#Vegeta trains so that he can protect the things he doesn't want to lose again and Goku trains because it's the thing that makes him happies

[shannonsketches]

Why is the anime so weird, it's not even the same series dude?? It's like,

Anime:

GOKU: I have a great idea to bring peace to the universe, and my leadership and compassion alone will unite us all. I have No Flaws and am A True Relatable Everyman :)

VEGETA: NO! I AM THE BEST AND I WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS UNTIL I AM RECOGNIZED AS SUCH!!!!

Manga:

GOKU: Vegeta what's cornmeal made of? I know it's what the corn eats, but what's it made of? VEGETA: Hey Kakarot let's play the quiet game until one of us dies.

#silly hours #I do not understand this writing it's so bad aklsdlkasjd #Toei wants Goku to be Clark Kent SO bad and he SO isn't lmao #they're so good and dumb and rounded and complex in the manga what is the anime so afraid of #Toriyama said 'no no this man is a detached faux-immortal who has a dear pure heart but he's childlike and selfish even though he's kind' #and toei went 'got it goku's never done anything wrong ever in his life' #toriyama said 'Vegeta's gone through a lot and he's finally settling into his more mature leadership role with the confidence he's earned' #and toei said 'got it vegeta has the confidence of a high school bully except now he can interact with his family as a comedy bit' #girl hWHAT #Toei trying to group Goku and Vegeta as two people who would rather train than be with their families and Toriyama said NO Vegeta wants #to be HOME this is the first time in years that he's HAD ONE and it makes him HAPPY to be with his wife and children!! #Vegeta trains so that he can protect the things he doesn't want to lose again and Goku trains because it's the thing that makes him happies #They are NOT the same lmao And yeah Vegeta still wants to beat Goku but he also knows that Gohan could dogwalk both of them if he wanted #He also knows Trunks and Goten are going to surpass them it's not about being the best anymore he's past that he just wants to Not Need Gok #He just doesn't want to have to rely on Goku to save the day he wants to be Enough on his own he just wants to know he can be #because every time it's mattered he WASN'T and people he loved were lost to his inability to protect them and he carries that #Like Whis diagnosed him with anxiety and cptsd out in the open and Beerus said he was self-centered for feeling guilt #+ he lowkey enjoys the rivalry it keeps him goal-oriented so he can't get complacent and lazy which is what triggered his Buu Saga breakdow #realized how Fucked Up it was that having a home and loving family made him feel like he was failing and went 'wait no I won actually??' #now he's chill as fuck in the manga. cool confident leader. #and sometimes he is childish and dumb with Goku as a treat #you know what rocks about his rivalry with Goku in Super though is that it's Playful. Vegeta is learning how to Play. #You ever seen a shelter dog get introduced to a really playful dog and it takes a minute for the shelter dog to understand it's safe here #And then they're both running around the backyard playing hot potato with one braincell?? That's Goku and Vegeta's relationship #and the way the anime sleeps on that dynamic is so fucking criminal especially when it's literally canon it's in print it's out there #you had the playbook how'd you fumble it this bad #anyway that's my 25+ year blorbo thoughts I love Geets a lot okay #And I love Goku in the manga a lot I'd forgotten that he's actually a great character when Toei's not fucking up his whole vibe

[fourcolour-ace]

Non-Combatant Gohan DBZ AU #2

Being a Gohan-centric au, naturally we need a post devoted to the boy himself.

Stay tuned for everything you never knew you needed to know about the normalest boy ever.

Gohan the Normal Boy

Now obviously I'm kidding a little bit, as even the most average of upbringings has its quirks and there's only so much attending public school can iron out. Being half-alien is a notable one. But attended-public-school Gohan has about an OG DB weirdness threshold. He's cool with having a monkey's tail and not being allowed to look at the moon. Having super strength is awkward but not unmanageable. But once you get into the whole "people can fly" thing you start to lose him. He's more open to it than Videl, but only because he knows some people are aliens. Humans flying is a little less believable.

Gohan spent the first seven or so years of his life around Mt. Paozu and the Son family house. Goku was absent for much of this time for a variety of reasons(dead, injured, in outer space) so he was raised mainly by Chichi, who insisted he spend much of his time studying. He likely had a few filler-episode-type adventures, but nothing too intense. Chichi's protectiveness kept him near the house most of the time. So our boy never quite outgrows the timidness of childhood, though he has learned to cope rather well by his teens.

In the pre-Android saga, Chichi and Goku separate. Gohan and his mother move closer to the city after several disagreements he doesn't know are about him. Chichi is determined to keep her son safe, which means Gohan has a mostly abstract idea of who his father is until the Cell Games are broadcast that fateful day. She can't keep him from seeing it, indeed it was on every channel, so while the world cheers on Mr. Satan, Chichi prays for her husband's safety, and finally tells her son about his heritage. A fire is lit that day, though it escapes the notice of both for years.

Gohan attends elementary, middle and high school as most children do. He has friends, playmates, tutors, and though he doesn't play sports, he does join a variety of clubs(colleges love extracurriculars). In high school he participates in some academic-decathlon-type competition, and befriends a boy called Suki(more on him later). I'd say the biggest difference between canon Gohan and this AU is that he grows up with friends. Friends, normal humans who accept their shy, nerdy buddy who just happens to have a tail. He is acquainted with Videl, but they have little in common, and she seems out of his league. It's pure luck that they share a homeroom class, so Gohan gets a free ticket to the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. Chichi doesn't want him to go. This is Gohan's first time openly defying his mother, and he does it because he just might get to see his dad again.

Still with me? Let's get into normal boy's problems.

Gohan was born with above-average potential. This is canon. He displays enough of a glimmer of this potential in DBZ that Vegeta and Nappa have a brief chat about Saiyan/Earthling hybrids while on their way to Earth. In canon Gohan received training which allowed him to make use of this strength. In this AU he received nothing of the sort. This results in the incredibly stressful situation of being unable to control his superhuman strength effectively. He tries, and has mostly succeeded over the years, but every once in a while he slips up and breaks something. Issues like those are becoming more common as Gohan enters his teens. Try as he might to suppress it, his strength only grows, and now it even outpaces his body's ability to adapt. Chichi knows but she can't help, and doesn't want to admit she was wrong to keep him from Goku. With no recourse left, Gohan knows he has to go behind his mother's back to get help from the one person he knows will understand.

That's how the anxious beanpole of a half-Saiyan(yes he's tall and skinny in this I have headcanons) ends up searching the crowd at the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament for his dad he hasn't seen for nine years. Somehow Goku finds him first and, well, I'll save that story for another time.

Thank you as always to my readers.

#my thoughts #my writing #long post #dbz #dragon ball franchise