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darklymelanatedstories · 3 years

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You will be mine (ft Piccolo&ChiChi)

Part 1

Everything went downhill when he left. When he died at the hands of a monster, who the police still could not find, and left Gohan and I alone, along with another baby already on the way. Having one more mouth to feed while working at my horrid job just to make ends meet and make sure my baby boy doesn't go to bed hungry.

Goku wasn't the most involved parent but he kept us living a comfortable life. He kept us safe and happy but now he's gone and we couldn't even give him a proper send off because the detectives still haven't found the body of my supposedly deceased husband.

"There was blood all over the scene. The DNA match, it's your husband. But there's footsteps leading away from the scene but they stop at a dead end."

How could his corpse just get up. Was he still alive?

"An anonymous witness said that they saw his body there before we arrived. The footprints match with the sneakers he wore."

It doesn't make sense. He couldn't have just walked away and vanished of the face of the earth.

"It's no doubt that this is a suicide. There isn't any evidence of another human being that was at the scene of the crime."

They say it was suicide but I know my Goku. He was too happy to have taken his own life. He had so much to live for. He had his life, his friends. He had us...he had me.

No. Someone must've done it. For some reason Goku's good nature got him more enemies than friends. Someone must've done it.

"Alright, ma'am. Since you keep pushing for this, who you do think would want your husband dead?"

A lot of people. The people that couldn't get rid of Goku just as he couldn't get rid them.

"Frieza? You better have some pretty tight evidence and a lot of guts to be accusing one of the most powerful people on Earth for murdering your husband."

"Cell? Cell has been locked in holding for years. He couldn't have done this and the androids have done their time. Your husband even fought for their freedom, remember?"

"Chi Chi, you honestly think the husband of Bulma Briefs could have done this? If it were Vegeta we'd have known by now. I know this is a hard time but you should stop wasting our time and going around accusing people. You have a child to look after. You don't wanna have anyone suing or pressing charges."

Could even be one of his closest friends. These guys weren't always angels when they met Goku. But maybe they were right. Maybe I let Goku's death get to me. I can't worry about that now. I have a child to look after and soon I'll have two.

Speaking of which...

"Hey mom we're back." Placing the sparkling clean plate, from my absentminded cleaning, back into the sink, I placed a smile on my face before turning to my little boy who was already running to me to trap in one of his powerful bear hugs.

"Sorry we're late. We got held up a bit.",he said.

"It was my fault." The sound of the deep baritone voice echoed in the kitchen as he stepped in with one hand stuffed in his jean pocket and the other one clutching something tightly in his palm.

"We thought we'd get you something nice." He looked at Gohan, giving him a smirk. "Right, Gohan?"

"Yeah!!" My little boy started jumping up and down excitedly then grabbed my hand impatiently to drag me to the outside.

"Ok calm down! What is it you wanted me to–"

My eyes widened. In front of me was a big red capsule Corp brand car with a large white bow on the hood. Probably a newer model since I haven't seen much of them driven around.

"What a beautiful car." I was about to ask why piccolo suddenly got himself a new car when he came up next to me swaying the keys on his finger.

"And it's all yours."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Mine?"

"Yep. I figured it'd help that you don't have to take the bus to work everyday plus it'd save you alot of time on your errands."

I was stuck between feeling happy and grateful for the thought and amazing gift, and feeling insulted to be thought of as a charity case. I don't know how many times I've told him that I was fine. I wasn't a damsel in distress that needed saving. I could do this one my own but–he's so sweet.

Ever since Goku "died" Piccolo has been nothing but helpful despite me practically chasing him away whenever he offered his services or money. Goku wasn't a very wealthy man and he didn't have life insurance so when he died he left us high and dry, but Piccolo would always be there...for some reason.

Always coming around whenever he had the chance to spend time with Gohan or just to keep me company and be my shoulder to cry on whenever I missed Goku.

Maybe it has something to do with him being very close to Gohan but I can't complain. Out of all the people I know, Piccolo proved to be the one I can trust.

"So, do you want to try it out?",he asked. I was so busy with my own thoughts I didn't even realize that he had opened the door for me.

"Uh," Gohan suddenly had a nervous look on his face. "Are you sure about this, Mr Piccolo? Mom is a already a force to be reckoned with, now imagine what her with road rage would be like."

Piccolo's eyes widened looking as if he paled at the thought. "On second thought, it's getting dark. Maybe we should try it out another–"

"Nope, too late!",I shouted, jumping into the driver's seat and clutching the steering wheel just in case the boys would try pulling me out.

Piccolo got into the driver's seat and we noticed the little scamp trying to creep away.

Piccolo honked the horn, startling him and freezing him on the spot. "Gohan, get in here!"

"But I've got homework–"

"Oh no, it was your idea to go car shopping. If I die, you're dying with me."

I rolled my eyes as I turned the key. "Jeez, you don't drive for a few years and now people are afraid you might kill them."

Hearing a laugh from my passenger I turned to find his obsidian eyes staring back at me. His eyes were filled with something, something I can't put my finger on.

I noticed his lip twitch a bit before he turned away from me and put his seatbelt on. "Let the kid stay home and I'll judge your terrible driving myself."

"It's passengers like you that make me wanna crash the car.",I teased earning a growl and slightly terrified look on his face. I rolled down my window and told Gohan to stay safe and that I'd be back soon.

Piccolo scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, covering the Namek logo on his white T-shirt. "He'll be fine, it's me I'm more worried about."

•••

"So how was that?",I asked with a smug look on my face as I parked the car outside his home. Hey, he had to get home somehow.

He grunted. "I'm surprised I made it in one piece."

"Listen, if you're too chicken then don't ride with me next time."

"Very funny.",he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Raising my head up with a smile I replied with, "I know, I'm hilarious."

He gave me a scowl to which I just laughed at because I couldn't take him seriously no matter how intimidating he might seem.

"Thank you.",I said once I regained composure. "For everything. I really appreciate you helping our family out."

He flashed me a rare smile. "Well it wasn't easy, what with you threatening to end my life with your murderous frying pan and all."

I nudged him in the arm. "Leave my frying pan out of this."

I took his hand in mine, feeling how he stiffened lightly at my touch. He looked at me and I gave him a warm smile. "Goku was right about you and I see why Gohan loves you too. I'm lucky to have a friend like you, Piccolo."

He sighed, it sounded...sad. Maybe it was because the mention of Goku.

"Yeah, friends.",he muttered. "That's what they're for, right?"

I squeezed his hand gently and I felt him do the same. There seemed to be a lingering before he let go and got out of the car.

I said my goodbyes and drove off for home. I'm about to have another baby in 8 months. I have to find my husband's killer, with or without the stupid police. At least I know that I'll have Piccolo by my side to help me.

_________________________________________

Intoxicated, he stepped into the dark room where the only light source was coming from the open door from which he came him and the windows where the curtains weren't shut. Finishing his glass of whiskey in one chug, he manoeuvred his way to his bed, the torturous words still replaying in his mind.

When he neared his bed, he noticed the box on his dresser. The box he forgot to put back in his hiding place. The box he didn't want to put back. He loved looking at it. The box brought back that loving memory.

The box that contained the ring.

The ring of the man he had murdered.

A devilish smirk shaped his lips as he opened it, the moonlight shining on the gold ring.

He held it up to his face as a chuckle left his lips which immediately turned into a deranged cackle.

Phase one was complete.

"You will be mine."

#piccolo #chi chi #piccolo x Chi Chi #goku #Gochi #gohan #chiccolo

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helenared · 3 years

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My firts history

This is my first fic from this couple Goku and Chichi and I hope you like it, it was inspired by a beautiful fanart of the wonderful Gokuist or Fungushi

And that story would not be published if it weren't for a great sonchichisquad friend! Thank you beautiful❤

Farewell

That’s why he didn't like saying goodbye. If there was ever a time when Son Goku didn't say goodbye to his loved ones, he had his reasons:

Firstly, he simply hated being the cause of the overflowing emotion in his family and friends’ eyes, and even in his own. That would mean admitting his weaknesses and his pride would never allow it. And secondly, If he didn't say goodbye to his family and friends, it was simply because somehow he felt he’d come back and see them again.

There wasn’t really a particular moment of Goku saying goodbye to the people he loved -not emotionally, at least that we know of.

One example is when he left on Nimbus when he was a child -he left, just like that, to seek new adventures. A few years later, he left again -this time with Chi-Chi by his side to start their lives together. He also fled the hospital after his brutal battle against Vegeta to get to Namek and help Gohan and the rest. He didn’t say a proper goodbye to anyone, not even his own wife - it was more like a "See you soon!" Or "See you around!”, but never a final greeting. The same happened when he stayed in Yardrat, when he decided to stay in the afterlife after the battle against Cell and even when he left to train Uub.

It had always been like that. However, even if he had never been really attached to anyone, now, after having reached a certain level of maturity, Goku was trying to assimilate the fact that he had bid everyone his final farewell.

It was harsh. He wasn’t allowed to speak to his children and friends. All he could do was watch them from above as they went on with their happy lives. But maybe it was for the best.

Gohan looked very focused as he wrote who knows what in a notebook. The last rays of sunlight were streaming through his large window as he sat peacefully inside his home office. The curtains swung as if the wind was blowing through them, but it was actually Goku. He was watching his son with a twinkle in his eye. Gohan was so smart and kind. He had always been proud of him.

Goku then saw Videl and Pan entering the room and interacting with his son.

"Hey honey, why don't you take a break? You’ve been on that report for two hours" Videl said from behind her husband, placing her hands affectionately on his shoulders.

"Yeah Dad, let's go have a picnic in the garden, it’s such a beautiful day outside!" Pan added excitedly, leaning over the desk, closer to her father.

Goku smiled as he watched them. The family he had built was close and loving, no matter how many obstacles they had to overcome. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Goodbye son"

Gohan would always be in good hands. And then, he disappeared.

"You’re right, it's time to relax with my two favorite people in the world and-" Gohan silenced himself as the feeling of something familiar rushed through him. He couldn’t explain what it was. It was like a warm comforting breeze that he only felt when "When my father was around ..." he completed his own thought out loud.

His wife and daughter had no idea what he was talking about. He simply shook his head and followed the two of them so that they could spend time together as a family, unaware that he would never feel his father's energy again.

***

Goku laughed in amusement when he saw Goten and Trunks, such two great boys, training together in the garden of Capsule Corporation. Vegeta was watching them from a distance and next to him was Bulma sitting by a table with Bra.

For some reason unbeknownst to her, Bulma was holding the dragon's radar today, thinking back to the day when she met one of her best friends. She smiled wistfully. If it weren't for Goku, she probably wouldn't be where she was today.

"What the-" Vegeta whispered, suddenly uncrossing his arms, and at that very moment Goten received a mighty punch from Trunks. Goku's youngest son froze in his tracks, sitting down on the floor as if he hadn’t felt the punch at all.

"I’ll always be thinking of you guys, especially you... my son" Goku smiled as he looked at them. Everyone there had touched his life in a monumental way. If it weren't for Bulma, he wouldn't even know what a girl is, and she was the one who opened the initial gate into a world of discoveries.

Goten certainly made him a happier man than he already was. Becoming a father the second time was incredible, and felt just as amazing as the first time. His youngest was the living depiction of a sun rising after a storm, and he now knew that his children represented a more perfect version of him, a human version that embraced his sayajin side with tenderness.

The only thing that Vegeta had taught him was to discover and accept who he was. An alien, or to be more specific, a saiyan. It took Goku a long time to accept his roots, but seeing how much Vegeta had changed since he arrived on Earth, he could now recall the exact moment when he accepted "Kakarotto" into his life.

And with that last thought in his mind, he disappeared. And the grass started to sway from side to side, a light breeze making it dance. The people in the garden of Capsule Corporation's were left very surprised as a warm and soft sensation swam through them.

After he recovered, Goten got up and stood into his fighting stance with a very familiar and challenging smile. "It won't be that easy to beat me, Trunks! Now hurry up! Come at me!"

Trunks smiled at his best friend. "Oh, that's what you think!"

And both continued with their training.

Vegeta watched the boys with an arrogant smile on his lips, folding his arms across his chest again. Bulma was stunned and looked thoughtful, and her daughter didn’t understand what was going on.

***

Goku watched from the glass window into Krillin’s house. The bald man was going through a photo album with his daughter. She had grown up so much.

Eighteen was drinking a cup of coffee, sitting in the armchair next to her daughter and husband, watching them lovingly.

"Yeah, Goku was different from any other person or being that I had ever come across in the universe. If Master Roshi were alive, he’d probably agree with me. He had a way of bringing us closer together. We went from enemies to friends and we are what we are today thanks to him. Together for life"

Goku felt really touched by this, smiling at them affectionately. Krillin had always been a very important person in his life. His first and closest friend. The most faithful of all.

"Krillin..."

And then he left.

Krillin had no idea what that emotion inside him was. Happiness? Nostalgia? Maybe. All he knew was that it wasn’t something he felt all the time. It was nice and warm. "Goku, you are my best friend"

***

Son Goku flew across the Earth, passing through all the places that were part of his journey.

Kami-Sama Dende, sharper than ever, felt his fleeting presence like a shooting star, along with Mr Popo, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Son Goku will always be remembered for his incredible life on Earth and his great deeds, isn't that right, Mr. Popo?" And his guardian and master simply nodded. When facts are spoken, there are no valid arguments.

Uub, who was meditating, felt Goku too, and he thanked his master mentally for everything he had taught him.

Yamcha and Tenshinhan, who were on the fighters' planet, sensed Goku's presence and nodded to each other, and so did Chiaotzu and Puar.

Piccolo just looked up with his arms crossed and smiled. "Goku..."

The Sayajin warrior flew across the Earth, enjoying every field, every ocean, every light breeze caressing his face. He enjoyed this last lap to the fullest.

There was only one person missing, who was no longer on Earth…

Yes, after all, he wasn’t able to find Chi-Chi. She was already gone. He felt terrible. His wife was part of him and he really wanted to see her just one more time. He didn’t know how to find her soul among many others in Paradise. It was just a light in its true form. It was too late.

***

After reflecting on his thoughts and making one last memory on Earth, Goku felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned around. "Son Goku, are you ready?"

He sighed. He wasn't sure yet. He felt as if something was missing. He couldn’t leave permanently like any being in this universe yet.

After completing his last training and duties in the dragon realm, which was creating the dragon balls again, he would have to leave. His time was up, it was running out and this time it was for good. Son Goku would rest in peace.

They were on Planet Kaioshin. The wind picked up and made the petals and flowers of the trees fall, as if it were autumn time.

"I don't know, Mr. Kaioshin..." Goku replied, lowering his eyes to nothing in particular on the planet's greenish floor.

"Now boy, you’ve already said goodbye to everyone before returning to the dragon kingdom that time, and this is the agreement: The dragon balls will return to Earth and you will leave. It is the law of the universe, child. You made that choice and now you will have to deal with the consequences” Old Kaioshin continued, along with Kibito and young Shin.

Goku frowned at that. Yes, he was perfectly aware of that. He felt it was time, and the Earth deserved the wonderful reign of the dragon balls again.

But he had to find her first, find some way to talk to her and say goodbye. Because this time he would leave forever. Chi-Chi deserved at least a goodbye, she really did this time, and he had something stuck in his throat, something he really needed to say to her.

Goku looked him in the eye. "But I didn't say goodbye to everyone. I missed someone, and you’ll have to help me with this" he said firmly, his hair waving in the wind caused by the beings with him.

"That someone has already died, I know. The dragon balls no longer have resuscitation powers, but there has to be another way... I can't leave without talking to her" there was despair in the saiyan’s eyes.

There was a maddening silence -as if everyone there was thinking of a solution for the warrior. After all, Goku deserved one last request, it was the least they could do after everything he’d done.

"I think I know hos..." Kaioshin replied. "Shenlong may no longer have the power to resurrect but he does have the power of time"

Shin and Kibito were confused by the old man's statement, but didn’t doubt his words. After all, he was still their most experienced and wisest deity.

"Power of time...?". Goku wondered for a few seconds.

Until realization dawned on him and his eyes widened, sparkling with joy.

"That's it! So I just need to go over there and-"

"But bear this in mind, Goku" Kaioshin interrupted him by raising a hand in front of him. "As soon as you’re done, your body will disappear and your soul will finally be at peace"

Goku nodded calmly. "Okay, well, I think it's goodbye this time, isn't it?"

The kaios in front of him bowed in gratitude, looking at him with admiration. "Goodbye Son Goku." said the youngest of them.

And then Goku teleported to Earth, after so long. At an impressive speed he brought the seven dragon balls together again. It was incredible that his life would end with them. He didn't need a radar to find them, he just knew where they were.

The dragon balls began to shine together.

"Show yourself, Shenlong, and grant my wish!"

The sky darkened, the golden light coming from of the spheres causing the Dragon to be reborn again. Goku couldn't help the nostalgic memories that were going through his mind while his eyes reflected Shenlong's light.

"State your wish and I will fulfill it according to my possibilities!"

"I wish to go back to Chi-Chi’s happiest time in her life... my wife."

The dragon stood still for a minute, making Goku tense up, his fists clenching.

"Your wish will be granted. You will have five minutes! Goodbye!" And so Shenlong's eyes shone red and a golden light surrounded Goku and took him from his current time.

After a trip through nothing but white and gold lights, he opened his eyes and sighed in surprise.

Goku was in an incredibly large garden, so beautiful that it looked like Paradise itself. He looked around and noticed several people in the place. They were laughing, talking, drinking and eating. He heard birds singing from several directions. It was a party, apparently.

Goku turned around and was faced with a lake and a nearby apple tree. He put his hand on the tree... this place looked familiar. He approached the water, which was shining like crystals, and the ground was covered by many flowers. Rose petals were falling as the breeze claimed them. Their smell was also familiar when he took one in his hand.

When he looked at his hand, he noticed that his outfit was actually different from the one he was wearing before. He kept looking at himself until an epiphany hit him: he was wearing a white tuxedo, with that itchy bow tie.

"So the happiest time in her life is-"

"Goku!"

Goku heard that young and smooth voice calling out to him, his eyes instantly looking in her direction. It was Chi-Chi, his wife. Of course, the happiest time in her life was their wedding. He smiled at that. He would’ve sworen it was when Gohan had graduated from college or anything related to his children.

How wrong he had been.

She was beautiful. Today, he had a better grasp at these things of course, but back then… ah, if only he had known. He would’ve been able to appreciate her beauty for much longer.

Her face, her flushed cheeks, her long lashes, her black and shiny eyes, her delicate pink lips and her ivory-white skin. Her strands of hair swayed gently in the wind.

"Goku?...". She softly called him again as she approached him. "What are you doing out here alone? I’ve been looking for you."

Goku blinked a few times, coming out of his daze. "Chi-Chi… H-hi.". The moment he saw her in front of him, he felt nervous, like a hesitant teenager.

Chi-Chi smiled at him humorously and gave a light laugh. It was one of the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard.

"Okay, come with me, there’s a table full of sweets especially set up for my husband. I’m sure you don’t wanna miss it" Chi-Chi wrapped her arms around him, starting to lead him, but Goku stopped.

"No, wait a minute" he stopped her, taking her hand and coming closer to her. "I need to tell you something. It 's important."

Goku stared at her with such depth in his eyes, she couldn’t decipher it. "Goku ... are you okay?". She asked worriedly when she noticed that he looked a little serious and tense, placing a hand on his cheek lovingly.

He stood still, enjoying the warm touch of her hand under the glove of her wedding dress. He closed his eyes and smiled softly, caressing her hand on his face. Oh, how he’d missed this -he hadn’t known just how much until now. It’d been so long for him.

Surrounding her with his arms, Goku took a deep breath and swept away any hesitation, bringing back his confidence when he smiled at her and looked into her eyes lovingly, "Come here". And he brought her close to him. Of course that would startle her a little. After all, at the time a simple touch was enough to make him panic, but he was running out of time. "Chi-Chi, I just wanted to let you know that today was... I mean-". He corrected himself. "It is a very important day for me... and no matter what happens from now on, I’ll always be thinking about you"

He felt her still in his arms. That was not the reaction he was aiming for, but he hated this kind of goodbyes the most in the entire universe. However, it was too late and he had to continue.

The orange flower petals from Chi-Chi's bouquet whirled in the breeze behind Goku's neck, enveloping them both, as if nature wanted to keep that moment only for them.

Chi-Chi wasn’t following Goku at all.Of course they’d been harboring a very strong admiration for each other during the months before the wedding, and she hoped that could develop into something stronger after the wedding when they’d have to live together.

But this… it was beyond her wildest dreams, it felt like an illusion. He was looking at her and talking to her as if he’d known her for an entire lifetime.

There had to be something wrong with him, it could only be that. There was no other explanation.

What did that mean? Is he leaving? Is he going to die? Is he going to give up on her?

Those thoughts were running through her mind now, haunting her.

"Goku... I don't understand. Why are you talking like that? You're scaring me..."

Her eyes began to waver as she looked into his, her voice was low and soft, as if she were about to cry. She was afraid, not of him, but of what his actions and words could mean.

It was a mystery how she would manage to read him so well since that day, since the beginning of their lives together.

Goku rested his forehead on hers with his eyes closed, and brushed his nose against hers, as if wanting to capture the aroma of flowers flowing from his wife.

"Don’t worry” he whispered when he opened his eyes to look at her. "It's okay, trust me."

Chi-Chi looked stunned and frightened at the same time, if that was even possible, and started to doubt him again. "No, it's not okay and if there's something wrong I can-"

The touch of his lips on hers silenced her instantly. She relaxed, closed her eyes and enjoyed that moment. Her body went limp against him completely. Even if he’d been desperate to do that, it was also the only way he could think of to show her that everything was fine.

The kiss was delicate, soft and warm. No lust or despair there, just the purest possible and most loving of feelings.

When Goku leaned back a little, he gave his wife in his arms a small smile. They could feel each other's warm breaths fanning their faces.

"I just wanted to say... that I love you. I will always love you, forever, no matter what. You have changed my life in a way that I can’t even fathom right now. Just believe me" He whispered.

Chi-Chi was red-faced, surprised, stunned, scared, in love ...

All at once, and she couldn’t take it.

Soon, tears were streaming from her eyes, but she smiled at him when she felt her feet back on the floor as he released her, his arms still around her and hers still around his neck.

She really loved those words, so sweet and unusual, certainly unusual, but they flew out of Goku’s mouth so abruptly that it was astonishing to her. He seemed different from her usual Goku, and that worried her.

But why destroy this exciting mood with questions? That statement could be a good thing, so why doubt your husband? She will never doubt the words coming from someone she loves so much, and even more now.

She laughed weakly at her husband, "Son Goku, what happened to you...", she swallowed, teary eyes looking at him when he gave a weak laugh. "I love you too, silly, and I will never give up on how I feel about you."

Goku knew this very well, and she never gave up on their relationship, no matter the flaws they had and the obstacles they had to endure. Somehow, their love for each other was always stronger than anything that could arise.

And he wanted her to know that he loved her and still loves her in a way that he could’ve never imagined and that... man, and what a spectacular life they built together. Their children, their granddaughter and their friends. All of it, he wanted her to know all of it, he wanted her to know how grateful he is grateful for all that love.

And that he will love her for eternity.

Now Son Goku can rest in peace.

Chi-Chi hugged him tightly with her arms around his neck. She understood. She simply did.

He buried his head in the back of her neck and hugged her tightly too, absorbing every bit of he could from her essence.

Chi-Chi moved back and they stared into each other’s eyes.

"Hey Chi-Chi! Look at the amazing shoes I got you as your wedding gift!" a family friend called out, interrupting the connection the couple had established with their eyes.

“Are you coming?” Chi-Chi asked, looking at him while wiping her tears.

Goku smiled and nodded. "Go ahead, I'll be right there."

And so his wife shook her head and slowly moved away from him. When there was enough distance, he felt his body crumble, becoming transparent until nothing was left.

He noticed that a little over five minutes had passed...

"Thank you dragon balls". And those were the last words of one of the greatest warriors the world has ever known. Turning into nothing more and nothing less than bright points of light spreading like fireflies between the petals of flowers in the air, dancing in the autumn breeze.

Rest in peace, Son Goku!

The bravest and kindest fighter who ever lived.

The End

#Goku e Chichi #Gochi #Dragon Ball #Farewell

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duhragonball · 3 years

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Janwum Update: 16,141

I’m just gonna think out loud for a minute. Here’s a screencap of Chi-Chi for you to look at while you nod politely during my mad ramblings.

All right, so yesterday I was trying to figure out how Trunks could investigate Luffa’s backstory without altering history, and I considered some sort of alternative time machine tech, like the stuff they use for Parallel Quests, but then I realized they already have something like that in the SDBH games.

The plot of World Mission introduced this idea that SDBH runs on a simulated version of history. Beat and Note are Earthlings who just like playing video games, but the bad guy, Sealas, is trying to use the game as a model for the real world. He changes history inside the game world to see how it’ll affect the game world’s present, and this let’s him test out how his plans will work on the real thing. So the Time Patrol sent Trunks to stop him, and he assembled the Dragon Ball Heroes Team to help him defeat Sealas in the game. Then the tech they use to fight in the game world somehow gets used to give them real powers in the real world, and I have no idea how that works. The point is, it’s a simple matter for Trunks to use the SDBH simulation to investigate clues of Luffa’s origins. He can’t just relive the first 140-odd chapters of my fanfic, because he doesn’t know exactly where or when to go, but he could if he had that information. So this is perfect, I can have him pull an all-nighter in the Hero Lab learning bits and pieces of what I want him to know.

For my part, the biggest hassle I have in working DBH continuity in with Xenoverse continuity is the frequent use of Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta. They’re like alternate versions of the Goku and Vegeta we see in Dragon Ball Super, but they never really explain where they came from. The manga suggested that Chronoa summoned them from Trunks own memory, except he shouldn’t remember anything about Super Saiyan 4, or fusion, or whatever else. Even if there were a suitable account for this, I wouldn’t want to use it, because it defeats the plot of the Xenoverse games. Why should Trunks wish for a partner if he can just call up Goku and Vegeta whenever he needs help? An Xenoverse 1 even ends with Chronoa summoning regular Goku to pitch in against Demigra, so it just doesn’t work. So I’m sort of going with the idea that a lot of DBH stories happened, but without these “Xeno” characters involved.

I think that’s probably in the spirit of the concept. The SDBH games probably only used those characters to beef up the Time Patrol’s ranks, since Trunks doesn’t have a legion of OC’s to back him up like he does in the Xenoverse games. On the flipside, the SDBH anime hardly ever uses Time Patrol Trunks. They just want an extra Goku and Vegeta on hand, for whatever reason. And there’s no sign of Beat and Note, which is kind of weird, since they’re the stars of the game. These things are modular, so I think it’s fitting that I only use the DBH components I want, and not the ones I don’t want.

What was tripping me up was the idea that the SDBH game is somehow able to replicate events recorded in the Scroll of Eternity, like Capsule Corp. has the technology to read this cosmic document and write source code that’s compatible with it. I figure that it must have been a project designed by the Time Patrol. They wanted a simulation for training and research purposes, so they rigged it up within this arcade game. It’s mostly harmless, until a rogue Patroller like Sealas tried to exploit it against them.

The main side effect of all this is that I can’t see a lot of the goofier power ups from SDBH working in my continuity. Trunks had to go Super Saiyan God to defeat Mechikabura, which doesn’t really work with Xenoverse 1, where he has absolutely no idea what Super Saiyan God is. I watched some videos of a playthrough of World Mission and Beat discovers he’s one of Goku’s descendants, and so he eventually learns to turn Super Saiyan Blue. That’s not a terrible idea in a story where SSJ4 Gogeta is teaming up with him, but without Gogeta, I’m probably better off saying Beat doesn’t have divine ki, at least not right away.

I don’t plan on using Beat and Note much, but I would like to do some stuff with them later, but the trouble with that is that I have to write two characters who are pretty thin on personality. That’s not a knock on the games, the whole idea is to have fairly flat protagonists so the player can “inhabit” them better. All I really know about Beat is that he’s a natural at playing SDBH, and he’s a big fan of Trunks’ alter ego, Great Saiyaman 3. And all I know about Note is that she’s apparently not descended from Saiyans, and she addresses Trunks as “Master”. I think there might be an implied romantic connection between them, but they look pretty young in the game and the DB Wiki doesn’t seem to know for sure, so I’m betting that’s just fans reading into things. My big idea for them was to use older versions of the characters, maybe 17 instead of 14, or whatever, and that way they can be a little different from the official versions of the characters because a few years have passed for them.

The main reason I’m going over all this, though, is that I’m not sure if or when I’ll have a chance to circle back to any of this, and some of these details may never make it into the fic at all, so I wanted to make a note of it.

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dreaminghosts · 4 years

Link

Kakavege Week Day 7: Fusion Memories

@kakavegeweek

The ocean below glowed under the setting sun, almost appearing to glitter as he flew above. The breeze that flowed through his hair was refreshing, and it relaxed him. He didn’t know why he had been summoned, but it was nice to fly around and just be himself.

But who exactly was he? He was neither Goku nor Vegeta, but they were two components that made him, well him. It wasn’t like there were two saiyans fighting for control in his brain. The only voice inside his head was his, even if his voice was just a mix of the two. A part of him didn’t care enough to ponder the question but another part did. Two conflicting personalities. He worried that if he thought too hard, he might split before the thirty minutes were up. It would be best to just enjoy the view while he could. Who knew when he’d get another chance?

------

“You know, I had a strange dream last night.”

“What makes you think I care?”

“No need to be so rude, Vegeta.”

Instead of responding, the saiyan prince threw a punch that Goku easily blocked and countered. Today was another day dedicated to their sparring sessions. Before Broly had appeared, the two saiyans hadn't been training together as often as they did now. It was as if the newest saiyan had revitalized their desire to grow stronger, and the only suitable training partners they had were each other.

But since their fierce battle, Goku had started getting strange dreams. Dreams that didn’t really feel like dreams, but they must have been. The two hadn’t fused since the fight. So, of course they were dreams.

“Stop,” Vegeta scowled, “You’re distracted. I can tell.”

“Am I?” Goku asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Tch. Bored of me already, aren’t you? Whatever, you can go train with Broly for all I care.”

Leave it to Vegeta to make everything dramatic. Goku hadn’t even done anything.

“Don’t be such a drama queen. I told you, I had a weird dream last night.”

“What did you call me?”

“Say, do you ever dream about Gogeta?” Goku asked, changing the subject before Vegeta could start pummeling him, “Last night I dreamt about flying above the ocean, but I was Gogeta.”

There was a strange look on Vegeta’s face, thankfully forgetting what Goku had called him.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just shut up and focus.”

----

While the view of the setting sun was gorgeous, he had to admit there was a certain beauty to the ocean when the moon and stars were the only ones illuminating it. It looked mysterious, and he wondered what he’d find if he dove in. There was only one way to find out.

----

Goku was surprised when he managed to land a clean shot to Vegeta’s face so early. The prince scowled and cursed as he grasped his nose in pain, and Goku couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Who’s distracted now?”

“Shut up.”

“Is something up?”

Vegeta crossed his arms and looked away. Goku was about to drop it and continue their match when, “Did you dream about Gogeta last night?”

Goku blinked. “I did. Did you?”

“I...we were flying above the ocean, but this time it was nighttime.”

“This time? Wait, this isn’t your first Gogeta dream?”

Vegeta didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. The look on his face said everything. Excitement bubbled in his chest.

“Are we having fusion dreams? Are we gonna be able to talk to each other in our dreams?”

“It must be some aftereffect from fusing. But I don’t recall having any strange dreams when we fused into Vegito.”

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I had any either. Maybe fusing with the dance is different than fusing with the potara earrings. Piccolo might know more.”

“There’s no need to ask the namekian about it. It’ll probably go away soon.”

“You might be right.”

----

If Goku did farm work, did that mean he did as well? The knowledge was certainly there in his brain. As he stared at the carrots in the ground, he knew they were ready to be pulled out.

If he was having a conversation with someone and they asked if he’d ever worked on a farm, what would his answer be? Yes but actually no. He crouched down and wondered if it’d be alright to pull one out. Goku was going to harvest them in the morning, so it’d be fine if he took one, right?

But was this real?

He’d wondered that ever since he grew conscious. He felt real. Nothing about the world around him seemed like a dream. But every time he had come to be, he didn’t recall the two saiyans fusing. When he had fought Broly, he definitely remembered. It had been a long trial and error but he remembered. Why was this different?

Without a second thought, he pulled a carrot out. He’d have his answer soon enough.

------

Goku awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. With a groan, he reached for it and answered.

“Hello?”

“I woke up with a carrot in my hand.”

That woke Goku up.

“We’re fusing?” Goku gasped as he sat up. Chi-Chi absently smacked his arm, and he made his way out of the room. “Are we fusing in our sleep?”

“How are we doing that ridiculous dance in our sleep?”

“I don’t know! You got a better idea?”

Clearly Vegeta didn’t. Goku didn’t need to be present to see his eyebrows furrow in frustration.

“Let’s go ask Piccolo.”

-------

“That’s...certainly strange.”

As Goku explained the situation to Piccolo, the namekian’s face did not reveal his thoughts.

“Do you think we’re fusing in our sleep?”

“It’s possible. In general, fusions are weird. We don’t know much about them except how to create them. Perhaps deep down you two want to fuse, so your subconscious—”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Vegeta interrupted, face growing pink, “Deep down I want to do that stupid dance? Like hell!”

“It’s just a theory, no need to get so defensive, Vegeta,” Piccolo said with a rare smile.

“Why don’t we just ask him?” The two looked at Goku, a bit confused with what he was suggesting. “Well, Piccolo can ask him actually.”

Vegeta’s embarrassment only grew at the suggestion, “There’s no way I’m fusing with you.”

“But aren’t you curious? Besides, this might keep happening if we don’t confront him.”

“Unless, of course, you do want this to keep happening. We wouldn’t judge,” Piccolo teased, riling the prince up.

“Shut up! Fine, let’s just get this over with.”

-------

As he came to being once more, he couldn't help but smile. Vegeta had stared at the carrot in shock when he had woken up. Such a sweet carrot. It had confirmed everything.

“Gogeta was it?”

Piccolo stared at him with expectations. As if he knew how or why the saiyans were fusing without their knowledge. He didn’t. And why would he question such a gift?

“That’s right. I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to your question, however. Not that I mind.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. I only exist when they fuse. Why would I mind?”

Piccolo pondered this for a moment. “Perhaps your desire to exist somehow causes them to fuse without them knowing. You’re an extremely powerful being.”

“I don’t mean to cause trouble.”

He meant it. Goku enjoyed the experience of being him, but Vegeta had more complicated feelings towards him. He could try to pick at those feelings, but he was certain it would take much longer than the time he was allotted to exist. That was Vegeta’s problem to deal with; he had much better things to do.

“I’m pretty sure they want you to stop.”

“I know. I didn’t do this on purpose. I can...try to lessen my desire? I’m not sure how but I’ll try. But before I go, there is something I’d like to see.”

As he flew up in preparation for his destination, Piccolo called out, “Where are you going?”

He laughed. “I’ll keep that to ourselves.”

And he left, hoping this would not be the last time he’d be awake.

#kakavege #my fic

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scarletraven1001 · 6 years

Text

Linked: Chapter 5

Summary: Bulma and Vegeta begin to truly understand their feelings, with a little help from their friends.

Previous Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Also on Ao3.

8-8-8-8-8

Note: I am sooo sorry for this incredibly late update! Some of you may remember that I had gotten really sick soon after posting the last chapter of this, but now that I am better, I am back!

I hope you enjoy this, and as always, feedback gives me liiiiife.

8-8-8-8-8

Chapter 5: Synced

8-8-8-8-8

“Hello?”

Bulma held the phone to her cheek with her shoulder as she tried to answer the call and sort through the growing pile of papers on her desk.

“Good morning. Am I speaking to Ms. Bulma Briefs?” asked the voice on the other line.

“Yes, this is Ms. Briefs. May I ask who is on the line, please?”

“Ms. Briefs, I am Dr. Gero from NRRU, the New Red Ribbon University,” he said, making Bulma straighten in her seat, papers forgotten as she quickly grabbed the phone with both hands.

NRRU was a premier academic and research institute, and she knew of Dr. Gero through the several books he had written on nuclear physics.

“What can I do for you, Dr. Gero?” she asked, her heart leaping within her chest.

“We had received a recommendation for you from one of our colleagues, and I wish to ask if you would be interested in coming in for an interview to fill a job vacancy as a Research Fellow for our Physics Department?”

Her jaw fell slack, mouth open in shock, as she digested what she had just heard.

She had just been asked to try for a post at freaking NRRU.

She nearly wheezed, one hand flying to her chest to keep her heart from ripping straight through her rib cage.

This… was unbelievable…

And she knew exactly who had made it possible.

“Ms. Briefs? Are you still there?”

“Yes!” she yipped, before she cleared her throat and tried to answer with a smidge more dignity. “Yes, Dr. Gero. I am still on the line. And I am, of course, very interested regarding your offer for an interview.”

“Alright then, have you a pen and paper? Please take down these details,” Gero said, and Bulma made a mad scramble for a pen to take down the interview details, now set for three days away.

She thanked him profusely before she practically flew to HR to file for a day of vacation leave, and as she sat back down on her desk, she had the widest smile on her face, immediately alerting Chichi.

“What’s up, Bulma?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing.”

“Bull crap,” replied her friend. “You have been morose for days. Ever since- well, ya know…”

And she did.

When she and Vegeta had agreed to part ways, she had know it would be difficult, but never imagined that it would be so all-consumingly painful.

She wholeheartedly blamed the marks, as she knew that it was the stupid things that caused her so much grief, but she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe…

Maybe…

Maybe she had really been falling for him, Soulmate or not.

He was intelligent, handsome, determined to succeed and unconventionally caring… things that she had always known that she wanted in a man, but had never found until he came along.

And in her – their – stubbornness, they had pulled away from each other before they could discover what they truly had brewing, because both were overly cautious about being manipulated by a fate that they cannot control.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Chichi reached forward to hold her hand, and Bulma’s lips quivered when she spied the pitying sadness in her friend’s gaze.

“Bulma,” Chichi hesitated. “Don’t you think that maybe you should-”

“No, Chi,” she said, cutting off a sentiment that had been repeated to her several times already.

“But…”

“I am not gonna ask him to come back,” Bulma said. “This… this is nothing! I’ve just hit a bit of a snag, but I’m gonna be fine.”

Chichi looked unconvinced, but nodded, pulling her hand back.

Chichi smiled with forced brightness as Bulma did the same, asking again, “So, why were you so happy just now?”

Bulma excitedly told her about the phone call, expecting Chichi to be as ridiculously happy as she was, but Chichi just frowned again.

“What? Why do you look so sad?” she asked.

“Because… well, can’t you see, Bulma,” she responded haltingly. “This was Vegeta’s doing. He is still looking out for you. And if that isn’t a sign of true affection, I don’t know what is.”

“Chichi, I can’t just accept that he’s the one, all because of a dumb tattoo-”

“It isn’t, though!” Chichi exclaimed, suddenly standing up, hands balled into tiny fists at her side. “You are self-sabotaging, as usual!”

Bulma’s eyes widened, and she was about to say something when Chichi held a hand up to her to silence her.

“You always give up before you can start. You find a negative sign before you see the go-signal,” Chichi ranted. “You have sacrificed everything for everyone else, and have gotten so used to compromising that you have never tried to take a risk for yourself!”

“Chichi-”

“Do ya think Goku and I had it all so easy?” she asked, raising a hand up to pinch her eyes in frustration. “You know what he’s like. He wasn’t ready to settle down. He didn’t even seem to understand what it meant! But I knew that I wanted him, and I fought, Bulma. I wanted that man, I fought for him, and now I have never been happier.”

“It’s not the same thing!” Bulma protested. “You and Goku fell in love with each other-”

“Didn’t you?”

Bulma paused, stunned.

Did she?

Did she actually, really fall for Vegeta?

“Maybe you need to see him again, Bulma. Or talk to him. Just one more time… Your soulmate mark has been wilting so badly lately and… maybe if you talk to Vegeta again, you can use that as your guide.”

Bulma looked down at her arm, where her soulmate mark looked like a branch of wilted leaves, the previously bright scarlet lines now a fading, brownish red.

Her mark looked as miserable as she felt…

“Maybe… maybe after this interview. I just need some more time,” Bulma said.

Chichi smiled sadly at her, leaning down to once again hold her hands in hers.

“I wish you luck, Bulma.”

And Bulma knew, that Chichi was not just talking about the interview.

8-8-8-8-8

NRRU was massive, and Bulma was in heaven as she looked around at the high-tech cars and freshly-painted buildings comprising the Scientific Research Department.

Dr. Gero, a kindly old man with long gray hair, was an amazing person, and Bulma somehow managed to answer all his questions in spite of her rioting nerves.

The fact that Gero was so supportive helped a lot, and nearly an hour after they had shook hands as they met, Gero leaned back in his chair with a very fond grin.

“You really are as brilliant as I had been told you were,” Gero said. “Then again, coming from this colleague of mine, I knew that his recommendations are valuable, as he is rather hard to impress. And you really impressed him, Ms. Briefs.”

Bulma hesitated, before she asked, “I just wanted to confirm… I was referred to you by Mr. Vegeta Ouji, am I correct?”

“Yes, and I should give him a call to thank him. This interview we just had was one of the most entertaining ones I have had in years!”

She beamed, “Does this mean that I pass your screening then, Dr. Gero?”

He nodded. “I shall be forwarding the results of this interview to our Recruitment team, and I will be asking them to expedite your paperwork. I think you will be an asset, Ms. Briefs, and I am looking forward to working with you.”

Bulma wanted to cry from how happy she was, disbelief running along with her unparalleled excitement.

“Thank you so much, Dr. Gero,” she said. “I am so excited, and I am really going to do my best here, I promise.”

Gero stood up, and both of them reached forward to shake hands.

However, as they did, Bulma noticed something strange…

Gero’s sleeve had ridden up, and she saw that his arm was riddled with a pale, ash gray tattoo that was in the vague shape of a butterfly.

Gero noticed her gaze, and with a fatherly smile, he moved to pull his sleeve up, exposing him arm to her.

“Is that…” Bulma began.

“My Soulmate Mark,” Gero confirmed. “Back in the day, this was in the form of a lovely golden butterfly.”

Bulma swallowed, unsure, but curiosity won over and she asked, “Did it also start to fade when you rejected your Soulmate?”

Gero’s eyes widened at her question. “Rejected?”

She nodded, confused.

The old Doctor smiled, shaking his head. “I did not reject my Soulmate. She was my wife, for many years, and this mark turned into this… after she passed away.”

“I am so sorry…”

“It was quite a few years ago, and she left me with my wonderful son, who is working in the NRRU Robotics Department,” he smiled, before he asked, “What made you believe that I had rejected my Soulmate, Ms. Briefs?”

With an embarrassed blush, she pulled her sleeve up to show him her own wilting tattoo. “My… my mark turned into this after my Soulmate and I parted ways. We weren’t quite sure of each other…”

Gero frowned. “Ms. Briefs… the way your mark has reacted… that is not how the Marks react to rejected or unfit Soulmates.”

She furrowed her brow at him, curious.

“If you and your Soulmate find yourselves incompatible, the Marks would change from their original state, but would not transform into more complex patterns,” he explained.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that the way your Mark looks, is how it would if both your heart and soul have found your match, but you have been made to part ways,” he said kindly, a fond smile on his lips. “The mark would have grown beautiful, but after you left your Soulmate, it faded, as if your soul was in mourning… just as mine mourns every single day after I had lost my dear wife.”

Bulma gaped, stunned. “This means… that my Soulmate… is also the man for my heart?”

Gero’s smiled widened. “I suggest that you try to be with him again. No spat is worth not being with your Soulmate. Believe me, Ms. Briefs… if you return to him, it would be the best decision you will ever make.”

She felt the tears gather in her eyes, and she nodded, mind made.

“Thank you Dr. Gero,” she said sincerely. “Both for this opportunity, and for the advice.”

Within minutes, she was racing out of the university, determined to make things right…

She was going to get her Soulmate back.

8-8-8-8-8

Back in NRRU, an old gray-haired Physics expert was grinning as he dialed the number of a certain colleague in the EASA.

“Yes,” came the curt reply.

“Boy, I suggest you get your butt moving back to that city,” the doctor said. “That young lady looks just as miserable as you do.”

“Dr. Gero-”

“Vegeta,” he said, a note of warning in his tone. “Remember our discussion about Entropy?”

8-8-8-8-8

Bulma sighed, feeling stupid.

She had just realized that she didn’t have Vegeta’s number.

“For a smart person, I sure can be dumb,” she muttered as she sat on her bed in the wee hours of the morning, sleepy but unable to sleep, scrolling helplessly through her phone contacts.

How the hell did she never think of getting his number?

She would have to ask Piccolo if he had it.

She needed to talk to Vegeta. She needed to have him with her again.

As the thought filled her mind, she felt a small tingle begin to run up her arm, like a slither of a current moving beneath her skin.

She placed her phone down on the center table, glancing at her arm…

Her eyes widened, and she brought her arm up close to her eyes, squinting.

The mark had changed, the first visible movement that Bulma had seen since she last saw Vegeta.

The pale red that she had been used to seeing lately had shifted, as if a light had been injected into it from the inside. It bled into a deeper, brighter shade, from the very bottom line that slashed across her wrist to the edges of the wilted leaves along her arm.

A pulse ran through her as she watched the changing colors, and a strange sensation crept up from her chest, as if waiting anxiously for something that was sure to happen…

A sudden knocking sound startled her, and she shook her head to clear it as her addled brain slowly realized that the sound was coming from the front door.

Lost in thought, she walked robotically towards it, but as she turned the knob, she didn’t peer through the peephole to see who had come knocking.

She pulled the door open, and her heart nearly stopped at the sight that greeted her…

Painfully familiar dark hair in riotous flame-like waves, a sharp widow’s peak that accentuated severe dark eyes… whose penetrating gaze went through her like shards of lightning, making her heart beat a thunderous rhythm within her chest…

She trembled, overwhelmed; her hands slowly raised to hold in a sob that threatened to break through her lips…

She choked on his name as her eyes greedily roved his form, grateful for the chance to see his frowning face and his muscular body clothed in a simple white button-down shirt and blue denim jeans.

She clutched her throat as she finally found her voice, but now it was her mind that began to claw for something to say.

Yet, she came up blank, and the only thing she managed to do was choke out a single word.

“Vegeta…” she called softly, eyes searching his as he stared intently at her.

He too opened his mouth as if to speak, but quickly snapped it shut, his brows furrowing so low as his brilliant brain cast around for his thoughts, and just as she had begun to think that he was also coming up empty, he growled.

“Entropy,” he said, making her grimace in confusion.

Of all the things to say, she never expected that.

“What?” she asked, lost.

“We were too hasty. We rushed through our inferences and came to incorrect conclusions,” he said, his words stumbling quickly, one after another.

“Vegeta, are you alright? You’re not making sense-”

“We’re not in chaos, Bulma. We just need to analyze our degree of entropy,” he said, eyes now wide and unreasonably bright. “We have a bit of disorder and randomness on our hands. But it is not the disarray that we had first seen it as.”

Bulma was still lost, her confusion giving way to irritation as his cryptic words stirred up her already jumbled mind. “Why are we talking about physics at two in the morning?”

“Physics is our point of commonality, is it not?” he asked. “It seemed as if we were thrust into this strange situation in complete bedlam, but it is all simply random, and not really chaotic, isn’t it? May I come in?”

Dumbfounded, she nodded, wordlessly stepping aside as he moved past her and promptly took a seat on her couch, dropping a backpack on the floor beside him.

She moved to close the door behind him before she turned to face him once more.

Vegeta looked up at her then, brows furrowed together, and much to Bulma’s amusement, he gestured towards the chair, patting a spot beside himself as in inviting her to sit on her couch.

She chuckled in disbelief before she obliged him, promptly taking the seat beside him, her knees knocking softly against his when they both turned to face each other.

“Ok, Vegeta… I need you to slow down. What are you trying to tell me?” she asked gently, trying to placate the clearly manic man sitting before her.

He shook his head. “Bulma- This… Us. It is not as chaotic as we had thought. It was just that it had felt so random. It was just a seemingly random match-up, but if we sit still long enough to analyze it…”

He trailed off, staring intently into her blue eyes, a look akin to helplessness leaking from his dark gaze. “Randomization removes the risk of bias. If we had been left to our own devices to find our matches, we would have been stuck searching uselessly within a biased set, an easily-accessible control group that did not contain the variable that would yield the best possible outcome.”

Bulma sucked in a deep breath, her sleepy mind jolting awake as she finally began to understand what Vegeta was getting at.

“I suppose…” she started, gulping between unsteady breaths. “If we had searched by ourselves, we would only be able to look within our current environments, our separate crowds. We would never think to look beyond our own cliques and the people surrounding us.”

“Exactly,” he nodded. “And these Soulmate Marks… They were not random, after all. They were the most calculated things to have ever come to be. They were installed upon us by a higher power who knew that something-”

“Someone,” she corrected softly.

He stared harder at her, his eyes melting her from the inside and out, before rebuilding her, sculpting her into something that would only grow more beautiful beneath his hands.

“Someone,” he amended in a whisper. “Someone better for us… is out there, previously completely inaccessible to us both.”

“For who would think that my Soulmate would be a hotshot astronaut?” she agreed.

“And who would suspect that the woman I would someday fall in love with was a blue-haired academic writer stuck in a backward, sleepy city?”

She gasped, eyes going wide as his muttered question spread from her ears to every fiber of her form.

“In… in love?” she asked hoarsely, her breaths shallow in elated disbelief.

“I do not know how… neither do I know when,” he said earnestly, “But somehow, between the time I pushed you away from the path of a speeding car, and the time you spoke of your past to me in that small restaurant…”

She began to shake, and as if sensing her turmoil, Vegeta hesitantly, slowly, reached up to grasp her trembling hands within his larger, steadier palms.

“My... My heart,” he stuttered in a voice nearly too soft for her to hear, but Bulma knew that her own heart could have heard his words, even if her ears had not.

“Your heart…?” she egged on.

He swallowed, face simultaneously pale and flushed. “My heart… began to yearn for what my soul knew I needed. And… and…”

She hiccupped, and it was only as she tasted salt on her lips that she even realized that she had been crying in response to his words actions.

“Vegeta,” she spoke, trying to see him through her watery eyes.

She needed to watch him, see him clearly as she finally accepted what her spirit had known all along.

“I need you with me,” she said, her heart threatening to pound through her chest as she finally, finally understood. “You’re what I want. I was so stupid to try to reject it…”

“We both were,” he admitted. “Bulma, our minds were the only ones in chaos. We had been overthinking things-”

“And it conflicted with what we both could already feel,” she cut in. “And what I feel for you… Vegeta…”

She felt her arms begin to burn from her Soulmate Mark, but the sensation was not painful…

On the contrary, the flowing fissures of energy felt invigorating, divine…

And as Vegeta moved closer, taking her face in his palms as his thumbs wiped away the tracks of her tears, Bulma surrendered to the all-encompassing knowledge that, gods and tattoos aside, this man was the man for her.

Her hands clutched at his arms as she trembled, as she felt his own body shake in response to her nearness, and compelled by the beauty of his lips, the depth of his eyes, she moved closer to him as he too reached down to clutch her against him.

Their lips met, his caress but a soft touch that felt like clouds upon her mouth, and Bulma closed her eyes with an eager moan as she felt him hold her tighter. His powerful hands felt sure, secure against her back as he pulled her to him, his mouth devouring her while she luxuriated in his warmth.

It was as if his kiss had filled her with light, as Bulma felt glorious in his arms, the shivers running through her pulling goosebumps beneath her skin.

Vegeta groaned, and she gasped as he deepened their connection, as he held her even tighter, and Bulma didn’t even consider resisting when he pushed her down to lay upon her couch.

His backpack on the floor was later joined by his shirt, her thin sleeping gown…

As they gave in to their hearts, to the songs of love ringing in their souls, the rhythm of their pulsing hearts serenaded them as they slowly, gently made love until the early morning light began to filter through her windows.

And when they woke up after their night of passion, both looked down upon their Soulmate Marks, smiling at each other as they realized that the leaves on the tattoos had come back to life, with flowers that were now in resplendently full bloom.

8-8-8-8-8

To be continued…

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#vegebul #vegebul fanfiction #soulmate tattoos #soulmate au #db au #dragon ball au #vegebul au #romance #romcom #fluff #comedy #vegeta #bulma #vegebul au fanfiction #dragon ball fanfiction #db linked fanfic #scarletraven fanfiction

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magicalgirlmascot · 7 years

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Heya I don't mean to sound passive aggressive in any way, but I was just wondering why is it that you dislike Super a lot? I mean you're allowed to like and dislike whatever you want, and I'm in no way trying to change your opinion. I'm just curious as to why you seem to have a burning hatred for it?

Nah you don’t sound passive aggressive ^^ if you were you wouldn’t have acknowledged that my opinion is a valid one, you’re cool

I’ve avoided going into too much detail to avoid The Discourse, but essentially it comes down to a few main points: ships I don’t like, characters I don’t care about, pacing, terrible one-note characterization, and the fans.

I know a lot of that sounds really petty but with all my Sweet Home Alabama discourse yesterday are any of you surprised

I’m going to put my more detailed reasoning under a cut because boy howdy it is long and I have some Things To Say

Ships I Don’t LikeOkay this, honestly, is incredibly petty, and it’s not even the pettiest thing on here. But I HATE Trunks/Mai. I hate it. It is the worst ship that’s had the word “canon” sneezed at it in all of DB history, and that’s coming from someone who firmly believes Yamcha/Bulma was unhealthy for both parties. One of my rules for accepting writing commissions and requests is that I will not accept ships with an “aged up” child character in a relationship with an adult. (Aged up children in relationships with other aged up children are a different story, as they’re at least at the same stage of development, but that’s an issue for another day.) Trunks/Mai has the opposite problem: it’s an “aged down” adult character in a relationship with a child. You can argue about Future Trunks’s age all you want, but that changes nothing about kid Trunks and Mai. She’s in her forties. He’s nine at most. How is this not the creepiest thing in the world what the fuck.

Even with Future Trunks and Future Mai, it still grosses me out because it’s the same thing. Assuming the Pilaf Gang did (somehow) wish to be young again in the Future timeline (which...I don’t see how they could have, that doesn’t make sense continuity-wise, but continuity has never been DB’s strong suit), that still makes her way older than him. And if they didn’t, well, that’s just worse. Also how is she still that young looking.

Honestly the only reason I can think of for Toei/Toriyama to bring that into existence was so people would stop shipping Trunks with Goten and Future Trunks with Gohan. Which. I get it, you don’t like it, they’re your characters, et cetera, but could you maybe not have done it in a somewhat less creepy way? Dude. What 40-something wants to be in a relationship with a kid? Even if said 40-something looks like a kid? It’s creepy and gross and I hate it more than any other canon ship.

Characters I Don’t Care AboutI’ve heard a lot of people refer to Super as The Goku and Vegeta Hour and...yeah. DB’s never been great at remembering their MILLIONS of side characters (humans especially once Z happened) and Super doesn’t take enough steps to change that imo. Don’t get me wrong--I like Goku, and I...tolerate Vegeta, but characters who were once considered major players are relegated to backseat viewers again, and nobody can keep up with Goku except Vegeta sometimes (when previously most of them could at least hold their own). I’ll admit, I like the looks of some of the new characters, there are some who seem like they have interesting characterizations (like Kale.....though I’ll be the first to admit I’m biased as hell towards buff women). But Zamasu/Goku Black or whatever just seemed like a couple of shitty Hot Topic teens. I went to high school with people like them and they were annoying.

There’s just too much of a focus on a few specific characters while other characters get the shaft, and the new characters and plot points they bring up just...aren’t interesting. I don’t give a shit about yet another “gotta get stronger” plot you guys. Ugh.

PacingOKAY I’LL ADMIT this is the pettiest thing on this list but like...I’ve never liked the DB anime’s pacing. Ever. Remember how I used to liveblog DBZ? I got like 10 episodes in and got fed up with how long it took to get anywhere. Stuff that took like...a couple chapters in the manga took five half-hour episodes to deal with. And you’d think they would’ve learned in 30 years, especially since they don’t have to base everything off the manga now, but no, the pacing is still awful. And it’s not just the whole “Namek takes half a season to explode” stuff (although that is really annoying, and knowing the real-world reason for it doesn’t make it less annoying), it’s that every shot lasts longer than it needs to. You could cut the running time in half just by trimming the shots slightly. It’s bad, and I’ve always stuck to the manga because of it. It’s not that I’m a Manga Purist(TM) or anything, I just...can’t watch the anime.

Terrible, One-Note CharacterizationYou all know who I mean when I say this, but it extends to more than just Yamcha.

Videl’s character was absolutely decimated in this show. 18′s the only female fighter we have left anymore because of it. I once saw an argument saying that Videl not fighting anymore makes sense because she was traumatized by being killed by Buu, which okay fine fair enough, but 1) nobody said she had to fight in life-or-deaths situations, AT LEAST LET HER BE SAIYAWOMAN AGAIN YOU COWARDS, and 2) that doesn’t mean you have to get rid of her firecracker personality and replace it with the sweet, docile housewife type. We saw it with Chi-Chi...sort of, we don’t need it with Videl, too. Once a female character gets married in DB, they stop fighting (except 18) and stop being important to the plot (except Bulma...sometimes (remember when Bulma was the main character? Pepperidge Farm remembers)). Three times is a pattern, Toriyama, I’m just saying.

Goku even gets hit with shades of this. He’s not an idiot, you guys, he can read a dang grocery list. Yes, he’s selfish and simple and bad at communicating and often doesn’t realise what he’s done wrong until it’s pointed out to him, but he’s also a fast learner, a really good tactician (like. look at some of his fights in DB and early Z, those are some Good Tactics), and not a complete asswipe. We don’t get to see those good traits much in Super. He had no reason to not tell people the stakes for the tournament to get them to join. None. There was no reason to lie. Yes, his biggest flaw is his inability to communicate with his friends and teammates (COUGHS LOUDLY AND LOOKS AT THE CELL ARC) but Jesus you guys, his friends would have helped him if he told them the real stakes too? He didn’t need to lie? There was no point? I’m so angry?

The worst of it though is Yamcha. For the love of fuck, you guys, Yamcha has more characterization than just “guy who sucks at everything and has a thing for Bulma.” Like that’s some Funi dub shit there, not original canon. What happened to when he said he’d given up fighting in the Buu arc? Where did that go? You could have done so much more with that concept rather than have him still be overconfident in his abilities and slamming him at every turn. Even when he does get to do stuff, it’s obvious that it’s just a setup to make him fail so Vegeta will look good by comparison. It’s awful. The writers have such an obvious hard-on for Vegeta and they keep cutting Yamcha down. Those bits where he’s waiting for Goku to ask him to the tournament even though we all know he won’t? They’re not funny, they’re just sad. Also, on that note, why is Roshi there? Yamcha surpassed Roshi years ago, Roshi himself says so! I get that he wasn’t in the RF movie because his voice actor was busy, but they couldn’t have given a better reason than just Tien leaving him behind because he didn’t think he could keep up? At least have him sick in bed with a fever and wanting to go anyway and being forced to stay behind by a worried Tien or something guys, geez. And his VA was obviously around for that arc of Super, so what the hell.

(Yes I was salty earlier about Yamcha still fighting and shit but if you’re going to drop the “Yamcha retiring from fighting” plot point then at least DO something with it you cowards)

FansOH GOD, THE FANS. Not to say that people who dislike Super are perfect or ideologically pure (I once knew a person who bragged about trolling/picking on Super fans...we do not talk), but the people who do like the show seem to spend an awful lot of time yelling at us and telling people they’re not real fans if they like GT more than Super or don’t like either or whatever.

And of course the VegeBullies are out in full force over it, too. VegeBul gets a lot of screentime, and when fans of other ships (GoChi primarily) say “hey we’d like more content” they get shut down or yelled at. They demand more content despite already having more than anyone else at this point. Shut the fuck up and let me enjoy the fact that Tien and Yamcha stood next to each other again in peace.

But that’s getting dangerously close to ship war territory and I try to stay out of that. (It’s hard, because I’m a salty, bitter person, but I try.) I’ll also say Not All VegeBuls(TM) even though I shouldn’t have to because if I don’t I’ll get at least 10 angry anons in my inbox flipping their shit.

You know what the really sad thing is? When Super was first announced, I was mega excited. And I really liked the first couple episodes! But they veered away from making it the Martial Arts Themed Slice of Life Comedy Hour we deserved, they retold the same story the movies already did instead of just making the movies canon and continuing from there (thereby drawing it out way too much), and they just...fucked it up in general. I can’t stand Super and while I don’t expect to sway anyone’s opinion with this, you did ask me why, and I hope now you can understand.

#this got waaaaay longer than i thought oops #Anonymous #ask ed

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krillin-fanfic · 7 years

Text

What They Don’t Understand

Figured I’d actually toss up one of my earliest works. Think this was, like, the 4th or 5th thing I wrote. And it did not feature the usual characters. Yep, that’s right, It’s a GoChi fic. Well, less a story than kinda shilling for their relationship via the characters (heh) but a GoChi shill! Maybe you’ll at least find it entertaining.

A young boy about the age of eight sat outside his home, running his fingers through his black hair that was finally starting to grow out of a rather unattractive bowl cut while listening to the voices of his parents coming from inside the house. They were fighting. Again. And his dad hadn't been home longer than a week.

Well, perhaps fighting wasn't the appropriate word; in all actuality, they were arguing. Once again, it was about him; his mother felt he was spending too much time training, not enough studying and his father was of the opinion that he was doing fine. Now, Gohan did have to admit that he'd been slacking on his particular end of their deal; he'd be allowed to train with Piccolo and his father, but only if he did a set amount of schoolwork per day. But, at the same time, he was YEARS ahead of anyone else his age. He could hold off on picking up a single book for the next four years and still be considered advanced for his age But, once again his mother had noted this fact and threatened to rescind their deal, and his dad had jumped in, saying that he was doing fine with what he had accomplished so far that week

Now, they were arguing again and he couldn't stand it.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered him. Normally, he'd just shrug it off as his parents being… well, his parents. But now, after what the others had said, it worried him.

Not more than ten minutes ago, a group of kids about his age had passed through the area on a nature hike, part of some scouting organization or other. Gohan had relished the opportunity to talk to them; after all, his mom was always encouraging him to make some friends his own age, and though he considered Krillin and Piccolo to be very close, he had to admit it would be nice to hang out with someone his own age. Granted, Piccolo wasn't technically much older than he was, but still. Besides, playing catch or chasing butterflies wasn't exactly the large Namek's idea of fun.

Well, he'd finally had a chance to meet those kids and things had gotten off to a pretty good start, when the first shouts had come from inside the house. The result was the other children leaving quite quickly, but not before saying some things that worried him.

The house fell suddenly, quiet as Gohan began to dread what had occurred, when an entirely new sound began to come from the house, a sound that was of a different nature, but was still quite disturbing to his young mind. It never ceased to amaze him how his parents could go from fighting one minute to… to doing THAT the next. A disturbing thought indeed, but it did bring him a little comfort. It was certainly better than hearing those two fighting.

The noise was rather short-lived, as Goku soon came walking out the front door, that same dopey grin on his face as he called out at the top of his lungs, not realizing that his son was actually only a few feet away from the door.

"GOOOOHAAAN! DINNER"S ALMOST READY!"

The boy clamped his hands firmly over his ears and resisted the urge to jump out of his skin. One fact could not be denied, even by Vegeta: if nothing else, his father had the strongest set of LUNGS in the universe…

Gohan released his ears and looked up at his father. "Um, I'm right here, Dad."

Goku put his hand behind his head and laughed sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Well, c'mon, food's almost done." He waggled his eyebrows at him. "Mom made your favorite…"

Gohan just looked back down at the ground and began to trace light patterns in the dirt with his finger. "Yeah. I'll be there in a sec."

Goku's eyes widened a bit at that statement. Gohan, like him, had never been one to refuse a meal, especially when it was his favorite. It didn't take a genius, thank God, to know that something was wrong with the boy. He sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Gohan turned to look at his father, not quite sure where to begin. So many questions were running through his mind right now, he didn't know which to voice. Finally, he managed to come right out and ask. "Are you and Mom gonna… are you gonna get divorced?"

Goku's eyes flew open in shock. "What?! No! What in the world gave you that idea?!"

"Well, there were these kids that came this way earlier and they heard you two arguing. One of the girls asked me if you guys did that a lot because her parents used to do that before they got a divorce, a-and I'm worried that…" Gohan trailed off as he fought back the urge to cry.

Goku placed a hand over his face and sighed. He somehow knew this talk would come sooner or later, but not like this. "Gohan, your mother and I love each other very much. We're not gonna get a divorce."

"But…" Gohan became quiet again as his father held up a hand for silence.

"I know, it seems like we argue a lot, and we do. But that doesn't mean we don't love each other, and it certainly doesn't mean we don't love you. It's just…" he paused, looking for the right words. "It's just that, your Mom and I, well… we can be stubborn at times. And sometimes, when you have two stubborn people who have two different positions on a subject, they'll argue. But, nobody gets along all the time, Gohan. Heck, Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha and I practically grew up together, and we fought all the time! But, we're all still friends, aren't we?"

Gohan nodded and sniffled a little as his father continued. "And I know that a lot of the things we seem to disagree on revolve around you, but I want you to know it's not your fault, okay?"

He wrapped an arm around his son in a gentle hug. "Your mom and I both love you and want what's best for you. It's just that we disagree on how to go about that."

He smiled down at his son. "Mom just wants to make sure that you don't end up like me in the sense that, well, aside from fighting, I really don't have marketable skills. Granted, the way I was raised I didn't really have an opportunity for an edu- uh- education? Yeah, that's it. I kinda had an excuse, but there's a price to pay for that. Unless there's a tournament that's held somewhere, we don't really have an income. Fact is, we've actually had to live off Grandpa for a while now.

"But one day, you're gonna meet a girl…" Gohan made a face at that statement. Him, with a girl? Gross!

Goku smiled at his son's reaction. "Yeah, you might think that now, but one day you're gonna meet a girl and have a family of your own. Mom wants to make sure you can provide for them, and I agree with her. I do think she can be a little strict at times, but she's only doing it because she loves you."

Gohan then decided to ask his next question. "But, what about what people say about the way Mom acts? I mean, Vegeta says she's a crazy lady and stuff because she's always getting mad at us for doing what he says Saiyans are supposed to do..."

Goku winced, knowing full well what the 'and stuff' was that Gohan was referring to. Saying it to him was one thing, but to say it to Gohan…

"Look, Son, your mom only does that because she's worried about us."

Gohan looked confused. "But, Mom knows you're a Super Saiyan now. Why's she still worried?"

'Time for a history lesson,' Goku thought to himself as he searched his mind for the best possible answer. "Son, you know your Mom and I were only 17 when we were married, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And you remember what happened to me when the Saiyans showed up, don't you?"

Gohan remembered that painful experience all too well. "Yes…"

Goku looked down at his son, a tinge of sadness in his eyes. "Well, when that happened, your mom and I had only been together for five years. She was only 22 years old and she became a widow. That's not exactly pleasant. Before that, all we ever had to worry about was Piccolo, and he seemed to be too busy sulking to ever try to attack us again. Even if he did, he was nothing all of us put together couldn't handle if had doubled his power. So to your mom, losing me hadn't really been an issue. Then you came along and she just couldn't stop pining over you." He smiled at his son. "And I've got the baby pictures to prove it.

"Then the Saiyans arrive and suddenly, I'm dead and you're 'kidnapped' by the one she had always thought to be the greatest threat to her family. It wasn't easy on her, living here all alone. She couldn't really be visited by anyone, either, since they were busy preparing for Vegeta to arrive; Bulma came out when she could, though.

"Your mother pretty much lost us both for a full year, and the next time she saw us, we were almost dead again! If I were on the other end, I might get a little overprotective, too. She just wants to make sure we're both gonna stick around for a while."

Goku looked at Gohan and spoke the next words with all seriousness. "Son, I want you to know that you can't take everything Vegeta says seriously; he's just bitter. No matter what anyone says, to you, you should be proud to have her as a mother." He then seemed to switch topics. "Did you know that most men marry women like their mothers?" He scratched his head as he thought. "At least that's what Bulma spouted to us from her girly magazines that she always read on the island. We never really got the concept, since we never really got to know our parents. But, if my Mom was anything like Chi-Chi, then I'd say I was proud to have a mom who loved me that much."

Gohan looked at his father in a state of shock and awe. This was a side of him he'd never seen before. His grandiose thoughts were pushed aside, however, when he heard his father's stomach give a loud lurch.

Goku let out another laugh. "Wow, sounds like someone's getting impatient!" He stood up and offered his hand to Gohan. "C'mon, let's go get some food!"

He couldn't help but smile as he took his father's hand and pulled himself up off the ground. Sure, some people might think his parents seemed strange, but he knew better. They weren't really any different than anyone else; it was their circumstances that were different. It was a concept some people just didn't understand.

He was greeted upon entering the kitchen by a smile from his mother. "Well, it's about time you two got in here. I was about to go out and get you." She closed her eyes and her smile grew slightly. "Unfortunately, I had to pack your dinner up to take with you."

Gohan was slightly confused by that last statement. "Huh? Why'd you do that?"

"You're going to Grandpa's house for a few days, sweetie." She gave a sly smile to her husband. "It's that time of the month again."

Gohan regarded the way his parents looked at each other and remembered the noises coming from the house earlier that day as realization dawned on him. Without another word, he rushed up the stairs to grab his bag that he always kept packed for such a time as this.

'Then again,' he thought to himself, 'maybe there are some things about Mom and Dad that even I'M better off not knowing.'

#Dragon Ball Super #DB Super #DBS #Dragon Ball Z #DBZ #Dragon Ball #DragonBall #DragonBall Z #Gohan #Son Gohan #Goku #Son Goku #Chi-Chi #ChiChi #Gochi #goku x chichi #fanfiction #fanfic

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wthtonibelle · 7 years

Text

GoChi Fanfic Outline

I’ve had a plot for a GoChi fanfic on my mind but I just can’t find the time or the energy to write it. Well actually I did start writing it last year and then I accidentally deleted the file after I was done with around 2.5 chapters and I was so upset I didn’t attempt rewriting it anymore.

But anyway, you know that old GoChi fic called “A Simple Wish”? It’s one of the most popular GoChi fics on FF.net. Chi-Chi accidentally wishes to Shenron that she’d never been born, and Shenron grants it, and Chi-Chi finds herself in an AU where she never existed. So Goku still lives in the woods, Piccolo’s still evil, etc.

I loved the premise of that fic, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with how the story was fleshed out. And I’ve been wanting to write my own version, and since I can’t write it down as a fanfic yet but I’ve been itching to share the story somehow, I’ll just put it down here as an outline. Hopefully, someday, I find the motivation to make this real.

Anyway, here goes:

1) Post-Buu, it is Chi-Chi’s birthday and nobody’s home for dinner. She goes for a walk out in the woods to cool her head. But as she spends more time alone, the more upset she gets. She feels like nobody appreciates her, like everyone’s acting as though she weren’t important. Frustrated, she shouts out that she wishes she’d never been born... only to hear Shenron’s booming voice saying that her wish had been granted. And she wakes up in an AU where she doesn’t exist.

2) She meets AU Goku, and finds out that this one has never died. Apparently, this Goku is strong AF. Without a family to sidetrack him, he had immediately jumped back into hardcore training after the 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai. Thus, when Raditz came along, Goku was strong enough to defeat him without fanfare. So Piccolo did not need to intervene, Goku did not die, and Raditz died without knowledge of the Dragon Balls. Vegeta and Nappa, who didn’t really care about Raditz, did not bother going to Earth to find out what happened to him.

3) The Saiyan and Frieza sagas never happened, and so Dr. Gero had limited material for his creations, which led to the Androids and Cell being significantly weaker in this AU. Goku also never got his heart virus (assumed to be extra-terrestrial in origin) because he never went to space.

4) Goku managed to become Super Saiyan (without understanding what it is) sometime during his rigorous training. And he kicked all the bad guys’ asses just fine by himself without dying even once.

5) Majin Buu never happened either, as Babidi never heard of powerful warriors coming from the planet called Earth.

6) Anyway, so Chi-Chi finds out about this AU history and becomes upset that Goku seemed to have lived a fulfilling life even without her. She thinks that maybe she really was just holding her husband back and that he would have been happier and more successful without her.

7) But of course, she still wants to restore the original timeline. Telling Goku about her situation but choosing to leave out the truth about their relationship, she asks for his help to gather the Dragon Balls so she could wish herself back into existence.

8) He agrees to help her. Because Chi-Chi has nowhere to stay, Goku offers Grandpa Gohan’s hut, although it hasn’t been lived in for years. In this AU, Goku doesn’t have a home and is basically a nomad who sleeps and eats where he trains. He only goes back to Grandpa Gohan’s hut to pay his respects to his memory every now and then. So anyway, Goku offers Chi-Chi the hut, and she transforms the cramped abandoned little hut into a home. For the first time in his adult life, AU Goku is able to experience a taste of what it means to have a home.

9) Goku and Chi-Chi go to Capsule Corp. to borrow the Dragon Radar from Bulma. Chi-Chi finds out that in this AU, since Vegeta never came to Earth, Bulma and Yamcha stayed together. They’re married and expecting their first child. They’re so happy, and Chi-Chi feels guilty because she knows what reversing her wish would mean for them.

10) Goku and Chi-Chi set out to gather the Dragon Balls. And finally, after a couple of weeks of searching, during which they are also living together, they are able to gather all 7. But when Chi-Chi finally summons Shenron and asks him to reverse her wish, he tells her that he is not strong enough to do so.

*gasp*

11) This leads to Chi-Chi and Goku going to Kami for help. In this AU, Kami and Piccolo never fused, because Goku was always strong enough to defeat the bad guys by himself. Kami reads Chi-Chi’s memories, finds out the whole truth, and then reveals that Shenron is not strong enough to alter time and space.

12) So this whole AU, it's an illusion, a copy of the real world that Shenron created to fulfill Chi-Chi’s wish. The world is collectively dreaming. Chi-Chi’s wish put the world to sleep and now they’re all having the same dream of an AU where Chi-Chi does not exist (think: Inception). Everyone but Chi-Chi is unaware of their real lives and real selves outside of this dream.

13) Chi-Chi is relieved. “So I’m just dreaming? I just wait for the illusion to wear off or something like that?” she asks. But Kami says it’s not as easy as that. There is no guarantee that they would wake up at all. It could be that this dream will go on forever. If Shenron’s magic does wear off and they wake up, there is also no guarantee that everyone will be as they were before they fell asleep. It could be that they retain memories from this dream and become confused as to what is real and what is not. It could be that the people who were not born in this AU (i.e., Gohan and Goten) never regain their consciousness at all.

14) So Chi-Chi panics, “Oh no, what do we do now?” And Kami says, “Well, the only thing that can reverse Shenron’s magic is Shenron himself.” And Chi-Chi tells him, “But I tried wishing with the Dragon Balls and Shenron said he couldn’t do it!” And Kami clarifies, “This Shenron can’t.”

15) At that, Chi-Chi remembers that the Shenron who had granted her wish is no longer the original Shenron that Kami had created. During the Cell saga, the Dragon Balls had been renewed and upgraded by the new Guardian of Earth, Dende. Thus, real world Shenron is stronger than AU Shenron, which explains why the latter cannot reverse what the former made.

16) For the wish to be reversed, AU Shenron has to power up. But how? Where do they find Dende now? Is it even possible to do that here? She starts to lose hope, but then Kami tells her that there is another way to upgrade the Dragon Balls...

*dun dun dun dun*

17) The answer is Piccolo. He must agree to be absorbed back into Kami’s body. This will give Kami a power boost, allowing him to make the Dragon Balls strong enough for Chi-Chi’s wish to be reversed.

18) And Goku is like, “No way Piccolo is going to agree to that!” Piccolo is not friends with the Z warriors (no Gohan, no opportunity to have a change of heart). But Kami says that Piccolo is their only chance. If Piccolo does not cooperate, then at best they are stuck in this dream and at worst they all die.

19) All this while, Goku finds himself fascinated with Chi-Chi. He’s pushing 34 now and therefore no longer as naive as he used to be. He knows what marriage is, and although he has never really found himself dwelling on the idea of “settling down” like his friends have, he realized that the world has become a lonely place for him. He’s so strong that none of his friends can keep up. He has nothing new to learn, no equals to spar with (no Vegeta here). He has no family, and both his closest friends are married and busy with their own growing families. Goku feels lonely.

20) And then all of a sudden comes this woman. This strange, beautiful, strong-willed woman who can surprisingly ride Kinto’un, cook a mean meal, and whip him into shape with just her words. Goku has never dwelled on the idea of liking anyone the way Bulma likes Yamcha or Krillin likes Android 18... but this woman who calls herself Chi-Chi. Well, she’s making him think.

21) But he also knows that the right thing for him to do here is focus on helping her go home. Goku knows nothing about the real world because neither Chi-Chi nor Kami would tell him anything. But he knows that once Chi-Chi reverses her wish, whatever closeness he and Chi-Chi has now, everything that they’ve shared these past few weeks, all of these will be erased. They wouldn’t even remember each other. But he wants to give Chi-Chi what she wants, because he wants her to be happy.

21) Anyway, back to Piccolo. Chi-Chi thinks that the first thing they ought to try is to just seek him out and talk to him, try to explain the situation. The problem is no one knows where he is. Piccolo has been lying low for the past several years and is so good at hiding his ki signature that no one can sense him.

22) Chi-Chi claims she may know where he lives. She and Goku fly out into the woods where Chi-Chi knows the Piccolo in the real world likes to stay. Piccolo is indeed there. He’s surprised and enraged at the trespassers, especially because one of them is Goku. He immediately launches an attack, and although Goku is strong AF, he knows he can’t fight back or else they may lose their chance to win Piccolo over. Left with no choice, Goku and Chi-Chi retreat. This happens a few more times, and when a blast comes too close to Chi-Chi once, Goku becomes alarmed and hesitant to bring her along. But Chi-Chi knows that Goku going alone is out of the question as it would inevitably end in a fight.

23) So one night, while Goku is asleep, Chi-Chi sneaks out of the hut, calls Kinto-un and goes to Piccolo’s lair all by herself. She knows too well the danger of the untamed Demon King, but she can’t be bested by fear when the very existence of her two sons are at stake.

24) Piccolo fires a blast at her, which she is able to dodge thanks to Kinto-un’s agility. She calls out, “I’m alone and I only want to talk. It’s important. If you still want to kill me after you hear what I have to say, you’re free to do so.”

25) Reluctantly, Piccolo lets her land and Chi-Chi explains the situation to him. But when she gets to the part where Piccolo needs to fuse with Kami, he sneers at her, “Why would I do that? Who are you to me that you’d think I’ll go that far to help you?” And Chi-Chi replies, “I may be nothing to you, but my son is a different story. He’s your dearest friend. Don’t you remember him? Somewhere in your heart, you must.”

26) Chi-Chi doesn’t tell Piccolo Gohan’s name or who his father is, because it would be too much of a gamble. If Piccolo finds out that Gohan is his mortal enemy’s son, he may not bother to attempt trying to remember. But she continues to coax, “Please try to remember. You kidnapped my son and made him a warrior. You died to save his life. You stayed with my family for 3 years and trained with my son and my husband. Look beyond this illusion, this dream, and remember!”

27) Little does Chi-Chi know, Goku woke up in the middle of the night to find her missing and immediately figured out where she went. He goes to follow her and as he hides in the woods, ready to spring into action in case Piccolo attacks, he hears Chi-Chi talking about her son and her husband, and his heart sinks. He had thought that maybe after reality is restored, he could find Chi-Chi again. He had thought that maybe, once the world is back to how it must be and she was no longer troubled, he could finally explore the feelings he had for her. He realizes that he was naive not to consider that she may already have a family of her own. He has fallen in love with someone who won’t be able to return his affections.

28) But Goku doesn’t get the time to mope, because at that moment, Piccolo’s ki flares and he tells Chi-Chi angrily to get out of his sight, that he would kill her if she tried coming back. Chi-Chi tries to beg one more time, and barely manages to avoid a warning blast. Goku jumps from his hiding place, grabs Chi-Chi and flees. As they fly home, Chi-Chi cries; she has lost her chance to turn everything back to normal.

29) The next morning, they’re both quiet. Goku is aware that Chi-Chi had been crying all night. He feels sorry for her. Not knowing what else to do, he offers to spar, “Just take all your frustrations out on me. A good spar will make you feel better, even if just a little.” So they spar, although all Goku does is block so as to avoid hurting her. He’s pleasantly surprised to see that she knows proper martial arts, like she’s had formal training. He lets her exhaust her energy and all her feelings, and finally, when she’s panting and can’t go on anymore, he sits down with her and tells her, “Maybe we’ll all wake up and everything will return to normal eventually. Or maybe we won’t and we’re stuck here. But there’s nothing we can do but wait and see. I know this isn’t what you want but this is all that we have.”

30) It isn’t easy for Chi-Chi to accept but she knows that Goku is right. So she nods. And they resume living the way they do for the next several weeks. It’s almost the same as in Chi-Chi’s real life, except she and Goku aren’t intimate in this AU and they have no children. She still hasn’t revealed to him what their true relationship is, and she’s not aware that Goku knows she’s married but thinks it’s to someone else. Goku maintains his distance because of what he thinks he knows, but as time goes by his feelings grow stronger. He begins to consider confessing. If Chi-Chi is stuck here forever, then her marriage is moot. If reality gets restored... well, maybe they’d forget everything and it won’t matter.

31) So one day, Goku tells her he thinks he loves her. He loves everyone, but he loves her differently. He loves her the way Bulma loves Yamcha, and Krillin loves 18, the way Chi-Chi must love her husband. And he knows it’s selfish of him to confess to her when he knows her situation, but he can’t hold it in anymore. Chi-Chi is surprised and is on the verge of telling him that she is actually married to him, but...

32) Piccolo arrives and demands to speak to Chi-Chi in private. Reluctantly, Goku stands back as the two talk. In Piccolo’s meditations over the past several weeks, since he and Chi-Chi talked, he had been getting visions, vague at first and then clearer and clearer until finally, he begins to suspect that these visions are memories from the "reality” that Chi-Chi had talked about. So as a test, he asks her, “What is the name of your son and who is the father?” And Chi-Chi answers truthfully, “His name is Gohan. He is the son of Son Goku. He has a brother, Goten.” And with this Piccolo is convinced. He announces that he is ready to cooperate.

33) In the excitement following Piccolo’s announcement, Chi-Chi forgets to clarify with Goku the nature of their relationship. They set out for Kami’s Tower immediately.

34) Kami notices that Goku isn’t as enthusiastic as Chi-Chi at the thought of finally restoring reality and talks to him in private. Goku confesses his feelings. He feels guilty because a part of him is upset at the turn of events. He’s going to lose Chi-Chi. His heart hurts at the thought. But he knows that the right thing to do is support her. And Kami tells him not to worry. “The pain is temporary. After all, this is only a dream. When you wake up, reality will have been restored, and you will have no memory of everything that has transpired here, including those feelings that hurt you so.”

35) As Goku ponders at Kami’s words, Kami and Piccolo prepare to fuse, with Kami as the dominant body to retain his Dragon Ball making powers. When the fuse is complete, Kami is a young man again (though not as young as Piccolo Jr.) and he confirms with Chi-Chi about the properties of the Dragon Balls she used to wish herself into non-existence. “Three wishes, but only two if one is a big wish like reviving multiple people at once,” she says.

36) The Dragon Balls have been created. All that is left is to track them down again and wish. Goku and Chi-Chi thank Kami and set off immediately. In a couple of days, with hardly any rest or sleep, they manage to gather all 7. But as Chi-Chi begins to call for Shenron, Goku stops her. “We get 2 wishes, right?” he asks. “Can I get the first one?” Chi-Chi thought it was an odd request; this AU will cease to exist after her wish, so what good would wishing for anything serve? But she tells him he can go ahead.

37) They call Shenron, and Goku declares his wish... “I wish to retain my memories of Chi-Chi and the time we spent together, even after the world goes back to normal. I don’t want to forget her, or my feelings for her.” Goku had been thinking about Kami’s advice and realized that although it hurt to lose Chi-Chi, he’d rather have memories of her than none at all. The time they spent together was much too precious to forget.

38) Chi-Chi is deeply touched. With tears in her eyes, she steps forward to embrace him, “Thank you for everything,” she says, “and I love you, too, my husband.” Then before Goku could react any further, she gives Shenron her wish to restore the world back to the state it was before she wished she hadn’t existed.

39) In a clearing near the Son household, Chi-Chi wakes up to see the faces of her husband and her two sons worriedly looking down at her. She sits up and hugs her children. The wish worked. She’s back! Gohan and Goten exist! And then she spots the Dragon Balls on the ground behind them, all 7 of them.

40) Goten is the first to speak, “Mother, I’m sorry we’re late coming home on your birthday. We didn’t know what to get you, so we gathered the Dragon Balls so we could ask Shenron for the perfect gift...” But Chi-Chi cuts him off. “I have nothing else to wish for. Our family is complete, and that’s all that I need to be happy.”

41) Much, much later, after the family had dinner and the two boys are asleep, Chi-Chi finds Goku wide awake in bed, uncharacteristic of him as he usually falls asleep straight away after a huge meal. “Chi-Chi,” he says, “I think I had a strange dream while awake. Was it a dream or did that really happen? Did you really wish... not to exist?” When Chi-Chi confirms his suspicions, he sits up and hugs her. “Aren’t you happy here?” And Chi-Chi says, “I was just upset because I felt like nobody appreciated me, like nobody loved me. But I know better now. I’m sorry.” They stay silent for a while, and then Chi-Chi teases “Well, I guess something good still came out of it, right? Now I’m convinced that you’d still have fallen for me even if we hadn’t been promised to each other.” Goku chuckles, and with a grin, he tells her, “What? Just now? I've known that all along.”

THE END. Hope you enjoyed reading that giant outline!

#gochi #chichi #goku #dbz

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magicalgirlartist · 7 years

Text

All Will Be Well Part 6/?: Our Souls Ignite

It’s been 3000 years..........

Fandom: Dragon Ball Z Summary: A few revelations are had, training continues with some new participants, and Piccolo is the Salt Machine. Word Count: 5402

[AO3 link]

Trunks sat crosslegged on his bed, turning the blue ring over in his fingers. Ever since the incident with the other Gohan’s ring, it had been silent. It hadn’t spoken again--to him or his mother--it didn’t even glow. There was a faint buzz of energy about it as he ran a thumb over the symbol engraved into it, but nothing Trunks could pin down or harness.

He scowled. At first he'd thought the ring might be something that could help him against the androids. Maybe it had information on them, plans or blueprints or something. But for a week now it had just been a piece of jewelry.

His mother hadn't been able to find out much, either. According to her, it was definitely technology, but there was no way of opening it up to take a look at its machinery without destroying it beyond repair (or at least beyond her repair). She also hadn't found anything in her research about it, and it was frustrating her. “For all I know,” she'd huffed, “there was a mountain of research done on these things before the apocalypse. But if there was, it's either gone or inaccessible now.”

Trunks had considered actually wearing it properly, thinking that maybe that was the key to making it do something, anything. But Goku had said his wouldn't come off once it was on, and Trunks wasn't sure he wanted to take that chance. What if it never came off, and it somehow hindered his ability to fight? A chill ran down his spine as a thought occurred to him--what if Goku’s ring kept him from fighting at full capacity? They couldn't afford that. This whole thing would only work if Goku was in top form--if everyone was in top form. If the rings were going to cause a problem--

A soft glow suddenly shone forth from the ring’s symbol. Trunks’s breath caught and a warm wave of calm washed over him. His eyes closed and his breath evened out. Despite himself, a smile spread across his face. Do not worry, Trunks Briefs of Earth. The words rang clearly in his mind. It was the same voice that had spoken to him when his ring was next to Gohan’s, ringing just as clearly in his mind as the first time. But instead of panicking him as it had the first time, the voice soothed him, filled him with peace and hope. All will be well.

Trunks’s eyes blinked open slowly. The blue light had faded and the voice was gone, but there was something of them left behind--he could feel it in his heart. It was a strange, odd feeling, warm and calming. It was from the ring, Trunks knew that--he didn’t know how, but he did. He turned the ring over in his fingers, studying it again. So far, all it seemed to do was reassure him. Under most circumstances, that kind of superpower wasn’t much help. It certainly wouldn’t help him in a fight.

But Trunks’s circumstances weren’t most circumstances, and sometimes it was nice to just have someone tell him everything would be alright. His hands shook as he guided the ring onto his left middle finger and he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for something miraculous to happen.

After a long moment of nothing, he cracked one eye open to squint at the ring. It sat on his finger, soft light pulsing gently, but otherwise doing nothing. Trunks sighed. He was getting all worked up over nothing, as usual. He flopped back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He really should stop all this moping about with the ring and get back to training. But if he was going to be any help against the other timeline’s androids, he needed to be in top form, and that included taking breaks when he needed to. His mother insisted that he take a rest day every so often, though whether it was more for his benefit or so she wasn’t alone in the lab as often was anyone’s guess.

There was a knock at the door, and his mother’s head appeared around the doorframe. “Hi, honey,” she said, grinning. She wasn’t smoking--she’d agreed a long time ago never to smoke in his room--but he could smell that she’d just put a cigarette out before she came in. “I’ve been working on a way to improve the fuel cells for the house’s defense systems. Want to see?”

“Sure.” Trunks sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed to stand. Maybe she’d let him putter around in the lab for a while, build a little contraption to get his mind off things.

“Think you’ll be ready to go back when the machine’s set?” she asked as she led the way down the hallway to her makeshift lab. “It should only be a few days now.”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” Trunks found himself playing with the ring on his finger and forced his hands back to his sides. “I’m not sure you can ever really be ready for something like this.”

She laughed. “True enough.” She typed a passcode into a hidden panel, deactivating the force field blocking the lab door. “Come on, let’s build some shit.”

Chi-Chi rubbed her eyes. She had’t slept well the night before. With everything that had happened with the Star Sapphires, she was exhausted enough that she’d thought she would sleep well. But she’d tossed and turned most of the night, sleep eluding her until the early morning. She kept wondering if she’d done the right thing. Yes, she had, of course she had. But what if she hadn’t? What if she’d caused more problems by saying no than she would have by saying yes?

“Mom?”

Gohan gripped the front of her dress, looking up at her with bright, worried eyes. “Dad says we’re gonna go train now. We’ll come back in for lunch.”

She ruffled his hair. “Alright. Be safe, have fun, don’t break the house, and if it gets too much you come right on back.” She always said the same thing before Gohan went off to train. It made her feel better, if nothing else.

“Well, um.” Gohan fidgeted, his eyes flicking to her pocket. Chi-Chi tensed. She hoped he wasn’t about to ask what she thought he was. “You’ve got a ring now, too.”

“Yes.” This was going where she thought it was. She decided to head him off at the pass. “I’m not training with you, Gohan.”

“Come on, Mom,” Gohan begged, “it’ll be fun! Dad said you used to be a martial artist, and I can show you how our rings work! Please, Mom?”

“Sweetie.” Chi-Chi knelt so she was eye level with her son. “Your heart’s in the right place. But I want to forget yesterday happened, okay? If the Star Sapphires somehow got wind of the fact that I’m actually using their ring, they might come back and try to make me their queen again. If they do that, people might get hurt. I don’t want that.”

Gohan looked down, fidgeting. “By people, you mean me, don’t you.”

He was more perceptive than she’d thought. “It’s not just that,” she added. “That outfit I had yesterday? I...when I was a kid I used to wear clothes like that.” Gohan’s nose wrinkled and she sighed. “I liked them at the time! It was one of my favourite outfits, nonrestrictive, easy to clean, and I thought the cape was cute. But now…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “It’s not something I’m comfortable wearing just...around. I feel too exposed. So I’m not wearing that outfit, and I’m definitely not training in it.”

He tapped his thumbs together, thinking, and she thought that was the end of it. Chi-Chi stood up. “I appreciate the offer, honey. But I’m not--”

“I can show you.” Gohan looked up at her hopefully again. “If I can change my outfit, you should be able to too!”

“Sweetie, that’s really not--”

A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and Goku rested his chin on her shoulder. “Come on, Chi, it’ll be like old times! Remember how we used to spar just after we got married? That was fun, right?”

Chi-Chi elbowed him off of her and turned to face both of them, arms folded. “Maybe,” she admitted. It had been fun. But it had also been nearly ten years now--she certainly couldn’t spar while she was pregnant, and after Gohan was born she hadn’t had the time. A part of her missed it, but the other part… “I’m out of practise, I’m not a fighter, and if I don’t take care of this house then no one will,” she said.

Gohan clasped his hands together. “Pleeeease?” he begged, his eyes wide and pleading.

Chi-Chi faltered. Oh, she’d always had a hard time shooting Gohan down when he pulled that face. “W-well.” She looked around at their house. The breakfast dishes were washed and put away, it was too early to start lunch, the laundry was done and Yamcha had run a vacuum for her two days ago. She’d planned on washing the windows today, but maybe that could wait. She looked at Goku, hands on his hips and grinning casually at her, and Gohan, his eyes full of hope. Chi-Chi sighed. “Just for a little while, alright? I’m coming back in early to make lunch.”

Gohan absolutely beamed at her, hands clenched in excited fists in front of him. “Awesome! Come on, Mom, come outside!” He grabbed her hand with both of his and started pulling her towards the door.

Piccolo glowered at the rest of the group from his position next to the Son house. “This is taking too long,” he growled. He was ignored, and he fought back a snarl. If he didn’t get a sparring partner in the next five minutes he was going to start throwing punches.

This was what he got for training with people who gave a shit about other things. When Gohan had told him that his mother would be joining them for practise this morning, he’d just nodded and agreed to wait while she got her uniform figured out. Piccolo remembered how fierce she’d been at the tournament where they’d first met almost ten years ago. He’d never had the chance to square off against her, and he relished the idea of a new challenge.

But it was taking so long for her to get her act in gear. Apparently, the outfit her ring gave her was unsatisfactory or something. It was just an outfit. Honestly. She’d seemed so embarrassed by it the day before, but Piccolo didn’t really see what the big deal was. Chi-Chi called it “undignified,” but he didn’t see how. It showed off her muscles. What was so undignified about a display of strength?

Gohan had been trying to show her how to use her ring powers to modify her uniform for the last half hour, and either Star Sapphire rings worked differently from Green Lantern rings or Chi-Chi was just terrible at it. She had pants on now, formfitting magenta things that also covered her feet, but her top was still the same small armor piece from the day before. Gohan thought this was great progress, apparently.

Piccolo drummed his fingers on his arm and wondered how Tenshinhan was doing. It had been a while since he’d seen him and Chiaotzu, despite what they’d said about sparring together when Goku first came back. If time wasters like these were going to become a common occurrence, he’d probably seek him out sooner rather than later.

Not that he was only going to see Tenshinhan because of how fed up he was with the Sons and Yamcha, of course. Tenshinhan wasn’t the strongest fighter of the group, but he was different, certainly. And sometimes that was what Piccolo wanted: a sparring partner that he hadn’t spent all his time studying and working to defeat for most of his life. Tenshinhan surprised him when they sparred, which wasn’t often, but hopefully that would change soon. Yes, a visit to Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu seemed like a very good idea.

Chi-Chi gasped as her cape vanished and turned into one of those dress things she liked so much. Piccolo squinted. It looked a lot like the outfit she’d worn back in the tournament he’d first seen her and Goku (and Yamcha and Tenshinhan, now that he thought about it) at. It was pink and purple instead of blue and red, but aside from colour and the fact that her pants were tight to her legs, it was basically the same. Goku grinned at her and flashed a thumbs up. “Looks good, Chi!” he declared. “You ready to start yet?”

She looked herself over, manifested a pair of pink elbow-length gloves, and nodded. “This will do nicely, yes.”

Yamcha had spent the whole ordeal with his back to the three Sons, staring pointedly at the woods. Something about “modesty.” He turned to look when Chi-Chi declared she was ready and smiled weakly. “Nice,” he said. “You look good.” Goku nodded, and Chi-Chi smiled and looked at the ground bashfully.

Yes, Piccolo was definitely going to visit Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu soon. This was just annoying now.

Chi-Chi crashed to the ground, yelping in pain. Yamcha flew at her, aiming a foot at her stomach, but she caught him by the ankle and threw him off. He stumbled back, crashing into someone and tumbling to the ground. Almost immediately, Chi-Chi was on top of him, pinning both Yamcha and whoever he’d landed on to the ground with the help of a giant pink hand she’d conjured. Yamcha squirmed, and there were hands on his shoulders trying to push him off, and he suddenly realised he was pinned between Chi-Chi and Goku and wriggling awkwardly between them. He gulped and shoved at Chi-Chi. This wasn’t a position he wanted to be in.

Glancing behind him at Goku, he remembered what had happened the day before when they fought together. He grabbed Goku’s hand, the one with the ring, and made a construct hand of his own.

It burst forth with a brilliant, almost white light, sending Chi-Chi flying and banishing her construct. Yamcha rolled off Goku and started to stand, but Goku yanked him back and tried to pull him into a hold. He grinned. Wrestling, huh? Fine, it had been a while. Shoving Goku’s shoulder, Yamcha tried to pin him down, but Goku overpowered him and slammed Yamcha back first into the ground. Suddenly he was looking up at Goku with his arms pinned by his sides and Goku’s grinning face not far from his own, and he definitely wasn’t thinking about it. His arms were pinned but his legs were free, and he hooked them around Goku’s waist to give himself enough leverage to flip their positions, throwing his whole body into it. Goku’s eyes widened as he tipped over with an undignified shriek.

Now Yamcha was on top and grinning, sitting on Goku’s legs and struggling to get Goku’s arms under control too. Suddenly something grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him up, and Yamcha was face to face with Chi-Chi again. She had a puffy cheek that Yamcha didn’t have time to feel bad for before she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him against a tree. His head knocked back against it and he was disoriented for a moment. When he could think again, his hands were pinned over his head by pink energy and his feet dangled off the ground. Chi-Chi looked very pleased with herself as he struggled.

His chest heaved and he was dizzy. On the one hand, he was almost (sadly) used to his sparring matches ending with him on the ground or pinned to something. On the other, there was something extra embarrassing at having his defeat get handed to him by the husband and wife team. A short burst of ki freed him from his bonds and he dropped to the ground, a hand up. “Okay,” he panted, “I’m done for today. I know when I’m beat.”

Goku offered him a hand up. “Good going today, Yamcha!” He beamed at Yamcha as he pulled him to his feet. “You’ve got some really good moves!”

Yamcha gave a tight smile. “Thanks. I’m pretty beat now, though. Is it okay if I quit for now? I could go make lunch.”

“I’ll go with you,” Chi-Chi immediately offered. She powered her ring down and it melted back into the sleeveless dress and pants she’d had on before. “I think I’m done for now, too.” She had a look in her eye that Yamcha wasn’t sure he liked, a critical glint directed his way. He had a feeling she was offering to go with him for reasons other than just lunch.

Goku didn’t seem to pick up on any of it. He just grinned and gave the two of them a thumbs up. “Okay! I’m going to train with Piccolo and Gohan for a while then. Have fun!” He took off towards where Piccolo was instructing Gohan with basic drills.

Yamcha powered his own ring down and started walking towards the house. “What should we make for lunch?” he asked Chi-Chi as she fell into step alongside him.

“Something simple, I think.” Chi-Chi pushed the door open and headed for the kitchen. “I don’t have the energy to make anything too fancy right now.”

“Fair enough.” Yamcha washed his hands and started peeling carrots when he was directed to. He loved cooking and was (he thought) pretty good at it, but out of respect he always defaulted to Chi-Chi when they cooked in her kitchen. It was hers, after all, and he was just a guest. Although there had been one time where she’d asked him to show her how to make something, and there had been a few times where he did all the cooking on his own.

“Yamcha, can we talk?” Chi-Chi sat at the table beside him, turned towards him. She looked unusually serious, and he tried to keep his eyes focused on his carrots. “I’ve been, well, experimenting with the ring a little.” He glanced up at her. She was twisting it around her finger, still staring intently at him. It made him nervous, and he returned his attention to his hands. “Yamcha, something Dashiri said the other day...the ring lets me know you. That’s what she said. I don’t think she was making that up.”

“Mhm.” Yamcha put one carrot down and picked up another one, eyes focused on his task. “That’s cool.”

“Yamcha.” Her voice turned hard and he looked at her again. She was frowning. “I want to know what happened with Bulma.”

He swallowed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Please.” She put her hand over his and he stopped moving, not wanting to slice her fingers by accident. “I want to help you work through it. You’ve got so much pain and sadness tied up in love that it’s impossible to tell where one stops and another starts. What did she do?” She squeezed his hand. “How did she hurt you?”

His eyes stung. “I-I--she didn’t mean to.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.” Chi-Chi took one hand in both of hers, squeezing it reassuringly. “Talk to me, Yamcha. I might be able to help.”

He laughed bitterly. “No, it’s pretty much past help. She’s seen to that.”

“I don’t mean help your relationship,” she said dismissively. “I’m not so good a person as to care about that. I care about you. I want you to be happy. I want to help you, not you and Bulma.”

“Oh.” Yamcha looked down at their hands. “Don’t you like her?”

“Whether I like Bulma or not isn’t important. She’s fine, I guess, but I like you more.” Chi-Chi shrugged. “You like her, and she’s important to you. So talk to me.”

Yamcha bit his lip as he tried to figure out what to say. “It’s...complicated,” he started. “We had another fight a little while ago. We broke up and I went off to train with Tien and Chiaotzu.” He squeezed her hands tighter. “Then when I went back to try and talk to her about it after we’d cooled down she...she and Vegeta…”

Chi-Chi’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“And they weren’t together or anything,” he added, and now that the words were out they wouldn’t stop coming. “But they’d definitely been sleeping together, at least once, because she’s p-pregnant and--and she wants to keep it and I’m just--I’m so mad but I don’t really have any right to be mad because we weren’t even together at that point and I’m being selfish but I--”

“You still love her,” Chi-Chi said gently. She opened her arms and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay to be upset. Being upset means you care.”

“A little too much,” Yamcha mumbled.

“None of that now.” Chi-Chi patted his back and pulled away. “You should talk to her again. Even if your romantic relationship is beyond repair, you two have known each other for too long to not be friends anymore.”

Yamcha shrugged and wiped his eyes on the heels of his hands. “It’s not that easy. Not everyone can have as easy a relationship as you and Goku.” He knew he sounded bitter, but at this point he didn’t know how not to.

“Me and Goku?” To his surprise, Chi-Chi laughed and stood up. “You’ve seen us fight. Our relationship isn’t easy.”

“Easier than mine and Bulma’s.”

She paused. “You have a point.” Hesitantly, she patted his shoulder. “Listen, if you ever want to talk about it, my ring and I are here for you.”

He picked up his carrot and paring knife. “Thanks.” He wouldn’t.

The ring did come off when Trunks pulled on it, which was a relief and a half. He didn’t bother taking it off most of the time. It wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable wearing it and gripping his sword at the same time as he’d thought it would be. Most nights he didn’t even bother taking it off before bed. It helped relax him, and with the world going to shit as much as it was, he could use all the help with that he could get.

He kept finding himself fidgeting with it when his mind started to wander. It was oddly comforting. Trunks still didn’t know anything about its purpose, but he was a little less wary of it. Maybe it was a mistake to let his guard down about anything this late in the game, but being constantly cautious about everything was exhausting. Just having this one little thing to not worry about helped. Not much, but it did.

Trunks and his mother had performed several experiments with it, but their results had all been inconclusive. The ring seemed to need something else to function at full capacity, but they didn’t know what. (His mother hypothesized that it was something to do with Gohan’s ring, but they’d have to wait until Trunks went back in time again to test the theory.) Trunks could sense immense power coming from it sometimes, but not always, and it was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. It wasn’t “organic” like ki (for lack of a better term), but it wasn’t like the androids’ energy signatures either--he couldn’t sense those at all. And the fact that it fluctuated constantly was bizarre in and of itself.

Their most recent breakthrough, such as it was, determined that it was probably a communication device of some kind. Sometimes a fuzzy sort of faint static would come out of it. His mom thought it was some kind of residual white noise from distant communications. Trunks wasn’t sure what to make of that. Most communicators went two directions, unless it was some kind of bug. Had someone on the other side of the world--or universe--been listening in on him and his mom and their struggles? On the other hand, if they had heard about their problems, why hadn’t they come to help?

He sat on his bed, legs crossed, staring intently at the ring. It sat innocently on his finger, gently pulsing with soft blue light. Usually, watching its light for long enough helped bring his anxiety under control, but today it wasn’t working. The time machine would be ready soon, and that combined with the new information about the possible communication function of his ring, he was too keyed up. In two days he’d be going back to the past again. He’d help fight the androids in any way he could, and hopefully it would be a quick ordeal with Goku fighting on their side this time. But he was still anxious, and the closer it got to being time to leave, the more anxious he became.

Trunks absently rubbed his thumb over the ring’s symbol. If the ring was some kind of communication device...maybe he could use it. He lifted it to his face, glancing around nervously. There was no one around to hear him if it didn’t work and he sounded like an idiot.

He cleared his throat. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

No response. Trunks sighed. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he’d expected. But the ring had talked to him twice before. He’d try one more time before he gave up the idea entirely.

“This is Trunks Briefs of Earth,” he said, speaking directly into the ring. “If anyone’s listening, Earth could really use your help. Please. I need--we need all the help we can get. Our people are being systematically wiped out by a biomechanical menace and there aren’t many of us left. If you’re able to--”

Trunks Briefs of Earth. The ring’s voice echoed in his mind, soothing and calm as always. His breath caught and he stopped talking, waiting for it to speak again. All will be well. You will have the help you need, but it will have to come from within you. You are the only Blue Lantern left in this timeline.

Icy fear gripped his heart. No. No, no, not another one. He was already the last of the Saiyans, the last fighter, the last hope for the planet. He couldn’t be the last of his kind again, even if he didn’t know what he was actually the last of this time. What was a Blue Lantern?

Don’t be afraid, the ring said. You will have help. But it will not come from this timeline. Keep hope in your heart and the power will come to you.

“How?” he asked, but the voice was gone. Trunks flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Well. That wasn’t helpful at all.

It was late. He should get some sleep. He had one more full day of training and then it was time to go back. Trunks tossed his jacket into a corner of the room and rolled over, trying not to think too hard about the ring for now. All it would do was keep him up at night.

He left it on, though.

“Are you leaving?”

Yamcha froze at Goku’s voice. Slowly, he turned to see his friend standing in the doorway leading from the kitchen to the living room. He offered him a weak grin. “Just for a while.”

“But you only just got here,” Goku whined. He wandered into the living room, hands in his pockets. Yamcha squirmed and went back to reorganising the contents of his backpack. “We were just getting used to having you around! And me and Gohan love training with you. You should stay.”

“I don’t want to impose,” Yamcha said. His eyes stayed resolutely glued to his task, refusing to look up at Goku.

“You’re not imposing.” Goku slung an arm around his shoulder and Yamcha swallowed. “We like having you here.”

Yamcha shrugged him off. “Th-that’s nice...I mean, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“So stay!” Goku grabbed Yamcha’s shoulders and turned him to face him. He was grinning. “I know Chi-Chi likes having you here too. She keeps talking about how it’s nice to have a guy who likes cooking and stuff around to help her out cuz I’m always off training Gohan.”

Yamcha shook his head with a wry smile. “That’s her dropping hints about you helping around the house more.”

“I help out,” Goku said defensively. “I get food and go fishing and look after Gohan and chop wood and fix stuff. Mostly.” He looked vaguely guilty and Yamcha had to suppress a grin at the memory of Goku trying to fix their leaky roof. “But we like having you here. Why do you have to go?”

He shrugged. “I just do. You guys have this big happy family thing going here and the longer I stay the more I feel like I’m intruding.”

“You’re not.” Goku gripped his shoulders tighter and stared at him intently. Yamcha’s mouth went dry. Goku didn’t often look intense about anything outside of a fight or a challenge. Although maybe he thought of getting Yamcha to stay as a challenge. Hell if he knew what went on in that head. “Yamcha, stay.”

Yamcha gently removed Goku’s hands from his shoulders. “I can’t. I won’t. Puar and I are leaving.”

“But why?” Goku whined.

He hesitated. What should he say? He couldn’t tell Goku that Chi-Chi kept trying to fix his love life, or that the longer he stayed and watched them grow the more he felt like he was falling behind, or about the annoyed looks Piccolo kept giving him. He couldn’t tell him that even with his extra Green Lantern powers he was still inadequate, still not good enough. He couldn’t tell him that maybe he just needed a little time to scream into the forest without all three of them descending on him to ask what was wrong. He needed to be with someone who wouldn’t ask questions, like Tien.

Worst of all, though, was that he couldn’t tell Goku that maybe, just maybe, he’d been spending just a little too much time with him and his wife lately and it was messing with his head. He was still upset over Bulma, he couldn’t totally forgive her yet, and he thought that was fair. What wasn’t fair was how jealous he’d started getting of Goku and Chi-Chi’s relationship. And it wasn’t the same kind of jealous as he’d been before, where he was jealous of their relationship in general. No, now he was jealous of both of them for being in a relationship with each other.

It didn’t make sense to him. Goku and Chi-Chi had been married for nearly ten years now, and he’d never been upset about it before, not like this. He didn’t just want what they had, he wanted what they had with them. It was weird, and it scared him, and the longer he was in this house with them treating him like one of the family, the worse it got. He wasn’t going to let it continue.

But he couldn’t tell Goku all of that. At best, he’d be laughed at. At worst, he’d get punched in the face.

“I need to go check on the apartment,” he lied. He’d sublet his apartment when he found out he’d be spending most of the next three years training. “And I should show my face in town a little so the tabloids stop printing articles about how I’ve died or something.” That was true. He’d found one at the supermarket the last time he helped Chi-Chi with groceries. It had been hilarious, but he didn’t want any more weird rumours like that to spread. “And nobody’s heard anything from Tien and Chiaotzu in a while. I figure someone’d better go check on them.” He tried to flash a witty grin, but it felt weird on his face. “You know how they are.”

Goku laughed. “Yeah, they like to keep to themselves.” He clapped Yamcha on the shoulder again. “Well, we’re all going to miss you. Make sure you say goodbye to everyone before you leave, okay?”

Yamcha’s awkward grin turned into a sad smile as he turned back to his backpack. “Sure. No problem.”

#dbz #dragon ball z #green lantern au #writing #fanfiction #all will be well

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duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball Z 289

So we’ve finally reached the home stretch of Dragon Ball Z. These last three episodes are set ten years after Episode 288, and this period is colloquially known as “End of Z.”

Why do an epilogue ten years in the future? Well, there’s a specific reason that’ll become clear in the next two episodes, but I think it’s a handy way to establish that nothing terrible happened for at least ten years following the Buu conflict. Also, this era roughly coincides with the date that Future Trunks arrived from in Episode 120. In case there was still any lingering confusion, that dystopian future has clearly been averted. Kid Trunks is now the same age Future Trunks was when he first appeared, but there’s no androids or anything for him to worry about. His biggest problem is that his aircraft is slower than his own ability to fly.

At least, I always assumed that’s why this part of the story opens on Trunks. He really doesn’t get a lot to do in this. He flies to Goku and Chi-Chi’s house, hoping to visit Goten, but Chi-Chi doesn’t know where he is, so he goes next door to ask Gohan.

I guess over the past decade, the Son family made some upgrades to their home, and Gohan lives right next to them. Trunks finds the door unlocked, so he just walks right in.

There’s some establishing shots of the house, but the main feature is a photo of Gohan and Videl from their wedding. They didn’t look like this when Gohan was handing out wedding photos in Dragon Ball Super, but what can you do?

Anyway, Gohan couldn’t come to the door because he’s busy taking books down from his enormous shelves. Also, he has glasses, which are supposed to tell you he’s all intellectual.

Oh, and he’s even got the pencil in his ear. Lay it on thicker, why don’t you.

I never understood Gohan’s career as a “great scholar”. This episode makes it clear that he became one, and that with Buu’s defeat, he was finally free to pursue that life, but I have no idea what kind of “academic meeting” he’s talking about, or why he needs all those Charles Darwin books to prepare.

Anyway, I’m happy for Gohan. There’s people who wanted him to be this unstoppable badass, or they’re salty that he didn’t become the main character of DBZ, but this is alll he ever wanted out of life. His own place, not too far from his parents, and a ton of books to read.

I suspect that’s why Videl fell in love with him, because as much as she wanted to know about the Great Saiyaman and the Golden Warrior and the kid who beat Cell, the real Gohan is pretty much the awkward guy he was trying to be when they first met. Yeah, he was keeping secrets, but he wasn’t disguising himself. And I know there’s fans who wish Videl would have continued fighting and training until she became strong enough to beat up Goku, but I think in the end, this is the sort of quiet life she always wanted too. She just needed to meet Gohan to realize it.

While they talk, Mr. Satan appears on TV in an ad for the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai.

Videl is embarassed at her father’s antics, but he really did save the world from Majin Buu, so it’s not like he isn’t entitled to some of this. But Videl points out that no one remembers what he saved the world from, because of the wish Goku made to make everyone forget Majin Buu.

Anyway, Gohan tells Trunks that Goten is out somewhere sparring with Goku, and that Bulma and Vegeta are there too. So I really have no idea why Trunks came here alone.

Look how pissed these two are. What is their problem?

Anyway, Goku and Goten are indeed sparring, and Goten doesn’t seem to be enjoying it much.

Bulma’s mad because they almost never see Goku anymore unless they come to him, and Goku says they dropped by five years ago.

Then he observes how old Bulma looks now. Let’s just do the math really quick... Yeah, Bulma is 51, while Goku would be 47.

Vegeta explains that Saiyans remain in their prime longer as an evolutionary trait that lets them fight longer, but Bulma believes she looks very young for her age, and besides, she can just use the Dragon Balls to make herself younger if need be.

Anyway, the point of this whole visit is that Vegeta heard Goku was planning to enter the World Tournament tomorrow, and he wants to know why. Goku thinks that there’s a strong fighter appearing at the tournament, and he wants to face him at the event. This intrigues Vegeta, who suspects an alien or another android, but Goku insists that he’s a fully human Earthling. Bulma doesn’t see how that’s possible, but Goku’s so sure of this that he’s making Goten enter the tournament as well.

And he’s entering his grandaughter Pan too. I’m oonfused here, because in the previous scene Videl called for Pan to clean her room, but now we see she just got back from flying around the circumference of the planet. Maybe she snuck out of the house, or Videl just didn’t realize she wasn’t home. Goku says that she probably won’t win, but she’s got a lot of power, and he thinks she’ll perform well. This is enough to convince Vegeta to enter the tournament as well, and he threatens to slash Trunks’ allowance unless he joins in. Yeah, like Vegeta gives Trunks an allowance. I think what he means is that he won’t give Trunks as big a cut of the allowance he gets from Bulma.

So the next day we see the tournament grounds ago. I just want to point out that Chi-Chi is the only one who got a better hairdo over the past ten years. Videls’ bob is all right, but it’s not as good as the pixie cut, just sayin’.

Goku and Pan wander around the place for a while. By now, the Tenkaichi Budokai has become almost a complete carnival. The 21st tournament was pretty subdued by comparison, but this thing’s got merch stands, arcades, and cartoon mascots.

I like the part where they eat hot dogs together, because in the dub, part of Goku’s reason for returning to the Tenkaichi is that the stadium hot dogs were so good.

Then some kid knocks over Pan and makes her drop her ice cream while he’s trying to steal a bunch of watches.

Goku’s afraid that she’s going to end this boy’s entire life right in front of everyone...

But instead, she cries because dogs are eating her ice cream. Awwwwwwwwww.

So Goku gives her his ice cream to calm her down. He already ate an entire carton out of the freezer for breakfast this morning, so he’s good.

Vegeta’s family shows up, and they have a daughter now named Bulla. Honestly, I’m not sure why Toriyama bothered introducing Bulla, since she does so little in these episodes. Maybe he was helping Toei flesh out the cast of GT, except GT didn’t do much with her either. Maybe he just wanted to make it known that Bulma and Vegeta had sex more than once.

Krillin’s the only one who looks that much older. Part of the trouble “End of Z” created for the franchise is that the characters in Dragon Ball Super probably ought to resemble these designs, but they usually don’t. We never see Roshi get his other sunglasses, and Krillin shaves his head again instead of turning grey and getting a terrible hat. And GT is set after “End of Z”, which means they had to make the character look even older, which is why Krillin looks like a miniature Gabe Kaplan on that show.

But let’s check in on Mr. Satan, who’s going over the tournament with Majin Buu. Satan’s lost some hair, but Buu hasn’t changed at all. What I really love is how Bee’s grown up into a big ol’ dog who just sleeps by the recliner all day. He borked at Super Buu and Kid Buu a lot over the past 35 episodes, but it was all worth it. He got his pals home safe and sound, and now he can eat bananas whenever he wants.

Anyway, ever since Majin Buu came to live with Satan, he’s been rigging the Tenkaichi Budokai by having Buu act as his prize student. Majin Buu defeats the other fighters, and then he faces Mr. Satan in the final match, and lets him win. I guess Android 18 taught him the value of cheating. This would make Satan a four-time Tenkaichi Budokai champion, but he only wone one of those titles legitimately.

Here’s this, by the way.

So, Mr. Satan was planning on having Buu do the same bit again for this tournament, except Goku, Vegeta, and their kids are planning to enter, which shakes things up a bit. But Goku promises that they’ll let Satan win the final match if any of them make it that far instead.

There’s a quick gag where Mr. Satan gets seats for his friends, but he puts them right at ringside, which is apparently really awkward? I dunno, that seems like the best place to be. A lot of these characters used to be in these events, watching from that entranceway.

So they ask Mr. Satan to intervene again, and he sets them up with this VIP Skybox looking thing. I don’t know, the view might be better, but it seems kinda chincy to me.

Then the contestants come out for the bracket draw. Goten promises to avenge his loss to Goten in the 25th Juniors Division match. Incidentally, there is no Junior Division this time, so Pan just has to fight grown men.

Somehow, Majin Buu became really popular with the ladies. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

And here’s the field of twelve. Now, you might say that isn’t enough for a proper single elimination tournament, but don’t worry, we’ve only got two episodes left. It’s not going to get that far.

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duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball Z 255

Hey, you know Majin Buu? Well now there’s two of him. I think it’s a little goofy how the grey skinny one is called “Evil Buu”, like the chubby pink on is automatically “Good” somehow. He killed 80% of the world population, and now he’s a good guy just because he likes dogs all of a sudden?

But Mr. Satan is still rooting for his friend, although it’s difficult to cheer him on when they both have the same name. Why are the two Buu’s fighting? Who knows? The fat one got really upset over Mr. Satan getting shot, and he spewed out the thin one, and they seem to automatically dislike one another.

Anyway, screw the “Good Buu”. As far as I’m concerned, this is payback for all the awful stuff he’s done for the last twenty episodes. He tries throwing a chunk of himself at the “Evil” one, to strangle him like he did to Vegeta and that one civilian motorist. Only Evil Buu just busts loose, then eats it.

Oh, yeah, that must suck, huh? When you use one of your trademark moves, and it does absolutely nothing, and the other guy just laughs it off and makes you look like a jerk? Now you know how everyone else feels, asshole.

Up at the lookout, Piccolo watches the Buu-on-Buu violence and he’s freaking out. The Evil Buu got most of the power in the schism, and he’s currently winning, so Piccolo wants Goten and Trunks in order to improve their chances of winning as Gotenks. But they just got back to the Lookout, and they’re worn out from their last fusion session.

Chi-Chi and Bulma object to any more training, insisting that the boys should take a nap first. I don’t know what it is, but Bulma looks a little hotter than usual in this episode.

Piccolo can’t argue with them, so he agrees to let the boys rest.

Meanwhile, both Buus fire Kamehamehas at each other...

And when that doesn’t work, the “Good” Buu resorts to his best move: turning the other guy into candy.

Except Evil Buu has that one scouted, and he just blows the candy beam back.

Oh? Oh? You don’t like being turned into candy? I thought it was funny and cute?

Come on, Buu, make a funny face for us. Do a bunch of goofy shit. It’s charming, isn’t it?

No, I guess it’s not so whimsical when he’s on the receiving end. Evil Buu picks up the chocolate Buu and eats him.

Then he screams and spews pink smoke out of his vent holes, until he’s covered in a pink cloud.

And then we end up with this. Look, none of this stuff makes sense. Fat Buu spewed out green smoke and it turned into an Evil Buu. Then he eats Fat Buu, spews out pinks smoke, and you’d think Fat Buu would come out again, but instead Evil Buu transforms into some sort of hybrid of the two. Only it’s not exactly a hybrid, because the previous two Buus had capes and vests, and this one doesn’t.

So yeah, this version is known as Super Buu, which I don’t really get since I don’t know that he’s that much stronger than the previous versions. I’ve noticed that the dub is a lot more liberal about talking up how strong everyone is. In the dub, Piccolo said Evil Buu was even stronger than the original, and then he says Super Buu is even stronger still. But in the subs, it seems more like Evil Buu got the larger portion of the original’s power, implying that the fight we just saw was between two characters with weaker powers than the Majin Buu we started with. So I would think that means Super Buu isn’t actually any stronger now that they’ve recombined. To me, this is more like a “reorganization” of Majin Buu, rather than a power up. He was having trouble keeping his priorities straight, and instead of backpacking across Europe to find himself, he split into two people and kicked his own ass.

He screams so loud that it shakes the Lookout, and it’s way up in the sky.

Piccolo’s not even sure Gotenks can beat Buu anymore, which may mean that he’s gotten stronger, but I feel like it’s more of a matter of Buu finally taking things more seriously.

Up on the Supreme Kai Planet, Goku and Gohan can sense Buu’s change, and Gohan pleads for the Elder Kai to speed things up. But his thing takes 20 hours to work, and 20 hours is 20 hours, no matter how much of a hurry you’re in.

Back on Earth, Smitty goes for his gun and tries to shoot Buu, which is stupid, because he an Van Zant fired rocket launchers at him in the last episode and it didn’t do anything. Van Zant tried to shoot Evil Buu at pointblank range, and nothing.

In response, Buu just launches his body into Smitty’s open mouth, and forces himself inside. Super Buu seems to be more fluid than the previous forms, although I assume all forms of Buu can do stuff like this.

Anyway, Smitty expands until he explodes, and then Buu reassembles himself.

Then Buu turns his attention to Mr. Satan. He seems eager to kill him as well, but at the last second he hesitates, apparently remembering their friendship.

Mr. Satan wonders how he’s still alive, and he looks up to see Super Buu staring down at him.

And apparently Super Buu still cares enough about Mr. Satan to spare him and his dog, Bee.

Then Buu takes off, and Piccolo realizes that he’s headed for the Lookout! Apparently this version of Majin Buu can sense ki, and the Lookout is the strongest ki source on the planet.

And before you know it, Buu’s looming over everyone on the Lookout. There’s nowhere to run or hide. He’s right on top of them, and there’s nothing anyone can do.

And the only ones who can stop him just started their nap. Whoops.

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #fusion saga #majin buu #goten #trunks #piccolo #gohan #mr satan #bee #elder kai #chi chi #bulma #smitty #krillin #dende

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duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball Z 218

Last time, Videl got destroyed in her first-round match with Spopovitch. Well, not literally destroyed. I forgot what kind of show this is. Spopo just beat her up pretty badly, to the point where Goku headed out to get her a senzu bean. Backstage, Mr. Satan is so mad at Spopovitch that he takes all the press microphones and crushes them up into a ball. Make no mistake, Mr. Satan is no one you wanna mess with. He’s a weakling on this show, but only because the heroes can all fly and blow up whole cities.

This also underscores just how strong Spopovitch must be, because Videl’s supposed to be even stronger than Mr. Satan, so she could probably crush twice as many microphones, and she still lost.

The thing is, Spopovitch was no match for Mr. Satan at the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai, held several years ago.

He also looked a lot healthier back then.

So how could Spopovitch have beaten Videl so easily? Mr. Satan has no idea, so his only guess is that Videl just got extremely careless. And I guess that’s not entirely untrue, but I don’t think he’d be saying that if he had watched her match.

So what’s holding up that senzu bean? Well, Goku wants to eat first. Okay, fine, but did Korin and Yajirobe just happen to have all this food lying around? Well, Yajirobe’s here, so maybe it makes sense. Remember when Korin only ate like one fish every five years or whatever it was? Back then, he had a whole pot full of senzu beans, and nowadays he barely seems to have any. Blame Yajirobe.

Korin wonders why a dead guy even needs to eat, and Goku explains that he doesn’t, but the food is tastier here in the living world. That sounds kind of tragic, really. Anyway, he wants to sample as much cuisine as he can before he leaves Earth for good.

Finally, Goku returns with the beans (they only had three, thanks a lot, Yajirobe), and Gohan asks everyone to hold off on his upcoming match with Kibito until he can give one to Videl.

While all of this is going on, we check in on Vegeta, who doesn’t really care about Shin, Kibitio, Spopovitch, or that Yamu guy. He’s got a one-on-one match against Goku, and that’s all that matters to him. Hold that thought.

So Gohan gives Videl the bean, which is kind of a tense moment, because Videl trusts Gohan, but Mr. Satan thinks he’s giving her candy, and the people taking care of Videl have no idea what this is about.

So, this right here sums up what makes this ship so romantic. Everything Gohan does around this girl is mysterious and wonderful, and she’s totally blown away by it every time. Meanwhile, for Gohan, all of this stuff is no big deal, or things he wants to keep quiet because he’s worried about how she’ll react. “Um, hey, my dad got some magic healing beans from a cat he knows, nbd.” For Videl, this is all like that “A Whole New World” number from Aladdin, only Gohan’s worried that she might not like the pattern on the carpet.

Anyway, he leaves and she swallows the bean, and she’s healed immediately, and it’s adorable.

So now it’s finally time for the fourth match, Great Saiyaman vs. Kibito, only Gohan lost his head wrapping when he turned Super Saiyan last episode. So when his friends from high school spot him, he just looks like Gohan in sunglasses, and they realize it’s him. The funny thing is that they don’t quite figure out that Gohan is really the Great Saiyaman. He might only be impersonating the real Saiyaman to enter this tournament anonymously. Come to think of it, Gohan’s whole disguised entry in the tournament here is sort of a callback to his mom’s appearance at the 23rd Budokai. Huh.

Okay, so Toei didn’t know what to call Great Saiyaman’s head wrapping either. Good. I kept wanting to call it a turban but it really doesn’t look like one, and I don’t think “bandana” or “do-rag” works either. Anyway, Gohan hears his friends cheering for him and realizes his secret has been exposed, so he tosses away his sunglasses.

NO YOU DID NOT WORK “SO HARD” TO DISGUISE YOURSELF. YOU BLEW IT WITH VIDEL IN LIKE TWO SECONDS, AND YOU SPENT THIS WHOLE DAY HANGING AROUND YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, WHO ALL CALL YOU “GOHAN” IN FRONT OF EVERYONE, EVEN WHILE YOU’RE IN COSTUME. THEN YOU TURNED SUPER SAIYAN IN FRONT OF EVERYONE HERE, AND YOU FORGOT TO PUT YOUR DISGUISE BACK ON. ARGH!

So with that out of the way, Gohan turns his attention to Kibito, who immediately demands that he turn into a Super Saiyan. Dude, he already did that last time. Were you not paying attention?

Nearby, Yamu and Spopovitch are scanning the ring with some doohickey of theirs. It apparently senses energy. Is it just me, or does it look like they pasted Spopo’s head on after drawing the rest of this cel? It just looks kind of silly to me somehow. I bet if you could look at the cels for this episode, there’d be one of just Spopo’s head for this. I’m not sure why, since they don’t move in this scene.

Speaking of that, I always wonder about fans who collect animation cels. Like, where do you go to buy those? There’s probably thousands of them out there, but it’s weird to me, because I think of it as a very limited supply. Like if I got into that sort of thing, I guess I’d want some cels of Perfect Cell or Movie 12, but I wouldn’t be surprised if all the really good ones got collected years ago. But there’s probably a ton of Yamu and Spopovitch cels out there, especially ones that don’t look very cool, like just a picture of Yamu’s left arm or something. Can you buy those? Or do they even bother putting them up for sale? Or have they all been bought up by one devoted Spopovitch fangirl?

Gohan isn’t eager to play along, but Piccolo gives him a telepathic nudge to cooperate, since he’s the only one who knows who Kibito and Shin really are. He doesn’t know why they want Gohan to transform, but it must be important. Shin then asks the others to stand by for whatever happens next.

Vegeta demands an exaplanation, and Piccolo informs him that Shin is the Supreme Kai, who stands above all other Kamis and Kais.

This seems to genuinely impress Vegeta, which I find odd, since he’s barely had anything to do with all of these godly types. It always seemed odd to me that he knew what Piccolo fusing with Kami would mean, since he’d never interacted with Kami up to that point. And he’s never met any of the Kais. Maybe someone told him how King Kai trained Goku to defeat him and Nappa, but that would be the only point of reference I could see.

Meanwhile, there’s a match going on, or there’s supposed to be. The fans had to wait just to get both of these guys in the ring, and now they’re just staring at each other while Gohan decides whether to transform or not. Chi-Chi scolds the crowd, saying that her son’s about to do something cool, so everyone should just be friggin’ patient.

Also, Videl is back, just in time to see this. And she’s wearing the “FIGHT” shirt, which is my favorite Videl look. Well, most of it, anyway.

And... yeah, I can’t get over Spopovitch’s head. What is the deal with this?

Anyway, Gohan’s like “I guess I’ll have to quit school.” And he starts gearing up to turn Super Saiyan. You’re making the right decision, Gohan. The awesome decision.

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #25th budokai saga #goku #gohan #mr satan #videl #spopovitch #yamu #kibito #supreme kai #vegeta #piccolo #world tournament announcer #master roshi #erasa #sharpner #korin #yajirobe

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duhragonball · 5 years

Text

Dragon Ball Z 284

Okay, so you know how everyone got killed over the past fifty episodes? Well, they’re all back, except the really bad ones, whatever that means.

Piccolo, I just got done explaining this. If you’re not going to listen...

Krillin and Yamcha explain to the others how they were on the Grand Kai Planet instead of heaven. Chi-Chi thought they might have ended up in hell when they couldn’t find them. Wait, so they remember what it was like in Heaven? Isn’t that kind of weird? I don’t know, I remember this Fantastic Four comic where the Thing dies and they bring him back to life, but he finds living on Earth kind of crummy somehow because he remembers how nice it was in heaven. On the other hand, you can’t have sex in heaven in DBZ, so maybe everyone’s happy to have their legs back. Pretty sure Yamcha could have gotten laid on the Grand Kai Planet, but he never found any women there so oh well.

Also, it’s a little weird how Krillin was on the Grand Kai Planet while his family was presumably in heaven. Like, would he ever get to see them again?

One guy who won’t be coming back is Dabura, since Porunga deemed him too evil to revive, in accordance with the wish. He doesn’t mind though, and he promises to pray for everyone’s happiness in the living world. I don’t know why I like Heaven Dabura so much, but I just do.

Meanwhile, the battle on the Supreme Kai Planet is still going on. Kid Buu is beating up the Fat Buu, who is currently the only one strong enough to hold the line. Vegeta’s plan is to have Goku create a Spirit Bomb and beat Buu with that. This is why he wished the Earth and its people back, so Goku would have a planet full of people to draw energy from. But Goku’s not so sure it’ll work.

After all, when King Kai first taught him the Bomb, he warned Goku not to use it while the sun was out, because it might destroy the whole planet. And then Goku used it in broad daylight anyway, and it didn’t work, not against Vegeta or Frieza.

But Vegeta has a twist in mind. Instead of taking a small amount of energy from every living thing on Earth, he wants Goku to take as much power as possible. All they have to do is get everyone to cooperate and contribute their full power, and Goku will end up with the biggest Spirit Bomb of all time.

But to do that, Vegeta needs to address the Earth’s population. He thinks Kibitoshin can do that, but he can’t. Neither can the Elder Kai. That’s weird, because Babidi knew how to do that, and so can...

... this guy, right here. Why can King Kai do something that the Supreme Kais can’t? Oh well, the point is that he can open a telepathic channel so that Vegeta can speak to everyone at once. Oh, and he’s also flattered that Vegeta is utilizing King Kai’s patened Spirit Bomb technique.

So Vegeta explains the situation to the Earth. They all know that they got killed by Majin Buu, only to return to life like nothing happened, but he assures them that this was no dream, and that they need everyone’s help to defeat Majin Buu.

Mr. Satan wanders over while this is going on, to ask Goku and Vegeta to help Fat Buu, but they’re busy.

Bulma is pretty worked up to hear Vegeta talking. At first I didn’t understand why, but I forgot that he was one of the first ones to die after Buu showed up, and she had probably given up hope that he would have been revived.

Anyway, Vegeta asks the Earthlings to raise their hands, and this will apparently draw the ki out of their bodies and send it to Goku’s Spirit Bomb. I guess that makes sense. All the previous bombs had been involuntary, because they skimmed a small amount of energy from everything. For this, I guess there had to be some way for each person to affirmatively give their power. It’ll tire them out, but no more than that.

But King Kai isn’t too impressed with Vegeta’s approach to this request. He’s basically ordering everyone to do this, and they don’t even know who he is. I can’t blame him though. He’s desperate, and he assumes the Earthlings would share in that desperation.

So with that worked out, Goku rips off his outer shirt to make a Spirit Bomb. He’s pretty pleased with how well Vegeta worked all of this out.

So all of the major characters raise their hands right away, because they know what’s up. And that alone makes the Spirit Bomb pretty damn big. But it’s not enough.

King Kai is certain that the bomb would be much bigger by now if everyone on Earth was cooperating. Moori checks to make sure everyone got resurrected properly, but that’s not the issue.

The problem is that most of the people who heard Vegeta don’t believe what he said. Some of them think this is a trick, or that it won’t do them any good, or that there’s no danger. So they simply ignore his words.

That pisses Vegeta off, which only makes his message even more testy than it was before.

And there’s not much time to massage the PR situation, because Fat Buu is running on fumes. Without him to hold off Kid Buu, this whole idea is going to fall apart.

King Kai tries to get Vegeta to keep at it, since this is their only shot, but Vegeta doesn’t know how else to ask. What can he say that hasn’t already been said?

In hell, all the bad guys are pretty smug about this. I don’t see why, since none of this affects them in the least.

But no one listens. That seems a bit weird to me, because if I had some creep shouting into my head, I don’t think I’d be able to just go about my day and ignore it, like these women are doing.

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duhragonball · 5 years

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What do you think about Linda Young's portrayal of Frieza overall? I've seen a lot of people who don't like her performance, mainly because she doesn't capture the same false politeness that Ayers does.

She sounds different from the Japanese version, and for some people that’s enough to bug them. I never really understood subs vs. dubs until I started watching JoJo in Japanese, and then I looked up clips of the English dub and found myself frustrated with most of the voices. Giving young Joseph a posh British accent just feels wrong. Kyle Herbert as Kakyoin is pretty good casting, but I know Kyle too well from his Dragon Ball roles, so I find it distracting.

Personally, I think the issue is that you get used to the Japanese VA’s and the fact that they’re speaking Japanese. I just watched a clip of Dio’s dub voice and he’s okay, but he really doesn’t sound like Takehito Koyasu. So what would I have instead? Takehito Koyasu speaking English? That still wouldn’t sound the same. No matter how you slice it, the English dub has to be different from the original.

One other thing that bugs me when I watch Jojo clips in English is how the animation seems less impressive to me. I think a lot of that has to do with dividing my focus between watching the show and reading the subtitles at the same time. With a dub, I can focus on the cartoon itself, and that may not always be flattering to it. Watching JJBA dubbed always feels like I’m watching episodes of Yugi-Oh. I can’t explain it, it just feels like the actors are talking and the characters are moving but they’re not synched up very well. This is probably a good argument for me to give Yugi-Oh a second chance by watching it in Japanese.

So maybe that’s what DBZ fans are dealing with when they jump from subs to dubs. I saw the dub first and it kicked ass, and now I’m watching the subs so if anything it’s a richer experience, so I feel like it’s no-lose to watch the dub first. That may just be because I’m that into DBZ.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure Linda Young was only cast as Frieza because Funimation started dubbing the show in-house after Episode 67, and they were dealing with two main constraints. First, they had a limited talent pool to work from, and second, they wanted to try to keep the voices somewhat consistent with the Ocean Group cast from Episodes 1-66. In those episodes, Frieza was voiced by Pauline Newstone, and Linda Young did sound a lot like her, to the point where I had trouble noticing the switch.

So why’d they cast Newstone in the first place? I don’t know, but I always thought it was an interesting idea. Maybe Frieza’s black lips had something to do with it. He has a somewhat androgynous look to him, and it’s been suggested more than once that his species has no sexual dimorphism. And he’s an alien anyway, so he can sound like anything you want. So why not give him a raspy old lady voice? It adds an air of mystery to the character. You hear him speak and wonder if you just heard what you thought you heard. Subs purists can’t complain too much, since Goku’s been played by a woman for decades.

As Young moved on to Frieza’s later forms, she started to sound tougher and more brutal, sort of like how Stephanie Nadolny had to do when Gohan got older and went Super Saiyan 2. But with Frieza, that change somehow just makes it even more apparent that he talks like an old woman. I never knew how old Linda was when she played the part, but the reason I’m comparing her voice to an old lady is because she basically did the same voice for Master Genkai in Yu Yu Hakusho, and she was an old lady.

And I think the Funimation script really tacked into that idea. I remember a line where Frieza was beating up Vegeta, and she said “We could have been so good together.” It was around the part where he ate the crab. It just made it sound like Frieza was flirting with Vegeta, like he wanted more than a loyal subordinate. The Linda Young Frieza seemed almost self-aware of how his dub voice sounded, and he seemed to use it to get under his enemies’ skin. I don’t want to make it sound like that was the only dimension of her performance, but I think it was an important one.

Just to present this as a comparison, I’ll use the lines they all spoke when Frieza killed Krillin.

Ryusei Nakao: You think I’m going to excuse you? I’m not letting a single one of you go home alive! (points at Krillin) (chuckles, laughs, hisses like a cat)

Linda Young: If you think your little friends can escape me you’re sadly mistaken! (points at Krillin) This time you won’t come back! (laughs, grunts like a weightlifter)

Chis Ayres: I advise against placing too much stock in your escape, though if you like I can bring you closer to home! (points at Krillin) Hope you aren’t afraid of heights! (laughs) Nnnnaaaahhh!

For what it’s worth, there’s a part before Frieza levitates Krilln, where it looks like he’s speaking, but Nakao simply chuckled instead. It looks pretty awkward, which is probably why Young and Ayres spoke a line instead. “This time you won’t come back,” “Hope you aren’t afraid of heights.” So even the Japanese dub isn’t perfect.

Anyway, I think the differences are somewhat clear here. Nakao is pretty matter-of-fact about what he’s saying. “I’m going to kill you all.” Young uses harsher words to belittle the others. “Your little friends”, “sadly mistaken”. She also grunts a lot, like Frieza is overcompensating for his effeminate voice.

Ayres tosses up a word salad. His delivery is 27 words versus Young’s 18. I always assumed his performance was designed to more closely resemble the original Japanese, but it’s not. Nakao expressed the same thought in 18 words.

This isn’t a knock on Ayres. He does a good job. I suspect the reason his lines are more verbose is because it’s a English adaptation of the hoity-toity talk Frieza uses in Japanese. As I understand it, Japanese uses different vocabulary for poltie speech versus casual speech, and so forth. With English, that effect doesn’t necessarily carry over. Having Ayres!Frieza’s mouth runneth over kind of resembles it, though. He can’t just kill you, he’s gotta give a damn speech about it.

If I had to parody them, I’d do it like this:

Ryusei Nakao: Well then, I suppose I shall now murder your entire family. But don’t worry. I promise this won’t take long at all. Eeeeeeeeyaaaaaahhhh!

Linda Young: Too bad, hotshot. It looks like your loser family is doomed, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Also, you have a very tiny dick. Uuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhruhhhhh!

Chris Ayres: When in the course of human events...

#dragon ball #ask duhragon ball #frieza #2019dbliveblog #frieza saga #star-searcher17

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