaining guests with party tricks and stories about the all blue (even if he’s made up most of them).

his clumsiness and dislike of violence have taken many enemies by surprise in a fight. i was thinking his handicap would be that sanji chooses to fight with his eyes closed since he doesn’t like the idea of seeing people getting hurt so he’s developed a good sense of smell (makes sense with him being a cook) and later observation haki to help.

was also thinking something like blood hound sanji would suit him?(to fit the sense of smell thing too) oh and i thought it’d be funny to make sanji extremely girl allergic to the point he freezes up (think yamcha from dragon ball lol)

[friezaglasiencold]

Not a question to Frieza but to the user, I like the idea of you writing him being absolutely fine as a single parent but is so disgusted with the idea of being in a permanent commitment. Usually, it's the other way around, so this is really refreshing.

((thank u!! I know shipping is a big thing in online fandom but while exploring his dynamics with other characters is super interesting, I dont think Frieza’s the kind of person who would be happy or comfortable in anything more committed than a “situationship”. It’d take so much doing for him, and he’s so buried in his own little world that he wouldn’t be able to even see the point in learning how to form a mutual, non-transactional bond with someone.

especially because it requires some really intimate emotional vulnerability, and not even he knows how he’s really feeling half the time! He doesn’t want to sand down all his edges and try to make himself palatable for some nebulous romantic fulfillment that isn’t guaranteed to even work… a potential partner would have to make him feel very VERY secure in unconditional affection before he’d even consider taking the steps to engage in “traditional romance”, and even then there’d still be that instinctual ick. there’s a lot of reasons he’s so squicked out by yamcha’s high opinion of him… he likes the chase, but not being caught; he likes receiving positive attention, but not being obligated to repay favors. He doesn’t want to be in anybody’s debt, and he can’t see relationships in any other way than as a cycle of favors and debts repeated ad nauseam. So he’s in this awkward spot where he fantasizes about being understood, but the moment someone tries to understand him, it’s so disgusting to him that he wants to push them away

with Kuriza it’s different because there’s not that sense that he has to change himself to please a peer—Kuriza is a baby, and babies have simple needs so he doesn’t have to dig deep to figure out the intricate nuances of respecting someone as an equal. When the kid gets older, there’s bound to be some problems. Judging by how Kuriza talks about his dad so fondly in all of his appearances, though, I have hope for them 🫶))

[ojamayellow]

yamcha should enter the real world (ours) if we wants to find love so badly he should see all his fans on this website obsess over him (positive)

[yeowangies]

Blood Stains

CHAPTER III: Delicate Unspeakable Lines

❧

PAIRING: Raditz/Reader RATING: Mature CONTENTS: Canon Divergence AU, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Enemies to Lovers. WARNINGS: Attempted Assault in this chapter, Drinking WORDCOUNT: 3506

Summary:

You realize he’s standing well within arm's reach. You’re not exactly drunk, but you’re obviously not sober either. And the experience from earlier has left your mind more than vulnerable for any kind of thought. So you can’t help but stare at Raditz right back, determinedly inspecting his face. He has a few tiny scratches from wherever he had been before crash landing at your place, and he’s still damn handsome.

Notes:

Please check the warnings.

I have a trigger warning for this chapter for attempted assault, it's some few very short paragraphs and I put the first word and last word in bold letters if anyone wants to skip them, you will still understand the story. And if you want to read them, it's nothing graphic

There's drinking involved in this chapter too, no one gets drunk, but just in case anyone is uncomfortable with that.

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

Dust and debris rain all over you, scratching your skin. You curse under your breath; Raditz blasted through the wall, again, and this time he left. Seemingly for good. 

You were positive he had warmed up to you, but apparently that wasn’t the case. And you’re not even sure what you’re supposed to do now. Piccolo was strong enough against Raditz when he was injured, but not now that he’s fully healed. And you don’t even know where Piccolo is to begin with. Maybe keeping Raditz alive was a mistake, you’re not sure he’s not going to hurt other people; but at the same time, you don’t actually regret having given him shelter. 

You’re just pissed. Why did he have to leave like that?

“So, he’s gone?” Bulma’s voice brings you back to reality as you try to get up. She holds your hand, helping you up as you dust off the dirt of your clothes. “I don’t think you wanna hear an ‘I told you so’.”

“You’re right, I don’t.”

“Well, we don’t always get what we want. He’s dangerous and he’s out now, I warned you about this!”

“I know! I didn’t want him to leave either…”

“Especially because you didn’t get to fuck him.” Bulma says in a disdainful tone.

“What did you say?!”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn't been so damn selfish!”

“You have some nerve! Do you really wanna talk about being selfish? You, of all people?”

“What does that mean?!”

“It means you break up with Yamcha whenever he says he wants to focus on his training, and instead of supporting him you get pissy, thinking that he’s cheating on you!”

“What does that have to do with anything?!” Bulma yells, visibly furious as her brows furrow as deep as possible. 

“It also means you not even calling Chichi to tell her that her husband is dead and her son has been kidnapped!”

“You’re a hypocrite, you didn’t do that either, if I remember correctly!”

“I wasn’t even there!”

“Because you were taking care of Raditz! Just because he looked at you like any man would! Talk about being selfish!”

“That’s… only half true!”

“Oh yeah? Like you haven’t been trying to get into his pants this whole time?!”

“That’s not-”

“And he didn’t even give you the time of day! Because he realized quickly how boring you are!”

You can’t help yourself when you slap her across the face, surprising yourself and Bulma as well. She looks stunned before she growls angrily, attempting to slap you right back but you notice it from a mile away, grabbing her wrist just in time. 

“You bitch!” She yells with tears in her eyes. 

“I’m the bitch after all you said?” You step back, staring at her for a moment before turning around to gather your things. “Don’t worry, I’m leaving now.”

Bulma is looking at you with anger as you walk out the room, dusting off your clothes on the way out. 

This is the last thing you expected to happen, even when you knew Raditz would leave, sooner or later. You were hoping it would be later than sooner, but it was only a matter of time until he completely healed. But you should have known, Goku also had moments when he healed abnormally fast. 

The argument with Bulma had caught you off guard, but you were pissed. And she has always been insensitive. 

Upset, angry and sad all at once, you decide to just stay at your apartment. If Raditz does something like kill an entire city or something, it for certain will show up on TV anyway. If that happens… you’re not sure what you can do anyway. 

Surprisingly though, as the days go by, nothing happens. You were positive Raditz would be breaking havoc by now. You wonder what he’s up to, if he’s ok and where he is. Of course he would be ok, he’s technically the most powerful being on the planet currently (shivers travel up your spine when you think about it), and his injuries were all healed too. So what is he doing?

After a week, you convince yourself to go to Capsule Corp. and apologize to Bulma so she can help you find Raditz, she has his scouter after all; but as you stand in front of the entrance gate, you change your mind. You don’t feel like apologizing just yet, not after everything she said (some of the things she said were true but they she said didn't sit right with you yet). She’s for sure going to check the security cameras and see that you were there anyway, so you turn around to leave. 

Before going back to your apartment, you stop for groceries, and it’s already dark by the time you head home. You double check your surroundings as a habit, and a few blocks away from your place, you feel someone following you. You’re not sure, but you can sense they’re just trailing after you. You panic momentarily, before grabbing your keys in your hands, just in case. 

Everything happens so fast, you barely have time to register as the stranger who was behind you abruptly pushes you into an alley, leaving you momentarily out of breath. A large man dressed in black pushes your back against the wall, and you yelp, letting your bags fall to the floor. Instinctively, you jam your keys against his face. Hard.

“Let go of me!” You yell, struggling to get free.

Your attacker doesn’t let up, only groaning in pain when you push your keys into his face. Pushing your hand away, he holds your shoulders hard, and you scream as loud as you can, slapping and clawing at his face.

“You fucking bitch, stay still!”

You keep screaming in anger, yanking at his hair and kicking your legs, despite the fact that he’s a lot stronger than you, and you’re not exactly doing any damage. His fist draws back, ready to hit you in the face, and you close your eyes, expecting the blow. 

It never comes, and when you open your eyes, you’re shocked to see Raditz standing right beside your attacker, holding his arm in place. He effortlessly yanks him off you with one hand, throwing him to the floor. The alley is dark until your eyes adjust to it, but you had never seen Raditz look so menacing before, not even when he first arrived at Kame House. 

When you see that he’s lifting his fist, getting ready to punch your assailant in the face, you grab his arm.

“Raditz, no! Let him go.”

He growls, deep from his chest, and his arm shakes in your hold before he lowers it, yanking your hand away. 

“Get lost before I rip off your intestines.” Raditz says, and the man looks terrified, obviously seeing the same threatening aura around him than you.

Your attacker runs away, and the adrenaline you felt a moment ago starts to subside, making you shake. You kneel on the ground, panting and closing your eyes tight. Your thoughts are jumbled up, feeling upset, angry, surprised all together. 

Raditz is still standing there with his eyes on you, but he remains still. 

“What are you doing here?” You ask him after an eternity of silence that was probably only a couple of minutes; he doesn’t answer. 

The cool air hits your face as you stand up and you notice that you’re crying, a few tears streaming down your face. He’s looking at you, stoic, as you wipe them off with your sleeve before gathering the few items that are somehow still intact even after you had dropped them so abruptly. 

“What have you done to me?” Raditz suddenly asks, and you turn to him with a frown.

“Huh?”

“I wouldn’t have even flinched before, under any other circumstance.” His brows are furrowed, and you notice his tail, tightly wrapped around his waist, bristling. “But I couldn’t…”

Confused, you stare at him for a minute. He’s gazing right back at you with dark angry eyes. You’re not entirely sure what he’s trying to imply, whether what he’s saying is something positive or not, but you’re too on edge to feel the need to engage in this conversation right now.

“Are you seriously telling me all this now?” Raditz doesn’t reply and you take the sight of him in, noticing that he’s dirty and his clothes are torn, with a few scratches on every visible part of skin. “What happened to you?”

He shrugs, and you don’t press for more answers. 

“Come with me, I’ll give you new clothes.”

He wordlessly follows you, taking one of the bags from your hands when you notice a couple of your nails have broken, and you’re bleeding a bit. You curse under your breath, and head back to your apartment with Raditz trailing behind you. 

He looks around when you open the door to your place, letting him in before locking it. 

“You stink,” You tell him, having felt his scent closely when you were in the elevator. “When was the last time you showered?”

“When I left your friend’s house.”

“You haven’t showered in over a week?!”

“There aren’t showers in the wild.”

“Fine… You can take a shower here, I’ll wash your clothes too.”

You get things ready for him, leaving out shampoo and a towel, along with fresh clothes before you basically push him towards the shower, frantic to get rid of the smell he has on him. 

After you order pizza for the both of you, you clean your hand, getting rid of blood on it and fixing your nails as best as you can. The incident left your mind rattled and your hand is shaking slightly. 

You don’t even notice that Raditz has already come out of the bathroom, wearing the clothes you left for him, until he grabs your hand to check out the small wounds on it. You jump in surprise but let him to as he pleases. 

“You’ll live.” He says with a smirk, and you snort.

“Yeah, well, that jerk owns me a manicure.”

“You fought well.” He lets go of your hand and sits across the table, in front of you. The clothes you gave him are from an ex boyfriend, and they don’t look that good on him; they’re clearly not his size, and everything seems too tight. 

“I hardly would call that a fight.”

“Whatever, you defended yourself and did a good job.”

You don’t answer as you get up to look for a drink.

“Do you drink alcohol?”

“Sure. What do you drink on this planet?”

You bring a couple of glasses and a bottle of wine, pouring some for the both of you. 

“This is wine. If you don’t like it, I have other drinks.”

You watch Raditz smell the glass like a sommelier would before he takes a sip, and nods. You smile, amused and happy, taking a long sip of your own.

“Is there alcohol in space?”

“Of course there is. Believe it or not, not all planets are that different from one another.”

“Really? Do they have trees, water, a moon and a sun?”

“Most of them do. Moons are not as common, sometimes there aren’t any, sometimes there are more than one.”

“That’s cool.” You look him over for a second, taking another sip. “I never thought aliens would look similar to us… Then again, I guess I’m an alien too.”

“To me, you are.” Raditz smirks before swallowing down the entire glass. “Most species have the same features, though.”

“Really?”

“Yes, as in, they have a head and arms and legs.”

“Well, I suppose that’s similar enough.” You chuckle. 

There’s a moment of silence as you fill both of your glasses again, and take a gulp out of your own. 

“Yours is the most similar to ours.” Raditz comments, looking around your kitchen briefly before landing his eyes on you. “There aren’t many species that look like us.”

“Didn’t you just say-”

“Having arms and legs doesn’t mean we are similar. There’s a reason why Kakarot could pass off as human on this planet. The skin tone of your species is as diverse yet exactly like ours.”

“I suppose… the tail is what tells you apart.”

“Our strength, too.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

Raditz opens his mouth to speak but closes it again. Whatever he wants to say dies in his throat, and you let it go, drinking more of the wine in your glass. 

“The structure of your species…” He says, catching your attention. “That’s also different.”

“What do you mean?”

“We didn’t always stay together like you humans seem to do. We mate but that doesn’t mean more than what it is.”

“You mean… you have sex just for fun, not to procreate?”

“Yes.”

“We do that too.” You chuckle. “Too often, actually.”

“I’ve seen you go around in couples, or in groups.” He arches an eyebrow, questioningly. 

“Well, yeah. We have friends and families, and sometimes we date too. But not always.”

“Date?”

“You know, like… have sex exclusively with one person? And have a romantic bond and all.”

Raditz lets your words sink in as he drinks the rest of his glass at once. You watch him, intrigued by everything he’s telling, and what he’s not telling you as well. He seems curious about your culture, however, so you don’t mind this conversation. 

“Have you dated?” He suddenly asks. 

“Of course.”

“Are you dating right now?”

“No, I haven’t dated anyone in a while.” You snicker, pouring more wine on both of your glasses. You have to get a new bottle for the next round. “Do you Saiyans date, too?”

“No. Most of us didn’t, anyway. We rarely stuck to one person.”

“So, what? You have sex with anyone, no matter what?”

“I wouldn’t put it like that, but sure.” He smirks.

The doorbell interrupts whatever you’re going to say next, and you quickly get up, knowing that it’s the pizzas you ordered. 

“What’s this?” He asks when you open one of the boxes. 

“It’s pizza. It’s really good, you’re gonna like it. I bought six, because I know you eat like crazy.”

Raditz takes a piece in his hand, staring at the cheese that practically drips down before he shoves the entire slice into his mouth. You stare at him with amusement as he starts gulping down slice after slice.

“You like it?” You ask sarcastically. He grunts in agreement. 

You eat slowly, even more so when you notice your hand is still shaking a little; you don’t want to drop a perfectly good slice of pizza. You tried to sort out some of your thoughts, currently all jammed up in your head. The fact that Raditz is currently sitting at your table seems funny enough, you thought you would never see him after he left Capsule Corp. like that. That he showed up out of the blue in the middle of an alley when a man was attacking you was even stranger. 

“How did you find me?” You ask him when he was almost done swallowing the last slice of pizza. 

Raditz flicks his eyes towards you briefly as he takes a large gulp of wine. 

“I got used to your… energy when I was at your friend’s house.” He looks deep in thought for a second before he goes on. “I went looking for you there at first, but I couldn’t feel you until I started to fly off.”

So, he’s learning how to read and feel other people’s ki. Makes sense that he would, since he doesn’t have his scouter. 

“Why were you looking for me?”

He stares at you for a while, and doesn’t answer in the end. You don’t feel like dragging it out of him, so you let it go.

“Thank you for saving me, by the way.” You say, realizing you haven’t really thanked him. 

Raditz keeps staring at you, and you’re starting to feel a little self conscious after a while.

“Are you going to eat that?” He asks, pointing to the one pizza left, the one you ate only two slices from. 

“No, I don’t think I can eat all that.” You laugh. 

“Eat.” He says sharply. 

You breathe in deeply before taking another slice. You’re not actually that hungry; if you were, you would eat more than two slices. His gaze is fixed on you even as you munch, and you feel more uncomfortable the more he stares. He notices your hand trembling, and you don’t try to hide it.

It only takes a few seconds for tears to well up in your eyes once more, and you try to keep them at bay but you can only do so for so long until they start spilling out of your eyes. 

“Why are you crying?” Raditz asks flatly. 

“If-If you hadn’t shown, he…” You stutter, wiping off your eyes with a napkin. 

“I know what he would have done.” His muscles tense and his jaw clenches when you look at him. “You should have let me rip his head off.”

“I probably should have.” You say with a small laugh. “Why are you here?”

He looks away from you, still very much on edge. You get up to pick up the empty pizza boxes, putting them to the side to dispose of them later. You clean your nose before turning to sit by the table again, but you almost collide with Raditz’s massive body. 

“God, you scared me!” 

“I thought you weren’t afraid of me.” He chuckles.

“I’m not, but I didn’t feel you when you got behind me.”

“You’re a strange woman,” He says, with a smirk on his face. “You get rattled over an incident like before, but you’re not scared of me, a very real threat to you right now.”

“It’s different. I know you won’t hurt me.”

“How do you know?”

“You would have done so already. Besides, you… saved me earlier.”

Raditz’s smirk flattens as he stares down at you. 

You realize he’s standing well within arm's reach. You’re not exactly drunk, but you’re obviously not sober either. And the experience from earlier has left your mind more than vulnerable for any kind of thought. So you can’t help but stare at Raditz right back, determinedly inspecting his face. He has a few tiny scratches from wherever he had been before crash landing at your place, and he’s still damn handsome. You focus way too long on his lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Is his skin soft to touch? You doubt they have moisturizer in space, and you doubt it’s even a priority for what are basically space pirates. 

The moment passes way too quickly (or way too slow, you can’t really tell).

Taking a step back, Raditz moves to let you walk to the table to drink more wine, though his eyes don’t leave you.

“I must look very sexy right now.” You comment sarcastically, feeling slightly nervous about whatever just happened (even if it seemingly just happened in your head). He laughs, to your surprise, and you turn to him with a raised eyebrow. “You’re supposed to say that I do!”

“Now, why would I lie to you like that?” He grins.

“Excuse me?” You look at him with wide eyes. “You’re such a jerk!”

Raditz laughs again at your face, and you playfully slap his arm. 

“How dare you! After I feed you and everything, you say something like that to me! You’re getting too comfortable here…” You scoff, blushing slightly the more he laughs. He chuckles, keeping his eyes on your face. “...What?”

“Nothing.” He says with a grin, making you glare at him. 

You look away after a second, feeling too embarrassed and tempted to kiss him. Whatever you feel hanging in the air seems too delicate, like if you were to overstep any unspeakable lines would somehow make everything disappear. 

“I’m leaving.” Raditz says, bringing you back to the present.

“Don’t you wanna stay? I… I have a comfortable couch, even though you’re so tall.”

“No, I’m leaving.” He looks you over with a smile before turning around. 

“Hold on, mister, you’re not thinking of blasting through the wall again, are you?”

“Am I not supposed to?” He chuckles, and you roll your eyes.

“I have a balcony, you can fly from there.” You grab his wrist to make him follow you to the balcony, and you open the door to let him out. “I hope you’re behaving, I don’t even know what you’ve been doing.”

“You didn’t ask.” He smirks, turning to you briefly. 

“I ask you a bunch of questions you didn’t answer!”

“I suppose you did ask. I must not want to answer then.”

Before you can respond, Raditz flies off the balcony, wind making your hair disheveled. You huff, staring at the dot in the sky that’s him until you can no longer see him.

[tobiasdrake]

How strong is Mr. Mark "Hercule" Satan in the manga? From what I know, in the anime we see him either vanish or use the afterimage technique (forget which) and I think dodge bullets - is that in the manga too, or he is just meant to be at the peak of real-life human ability (like the guys Kid Goku and Krillin fight in the preliminaries of the World Tournament)?

Peak of human ability. Within human limits, Mr. Satan is the world's greatest martial artist.

Right off the bat, he's identified by martial arts lore guy Yamcha as the martial arts champion of the world. The Cell Games reporter, known in the dub as Jimmy Firecracker, corroborates this statement at the tournament.

The anime hypes him up by pulling multiple buses and ripping phone books in half. However, in the manga, the Cell Games start like right after Mr. Satan steps out on-panel for the first time and gives his speech. Goku and the others have one chapter to wrap up the revival of Shenron and then it's off to the tournament.

The first we see of what he can really do is when he steps into the ring, bringing with him a tremendous demonstration of his power.

Jimmy's right. This is very impressive.

Uh. Within human limits.

It's just that we're a bit beyond that baseline by this point.

Incidentally, a common misconception for Mr. Satan is that he won the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai leading up to the Cell Games. He did not. The Tenkaichi Budokai was cancelled after Piccolo nuked the island it was held on, and wouldn't be revived until after the Cell Games.

That said, he did compete in it after the Cell Games, and he did win the gold.

This is a very easily confused plot point, so much so that even the Daizenshuu gets it wrong and pegs the 24th as having just happened five days before the Androids activated.

But although Mr. Satan was the world champion, he was not the champion of that tournament. Not yet.

All indications seem to be that Mr. Satan won the 24th legitimately. No tricks, no shenanigans, no fooling around. The punch machine records Satan at 137 points of... whatever measurement they're using.

It's just a couple points under the all-time record set at the 24th, also by Mr. Satan.

This slightly lower reading is probably due to the, uh, changes in his workout regimen since the 24th.

We never get to see this tournament, but we get a glimpse of it and its structure through its contestants. A few of the contestants at the 25th are veterans from the 24th, coming back to try and take another crack at the champ.

Satan is the leader of this pack, having won his championship belt in a stunning final bout against Jewel that left the announcer underwhelmed and disappointed.

Goku and his rivals have absolutely ruined this man for standard human-level martial arts. They've raised the bar so high, Mr. Satan couldn't possibly compare.

Though, by Gohan's estimation, Videl's outgrown him too.

Had the 25th not had all these aliens and gods and warlocks cluttering it up, there's a real chance this tournament would have ended in Videl dethroning her father in the finals. Something I would dearly pay to see.

As far as dodging bullets, I think the closest he comes to that is when these two idiots attack Buu.

When he scurries out of the way of this RPG they fire at Majin Buu. Though we don't see how far he got, as he momentarily vanishes from the manga following this blast. Perspective remains on the attackers reloading and firing on Buu some more while Satan makes his way to their position under cover of tunnel vision.

The actual gun that's shot at him in this fight hits its mark. But also it was a shot from behind so he couldn't have dodged it even if he could dodge bullets.

So I'm gonna call that "inconclusive" on whether he can dodge bullets. By battleboard logic, I'm sure escaping the RPG is an incredible feat. Mr. Satan is only peak human but, like, so is Batman. He's within human limits, but "human limits" can be extremely flexible in animation.

This is the same kind of thing as when cartoon characters dodge lasers.

And that's Mr. Satan's career in a nutshell. He's the biggest fish of a small pond (except for his daughter who's outgrown him). Talented and formidable in his own right, supremely impressive within his weight class, but woefully out of his league.

[paganminiskirt]

Something upsetting about Bulma’s reaction to Vegeta’s suicide - and it was a suicide, no matter the grandiose aims he assigned to it - is how it reflects the state of their relationship at the time of his death. That sacrifice is meant to be Vegeta’s first moment of real selflessness and maturity, growth which is contrasted by the way Bulma seems to almost regress when she gets word of it: she’s so consumed by her own ugly, undignified grief that she doesn’t react to Chi Chi collapsing about Gohan's death at all, as understandable as it is. In the anime, Bulma shouts “no,” and she shouts his name, but in the manga it’s just a shapeless, agonized wail. Reminds me of Vegeta weeping when he realized he couldn't beat Frieza. Vulnerable. Childlike.

And that comparison could almost make you think that the grief Bulma is expressing is, itself, shallow or childish. King Kai isn't there to explain the depth of her feelings, the way he was when Frieza tortured Vegeta. Bulma was introduced to Dragon Ball as a young girl, and her characterization back then revolved largely around vanity, pettiness and selfishness. When she wasn't acting that way, the story was demonstrating her precociousness and abnormal intelligence - and having adult men casually sexualize her, as if she were a grown woman.

If we've learned anything from the previous arcs, it's that slotting children into adult roles has disastrous, counterintuitive consequences. Gohan is forced to fight Cell at age eleven and almost loses the fight because he gets caught up in his own immature sadism. Vegeta is introduced to us with little to no detail on his face, making him look younger than he is, especially since he's under five feet tall. It's no surprise, when the story shows him slaughtering total strangers and old friends alike like he's ripping the wings off a butterfly. It's no surprise, when the story tells us that the whole time, he was a child soldier and a slave.

So there are themes that could potentially make you read Bulma as having stunted emotional processing skills as an adult. There's also the fact that, when Bulma and Vegeta's relationship first started, it was fulfilling needs for both of them that weren't especially healthy or mature. Bulma was breaking off a romance and potential engagement with Yamcha, which was likely somewhat codependent, considering they'd been together since youth and were each the other's first lover. Vegeta was coming off his aforementioned death-by-torture from a lifelong abuser, and Frieza himself had only just died. With that in mind, who could forget Puar and Yamcha gawping at Bulma as she gives Vegeta an order and he obeys her, trailing behind her like a pet, pouting, but doing it anyways. What’s the line in the original Japanese version? “Vegeta is completely under her control?”

So it didn’t start off particularly healthy. Bulma is feeling wounded and vulnerable, she wants some reassurance and to make Yamcha jealous. Vegeta wants reassurance as well, and underneath that, to be told what to do. The offset of their relationship has Vegeta using Bulma to soothe the part of him that still needed to be apart of that structure, that control, that obedience. He objectified himself to her, even if she didn’t know it.

But Bulma’s reaction to his second death rejects that reading of their relationship entirely. Rejects the idea that Vegeta’s self-destruction could ever be a positive thing, even though he was doing it in defense of her, this act of willingly placing his own needs behind someone else’s which a more self-centered personality would’ve gobbled up. Did gobble up. Vegeta’s fought for the sake of other people before! He fought for Frieza! It’s just that those acts of violence were exclusively destructive and exploitative, never defensive, and no matter the attitude Vegeta adopted while doing it, he wasn’t allowed to say no.

Like, I’m sure Goku told her that Vegeta did what he did out of love and altruism, but it doesn’t help. Because Bulma doesn’t want to hear that Vegeta loved her enough to kill himself. She just wants him to be alive.

[dragon-ball-meta]

*SIGH*

So I was watching some Super clips. Scrolled down to the comments on a clip of Trunks learning Krillin married 18. Some cute positivity. And then...

Oh look, someone bashing K18. I wonder if they might have some hidden reason for tha- oh, I am shocked. 

Nothing like saying Krillin’s got no business being in these sitautions because he’s too weak and he’s not “accomplished anything” (very clear “HE DIDN’T EARN HER!” vibes) but yet he can somehow see 18 with... even Tien or Yamcha. And, of course, the inevitable Trunks ship shilling. And he doesn’t get their characterization at all? And apparently didn’t even watch the show? I’m also shocked.

It is the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-Three and this nonsense is still peddled as if it were intellectual. Also, I don’t want to hear a WORD about “healthy relationships” or “believable writing” from someone who thinks Trunks should have overcome a lifetime of trauma in the span of weeks just to hook up with an alternate timeline version of the chick who haunts his nightmares and wiped out most of humanity because she’s cute. If you think that’s either of the above and not some poorly handled trope, you’ve got zero ground to speak on the issue, fam.

[bitternace]

*reaches out a hand

c'mon, there's no time to explain!

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[ID: A digital drawing featuring Bulma, Goku, blonde Launch, Yamcha, Puar, Krillin, Chiaotzu, and Tenshinhan from Dragon Ball and Sora, Donald, and Goofy from the Kingdom Hearts Series.

The background is a dirt road, shrubbery, and the sea with a clear sky. The image shows a four-door yellow van with silver detailing heading to the left at the bottom of the image.

Launch drives one-handed, with a rogue-ish expression. She's visible from the torso up and wears a red ribbon on her blonde hair, brown gloves, and a black short-sleeved shirt.

Behind her, half positioned over the driver's seat, is Puar, a blue and cream-colored cat-looking creature with a worried expression, looking back at Krillin in the backseat.

Krillin has half his body out the window as he holds onto the van's b pilar. He looks overhead with an ecstatic expression and wears an orange gi, blue sweatbands, and a belt that flows in the wind.

On the passenger's seat, Bulma leans slightly out the window to stare overhead with a surprised expression, her blue hair flowing. She wears a red shirt with short sleeves and a white skirt. She holds onto the seat's backrest.

Between Launch and Bulma is Goku. He has either hand against the windscreen and looks up with an excited smile. He also wears an orange gi, blue sweatbands, and a black belt.

Yamcha, wearing his orange gi, is asleep in the backseat, head resting on his shoulder against the van's door.

On the van's roof are Chiaotzu and Tenshinhan.

Chiaotzu looks overhead in confusion, leaning on the van's sunroof. He wears a black hat with a red pompon, a green and yellow and white-sleeved tangzhuang with red detailing, black pants, and yellow lower-leg fastenings.

Tenshinhan pretends to be asleep, looking above with his third eye. He wears a white tank top, black pants with yellow leg fastenings, a red waist sash, and green forearm sleeves with red ends.

Above the van, riding Nimbus, are Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Sora, on his hands and knees on the left, peeks down Nimbus with a smile and his hair flowing in the wind. He wears a black sleeveless shirt with white v-neck detailing, red pants, blue lower-leg sashes, white and blue fingerless gloves, black shoes with gold soles and caps, and his crown necklace.

Goofy, on the right, sits on his knees, staring down at the people in the van, clutching his orange hand to his stomach, mouth slightly open. He wears a green turtleneck under a simple black vest, brown pants, and dark shoes.

Donald, belly-down between them, has his arms stretched before him as he stares at Sora. He wears a blue shirt, brown suspenders, khaki pants, and a single yellow sweatband. /End ID.]

[danthepest]

Do you think Tenshinhan and Yamcha gravitate towards each other so much because they see themselves in the other? Like yeah, there’s mutual respect there, but maybe the respect is much deeper.

Tenshinhan probably sees he’d be just like Yamcha if he wasn’t so single-mindedly focused on training, loosened up and enjoyed life a bit more. He would also fall behind in his prowess, which he simply can’t allow. Tenshinhan has questioned how Yamcha can forgive Vegeta for what he did and probably thinks its a shame that Yamcha is so lax about life and martial arts as a whole. But he likely admires his easy going attitude as well. Without it, Tenshinhan wouldn’t have become part of the group in spite of Roshi’s efforts and Goku’s respect. Yamcha has a good heart and he’s willing to let by-gones be by-gones. He forgave Tenshinhan, he forgave Vegeta and he was kind and supportive of the people who wronged him at one time or another. And in spite of being one of the weakest links among the group, when the chips were down he went to help out against the saiyans, the cyborgs/androids and even Cell. That takes courage and Tenshinhan likely recognizes that. He sees that while Yamcha has given up the arts, he’s happy in his life and he can’t wish for more than that for his friend.

Yamcha, for his part, likely sees himself in Tenshinhan if he was more focused on training. He’d be much more powerful, yes, but he’d end up a recluse striving for a goal he knows deep down he could never reach no matter how hard he trains (unless someone pulls out the “the real super honest hidden potential unlock for real this time guys” power up out of their ass at some point). He’d miss out on all the time shared with Goku, Bulma, Oolong, Krillin, Roshi and the rest of the gang. To him, life is more than training in solitude to be the best. And while he might wish Tenshinhan were more social and lighten up, he admires the man’s tenacity, determination and drive to someday surpass Goku, no matter how impossible the task. In a world where Earth’s martial arts have become the equivelant to pro wrestling without the self awareness thanks to Mr. Satan, its good to have someone like Tenshinhan and Chaozu keeping the traditions and teachings alive. And there’s no one better than those two in all honesty. All the previous martial artists are either too old or too weak to do it. And Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and Piccolo are all pulling bullshit power ups and transformations out of their asses that no Earthling can really compete with. The current generation of Earthling practicioners are far too ignorant to be worthy of continuing the legacy like Tenshinhan is doing.

They’re polar opposites in how they think, live their lives and view fighting in general, yet they’re probably the only two people on Earth who truly understand and respect the other’s choices and mentality. One accepted his position in life and the other always strives to be better.

[age736]

@age733 continued from x.

          THIS PAIN WAS PROBABLY- NO , DEFINITELY THE worst pain he had ever felt in his life. his lower back still burned from the sensation of where his tail had been cut off. his entire body, having been crushed violently by giant feet and paws made every single nerve and muscle in his body scream in a deafening cacophony of pain that was only eased by the amount of morphine pumped into his body that was certainly enough to knock out an dinosaur. the doctors had been surprised by just how much his body could even take- and suppose he had his saiyan side to thank for that.

          SAIYANS . RADITZ , NAPPA , VEGETA . THE ENTIRE cause of this whole situation. part of him still wondered if letting vegeta even go was the right choice, but even through all the desperation and pain, he couldn't help but think about just how much fun the fight had been! and that was the worst part, that he thought it was fun. the scene he had arrived to because of his lateness- chiaotzu long since nothing but ashes in the wind. yamcha with a hole in his stomach and burnt to a crisp. piccolo completely singed while his four year old son wailed in agony over his body. tien, four arms sprawled out and the palms of his hands almost completely charred off.

          SURPRISE FROM RADITZ STILL BEING ALIVE . his explanation. nappa's corpse. teaming up against vegeta. kaioken. the loss of his tail. the artificial moon. both vegeta and raditz turning into oozaru and fighting.

oozaru. oozaru. oozaru.

          SON GOKU SHUT HIS EYES IN A MIX OF SADNESS and frustration. that is what numbed the pain the most to make way for the pain in his chest. the oozaru. the realization came to him on the battlefield, at the worst of times, but it was only hitting him now truly. he sees those monstrous, ape faces. their deafening roars rattling his brain. the sound of his heart in ears at the knowledge that meant he could do that too. he saw himself. he saw his grandpa. he saw a giant footprint in the ground next to his home. he saw his grandfather's mangled corpse. he saw himself again, a monster. he saw bulma and gohan in fear. he saw-

          AT THE SOUND OF HIS NAME , GOKU QUICKLY SAT up in his bed, an uncharacteristic amount alarm on his features until it calmed as quickly as it came, finding his barings again as he saw his wife leaned over next to him. he blinked slowly, before looking away from her and out the window- the shine of the half moon the only thing visible in the city skyline. he wasn't fine, that was clear right ? and for once, he didn't really feel like lying to say that he was.

          FOR THE MOMENT , HE DIDN'T RESPOND- JUST simply staring out of the window, before a small sigh exited his nostrils- the crackling of his casts and wrapped injuries as he shifted his position. ❝ ....did you know ? ❞ a quiet question. a flash. pilaf's castle. being trapped. knocking out. waking up to destruction around them. the 21st tenkaichi budokai. knocking out. waking up to the tournament grounds destroyed. no one ever telling him what happened. the surprise from bulma at gohan's tail at his birth. the insistence on early bedtimes for all of them. a ting of pain within his chest once again. ❝ ....you knew. ❞