#i have a lot of piccolo feelings | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mdhwrites · 10 days

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Just putting forth this ask: why is it that compared with Amphibia's All In and The Hardest Thing, that TOH's finale and "final fight" (if we can even call it out that) just felt so underwhelming? Even especially Luz's "death" which felt so much of a fakeout and copying from Amphibia's. Granted, I wonder if a part of that is some of us already watching Amphibia at that point tho.

The fight feeling more underwhelming is easy actually. See, 90% of what people remember of Luz fighting Belos isn't her fighting Belos. It's just dancing around fighting moss. That is... Lame. To put it mildly. Meanwhile, you have three magical girls flying into space to fight the moon and his army of robots. That is awesome.

However.

What I really want to talk about is why their deaths actually play into the feeling of these two fights and the finales as a whole. It lets me talk about shock deaths versus heroic sacrificed because TL:DR: Anne heroically sacrifices herself for Amphibia as a final culmination of the growth she has had as a character. Meanwhile, Luz is given a shock death to sell how dangerous Belos is (which I will get into a bit) while also essentially being fridged for the sake of the Collector's arc. One of those is hype as hell and satisfying. The other is a complete stumble before we finally get the actual confrontation.

However, I'm going to go away from The Owl House and Amphibia first to talk about the tropes of Heroic Sacrifices and Shock Deaths with one of the easiest franchises to do it with: Dragonball Z.

Let's start with Heroic Sacrifice. A heroic sacrifice is when a character CHOOSES to give up their life so as to attempt to put things right, save lives, etc. like that. This choice element is actually really important. Without it, it's just a tragic death. The villain got the upper hand at a bad moment and killed them. That rarely actually happens in media but it is an option. A heroic sacrifice is just that: A sacrifice.

This is your classic moments of Piccolo sacrificing himself for Gohan against Nappa or Vegeta using all the energy he has in an attempt to defeat Buu. In both cases, these are major defining moments in their arcs. Arguably, the climaxes of them. The pinnacle of them changing to be a good person. We also see two classic examples here, one of which I think is commonly much stronger.

Piccolo's death is a split second decision where he decides to take the hit instead of allowing it to reach Gohan. This has a lot of good points for a character, such as showing their inherently good nature, but it does lack one key component: It doesn't feel like the choice weighs as much. Not wanting to see someone else get hurt is pretty basic and can be warped just as much by the bad guys so as to make it a weakness. It says a lot about Zuko when he takes a lightning bolt for Katara... But I wouldn't call it a sacrifice. It's a split second choice to make sure one person stays alive over themselves. This makes the impact revolve a LOT more around thematics over just the weight of the moment. As an example: If Superman dives in front of someone to take a Kryptonite blast, that's an "Oh shit," moment as the fight suddenly takes a turn for the worst. However, it is so ingrained in his nature that it hardly means anything for him to put himself in danger like this. It only hits hard for characters like Piccolo because of the journey they've been on.

Vegeta's hits harder for that reason because it still carries all the same advantages of the split second choice with one MAJOR boon: It's optional. Yes, technically these others are too but protecting an ally is just a part of being on a team. Being in combat. We don't blink at it most of the time unless it leads to a death, in which case it is a tragedy. Vegeta had a different option though. Just... Play along. Or leave. Or do ANYTHING else.

Instead, from his lowest point, he finally sees what he's going to lose from all of this, what he has done, and makes the choice to try and make up for it. Not even to seek forgiveness but just to have a single moment of redemption in his whole life in an attempt to save his family and those he cares about.

This also brings up another point about Heroic sacrifices: They don't need to be successful or permanent. The point is about what it says about the character. Vegeta doesn't manage jack shit in his last moments from an entirely practical purpose. From a character perspective though, this choice will last eternally. It will always be a part of him and his growth. That is powerful, even if it fails.

But what happens when there is no choice and it says nothing about the character? Well, that's when we get into the realm of a shock death, like Yamcha's legendary failure. A shock death is mostly meant to just raise the stakes. To make the audience know that 'shit just got real'. It always happens as a character getting instantly KO'd so as to really sell the "OH SHIT" factor of the moment.

Which is also why everyone always laughs at Yamcha. His death means nothing and as far as trying to up the ante? Good job, you killed the weakest of us in a show of strength. Good job. It is a HARD sell to a lot of audience members at this point because the character is just there to die. Their death doesn't say anything or mean anything for them so why as an audience should we care? It was just a cheap death that accomplished nothing and everyone moves on from.

So am I fair to call Luz's death this? After all, Camila cries over it. Eda goes into a more feral version of her Owl Beast form than she ever has before because of it. The Collector learns what death is due to it!

And in like three minutes, none of that will matter besides the Collector thing. No Eda having to try and bring herself back from the curse, despite claiming it can still eternally take her, a plot point never resolved. Camila has no reason to actually know. Her crying is just to add another octave to the overture "BE SAD NOW!" And the Collector?

He only was in danger because the writers said he was. Even if you believe Belos is immune to his magic (which was shown to be untrue as he flew up to Belos' face), he is still an incredible being of unrivaled power. He can move celestial bodies with a whim for god's sake. Why should he EVER be in danger? Shouldn't he be able to teleport or just shift out of the way faster than Luz can fly up to him?

And what does it say about Luz? You know, the girl who has been trying to abandon the Isles for TWO WHOLE SPECIALS before this and who has no connection with the Collector? They want this to be a heroic sacrifice in the way of Piccolo but it doesn't have the weight. It has no build up and Luz was NEVER going to have a real connection to the Collector. It's even explicitly used as a teaching moment for the Collector. To give him extra motivation to become a good guy... Like you do when you fridge a character. It's also something Luz would have explicitly done from episode 1 so it also has the Superman problem of saying nothing.

And the WORST part for Luz is... It wasn't something she thought was going to kill her. She thought the two would get out of the way. Maybe that was just a line in relief but a heroic sacrifice is an all in play. You don't expect to come back from a SACRIFICE. But Luz appears to have.

As such, it just feels like a way to up the stakes, especially when all it leads to is a power up for Luz. A cheap bit of escalation before the victory lap that is Titan Luz. That's just not that compelling and it feels manipulative, like a lot of shock deaths are.

And how does Amphibia get out of all of this? With one line:

"These stones aren't Amphibia's greatest treasure."

In that moment, we are reminded not only of all that Anne is fighting for but all of the growth she has had in order to lead to this moment. To go from the selfish girl she once was to the unifier of the stones. To someone who can actually care about an entire planet. How in episode 1, she wouldn't have done this but now? Now it's not even a moment of hesitation for her.

And it does have the Vegeta element of being optional. She could have gone home. She could have had Marcy or Sasha make the sacrifice instead. She doesn't though because she will not shrug off the responsibility of all this. This isn't even to do with the prophecy. She was the one to steal the music box. She was complicit, even if more fault lies with Marcy, in leading to the Core being potentially able to ravage worlds again. And then she is told that the prophecy is a plea for help. You don't have to yes to a plea like you do destiny. If not for Anne's experiences, she would have said no.

Instead, she says yes and she wins for it. Her resurrection is even based in this. She expects no resurrection and was ENTIRELY ready to bear the weight of her choice. She won't even accept the Guardian's offer of power because that's not why she did this. It's not what her arc is about. Instead, she gets her resurrection for the same reason she died: Because she has grown and in that growth, become so much more than she ever could have even imagined, so what would happen if given more time to grow? Would she surpass all of ours expectations? Even a god's?

ALL of that helps an audience care. Helps give a true climax to everything. Brings it all together. Even if you want to argue, and I actually probably would, that the Calamity trio fighting is technically worse from an animation standpoint than even Eda, King and Luz against the moss, narrative weight matters more. That sense of climax matters more. It is going to elevate the rest of the fight, and the episode, simply by making sure that ANY audience member is going to have a greater amount of investment in it.

And a heroic sacrifice is a great way to add to that. A shock death is not.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #toh #the owl house #amphibia

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non-un-topo · 2 years

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🔊 Nicky 👀

OH boy oh boy I'm excited ty Apple and Mary! <33

I can hardly explain it but I associate Nicky with a lot of... weirder songs, some sort of melancholy, others verging on gothic or just otherwise having dark religious tones. I'll spare you the metal (partially because I'm shy and partially because it's all a big disorganized mess in my head lol).

My top choices (ones I almost always have to listen to when I draw him) are Boy Cried Wolf by Patti Smith and My Only Child by Nico.

And one more because I think it's a popular one: Familiar by Agnes Obel.

#i have a lot of feelings about nicky's possible childhood which ik is 100% headcanon so you gotta bear with me hgfdg #another i've been listening to for the past few days is sparrow by simon & garfunkel -#- because you know i'm a huge sucker for nicky + bird symbolism. and i wonder if love was hard for him to find before joe.#as for the metal... i've been listening to some doomsword and thinking of nicky of course #and heilung (if that counts as metal. still not sure)#and one more nico song because i just love her vibe: ari's song (for maximum angsty piccolo nicolo vibes)#anyway thank you for the asks apple and mary!! <333

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siren-nate · 1 month

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I know it wasn’t the point of your recent Chosen post, but I’m curious what you identified as signs of power-creep 👀

I should clarify, when I said "signs" of power creep, I really mean like, the barest hints that are making me nervous. Episode V does a great job of juxtaposing the earth-shaking attacks of Chosen and Dark to give them a sense of scale, by showing how Second and the Color Gang are constantly blown away by the things these two demigods can do (and on that note, Chosen fans have it REALLY good compared to Color Gang fans when it comes to having your favorite characters meaningfully contribute to fights in the main series. It's like Piccolo fans vs. Yamcha fans). But there's still a few parts that irk me.

Chosen is constantly landing laser eyes on Dark throughout their fight, and Dark is always surviving because he blocks with his arms. Then he puts on the wristbands, and his first big demonstration of how much more powerful they make him is... tanking Chosen's laser eyes with his arms. I get that the difference is "being forced to defend himself" vs. "gliding down the attack to interrupt it with one of his own", but it still just felt weird. Part of it was probably the stylistic choice to change the laser eyes from causing massive explosions in 2 and 3 to actually just cutting and burning things in 5 and 6, which I think IS a good change that makes the laser eyes more distinct from his pyrokinesis, but it also means that they just don't feel like they have much meaningful impact anymore. The last time they did was when he sheared off one of ViraBot's limbs with them.

That's kind of the main thing - a lack of impact with a lot of Chosen's attacks. The Mercs are implied to either be tanky enough to survive his attacks or (in the case of Pivot) have some defensive options, but there's that one moment in particular where Chosen gets fired up and launches all three of the other Mercs off of him with a burst of fire... and that doesn't seem to hurt them at all. If you don't give these superpowers the impact they need on a regular basis to establish how destructive they are, it starts to feel like they're pointless; like he'd basically be doing the exact same thing by just punching and kicking with his super strength.

I saw someone claim that Chosen lost the fight against the Mercs because he's going through a moral crisis and wasn't trying to kill them, and I have to wonder if that person watched the same episode I did - if Chosen wasn't trying to kill the Mercs before he started fleeing, why the hell would he go and grab Second Coming explicitly because he remembers how ungodly powerful she was with her powers awakened? It feels like a poor excuse for Chosen just feeling too underpowered lately.

Sidenote: The Box is not an example of this. The Box is genius, displaying that Victim is so underpowered compared to Alan's other creations that he needs to be buffed ten times over and have his opponent reduced to about 1/10th of their own strength, and Chosen still gets the upper hand a few times because he's A) just that strong and B) far more experienced fighting people his own level than Victim is. Seeing how his pyrokinesis completely renders his clones helpless and incinerates them within seconds did a lot of good work towards re-establishing how dangerous Chosen is, not to mention how his ice-defense trick demonstrates how he's not the dumb brute a lot of the fandom thinks he is.

TL;DR: It's somewhat a symptom of Chosen losing so many fights, which really isn't even that valid of a criticism when we're only two parts in to the sixth installment. What bothers me the most is that he keeps fighting people who can seemingly just shrug off his powers, which makes his powers feel pointless.

#Alan Becker #Animator vs. Animation #The Chosen One #AvA TCO #You asked me about something we both knew wasn't even the main point of my post #I replied with (counts) six paragraphs #I'm so sorry

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floating-mid-air · 5 months

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The Princess of all Saiyans

Masterlist

Welcome back everyone. And welcome to anyone new. I'm back… yet again. New year… I won't say it again. I jinxed myself last year. As always, DM's/Comments are always open if you have any comments, questions, or concerns. I'd also like to thank everyone for the constant support. It means a lot.

Chapter 16

Gohan rushes over to your side with Krillin in tow. "Wow, Y/N. You really held your own against Frieza. I'm impressed." Krillin praises you.

"Ya, it was so cool!" Gohan exclaims. "I had no idea you were that strong."

"And talk about that transformation." Krillin continues to fawn over your brief display of abilities. "It was unreal."

"I lost." You scowl at the pair in disgust. You swear there's something psychologically wrong with them. This isn't the first time you've seen them praise failure. It's one of their many odd behaviors that you've managed to observe.

Kakarot and Frieza stand mere inches apart, sizing each other up. You never thought this day would come. You've been reduced to nothing more than one of Kakarot's accessories. You feel ill. Piccolo turns to the others, a hint of concern in his voice. "All four of us need to get out of here and go somewhere safe. Quickly."

Gohan and Krillin nod at the Namekian. "Get him, dad! Make him pay for what he did!" It's kinda cute how much the boy admires his father. In a way, it reminds you of the way Vegeta was with your own. Obviously, your brother was far less endearing.

Now, you all stand much farther away. Well, the other three stand. You don't have the energy. Damn, going Super Saiyan is a real energy drainer. "I'm quite surprised." Frieza chuckles with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"And why's that?" Goku asks.

"I've never seen Y/N so fond of someone before." Frieza's gaze jumps from you to Kakarot. "Lord knows Jeice tried."

"That weird little red guy?" Goku looks back, his eyes locking on you. You meet his gaze, glaring daggers at him. "I don't think she likes me that much." He chuckles, turning back to Frieza.

"I differ. Not even her precious Raditz would've gotten away with a stunt like that. I'm surprised she even allowed you to hold her."

"What are they talking about?" Gohan turns to Krillin, who just shrugs. Piccolo, however, has a faint smirk dancing on his lips. You've heard that Namkeians have a heightened sense of hearing. So whatever Frieza and that buffoon are discussing, it must be amusing enough to put a momentary pause on the Namkeian's brooding.

The epic battle between Goku and Frieza begins. They trade blows back and forth, creating rubble across the terrain as they go. You want nothing more than to watch Kakarot wipe the floor with that monster, but you're struggling. You can barely keep your eyes open. So much has happened today. You're both physically and mentally drained. "Y/N?" Gohan turns to you. "Are you alright?"

"Never better." You faintly grin at him.

"Maybe we should get her back to the ship." Krillin looks at Gohan skeptically.

"Touch me, and you won't have to worry about Frieza. I'll end you myself." Krillin gulps, diverting his gaze back onto the battlefield. Even injured, the human is still terrified of you. It's comforting.

Frieza manages to get the upper hand on Goku, knocking the Saiyan into the water. Far too much time for comfort passes. Something's off. You try to focus on his energy, yet you come up flat. You must be weaker than you thought. Maybe Kakarot came up somewhere else? Adrenaline kicks in. You hop up onto your feet without a second thought. "You shouldn't be standing!" The brat scolds you, rushing to your side. "You're too weak."

"This isn't right," Krillin mutters. "Goku should've come up for air by now."

"He's fine. I've been tracking his energy." Gohan assures him as he supports your weight, desperately trying to get you to sit back down. "You heard that right, Y/N. My dad is fine. You don't need to worry about him, alright."

"I'm not worried about Kakarot." You scoff. "If your idiot father insists on getting himself killed, so be it."

"You don't have to say it. I know you care. If you didn't, you would've left already." You grimace, your eyes locking back onto the water. If Kakarot's still under there, he must have a plan. But then again, it's Kakarot. From what you've been able to understand, his plans don't ever seem to have much consistency.

What the hell? The large body of water begins to illuminate. You're not very familiar with Namek's aquatic life, but you're pretty sure none of the creatures here glow. Three balls of energy shoot out of the water. Collectively striking Frieza and knocking him down. Wow. Kakarot may be smarter than you give him credit for. Though you'd never say that to his face.

However, Frieza isn't down for long, quickly jumping back onto his feet. With ease Frieza, lifts a boulder the size of a small island. He tosses the rock into the air, shooting it straight at Goku. The Saiyan manages to catch it. But struggles with the sheer mass of the bolder. He's pushed into another mountain, trapping him between the terrain.

Not even a second passes before Goku shoots a beam, the rock fracturing around him. Allowing the man to easily escape. "You fell for it!" Frieza laughs manically.

Frieza's trapped Kakarot in some sort of bubble. You didn't know the freak had an ability like that. He kicks Goku back and forth as if he was a ball. You'd probably find this situation amusing if this was anyone other than Frieza. The pair continue to go back and forth, causing the whole planet to shake.

The winds pick up, causing their audience to be blown back. You and Piccolo managed to maintain your center of gravity, but the other two went flying. Krillin grabs onto a tree, and Piccolo grabs Gohan by the fabric of his attire. "They're causing an earthquake?" Krillin shouts, clinging onto the tree for dear life.

"But we're not on Earth... so is it still called an earthquake? Maybe it's called a namekquake?" Gohan chuckles.

"I don't think the technicalities really matter right now, Gohan!" Krllin tightens his grip. "Especially if we all die!" The planet stills, causing Krillin to land flat on his face. You laugh at his incompetence. How the hell has he even survived this long? It must be because of the Dragon Balls.

"That's not even the half of it. Frieza could destroy this planet in one blast if he wanted to. He certainly has the power." Piccolo says, his stoic expression not wavering.

"So he's just toying with us?" Krillin glances at Frieza through his peripheral vision. "That bastard."

"He's having fun with Kakarot." You scoff. "We're just a bonus."

Gohan frowns, furrowing his brows. "I-Is my dad gonna be okay?"

"Frieza's not the only one holding back." Piccolo's gaze moves onto Goku. "Look for yourselves."

"Dad!" The boy chuckles. The Namekian may be correct, but you've heard the rumors about Frieza. And if there's any validity to them, this isn't even a speck of Frieza's true power.

Your eyes wander around the rubble of Namek, and you see something... well, someone. For a split second, you thought it was Vegeta. But their build is shorter and far too slim. The name pops into your mind sooner than you'd care to admit. Tarble? You feel as if you're falling further and further into a bottomless abyss.

Your brother is dead... both of them are. Tarble's been dead for years. There's no way he survived in space all on his own. And if the slim chance he did, this would be the last place he'd be. He would never actively look for a fight or put himself in danger. He was always far too timid, far too afraid. Back on your home planet, people would refer to him as your shadow. Wherever you were, Tarble was just two steps behind. Just like... your shadow. You try not to think about him much. But once in a blue moon, thoughts of him slip into your mind. You can't help it.

"Y/N?" Gohan looks at you, concern shining in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Krillin's expression mirrors Gohan's.

"Ya, it's nothing." You shake your head, squinting your eyes. "I just

thought I saw something."

"What did you see?" Gohan turns his head in the direction you were fixated on, only to find nothing.

"I'm just delirious. My eyes are playing tricks on me." You close your eyes, massaging your temples. And just like that, the image is gone. You're losing what's left of your mind.

"Are you sure?" Krillin asks. You nod, not wanting to spend another second on this topic. You direct your attention back onto the battle.

As the battle continues, you hear a motor of some kind. It's heading straight for you. Your head darts towards the source. It's the Earth woman on some sort of pink vehicle. Has she lost her damn mind? She jumps onto the ground, landing in a v-shaped pose. "A perfect ten!" Her voice is more gravelly than you remember. Wait a second. You'd recognize that dorky pose anywhere... It's Ginyu.

"Bulma!" Krillin yelps. "What are you doing here? Do you have any idea how dangerous this place is?" 'Bulma' has his back turned to him, seemingly not listening to a thing he says. You doubt Ginyu even knows her name. "Bulma? Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh? Who's that?" You were right. That fool took her body without even learning her name. Oh, this is great. You begin to laugh hysterically, wiping tears from your eyes. After the day you've had, you really needed this.

"Y/N? What's so funny?" Gohan asks.

"This is the best thing to ever happen on this damn planet. It's so amusing that it hurts." You grab your stomach, wincing in pain from laughing so hard.

"Bulma, you can't be here!" Krillin scolds the false Bulma. "Goku and Frieza are having it out. You need to find somewhere to hide."

"Really?" 'Bulma' jumps up in excitement, moving closer to the direction of the battle.

"Hold on!" Krillin shouts. "Don't just waltz over there. It's too dangerous."

"Lord Frieza in his ultimate form." Ginyu looks on in awe, fangirling over his boss. "Wow. It's magnificent! Frieza's body is reacting to the Saiyan's power!"

Gohan and Krillin share a look. "Bulma?"

A frog leaps in front of Gohan, jumping into his arms. The animal attempts to communicate with him. Making several croaking sounds and lots of gestures. Wait. If Ginyu is in Bulma's body, then Bulma must be... she's the damn frog! Oh, if only Raditz could see this. He'd get a kick out of it. You can practically hear his brash laughter ringing in your ears.

Gohan's eyes widen. "I get it now. You're that Ginyu guy. It's beyond dangerous out here, little buddy. If I were you, I'd find a nice sturdy rock to climb under."

"This is bad," As you watch the battle, Piccolo speaks for the first time in a while. "The gap between their strength is widening."

"It... It can't be." Krillin and Gohan share an uneasy look as Bulma laughs maniacally.

"Bulma?" Krillin questions again, this time more concerned than ever.

"His Lordship Frieza does not disappoint. Victory is his."

"Enough of this. Who are you?" Piccolo questions. Looks like one of the members of Team Kakarot has finally caught on.

"Cap--" Ginyu's hands fling over his mouth, stopping him from finishing his sentence. He struggles to pose in the unfamiliar feminine frame. But quickly, he maneuvers into a fighting stance. His attention concentrated on the Namekian.

"Look out, Piccolo!" Krillin shouts. Unfortunately for Piccolo, the warning comes just a second too late.

"Change now!"

"Head's up!" Gohan shouts, tossing the frog-morphed human straight into the line of fire.

Once the blinding light disperses, everyone's eyes lock on Bulma. Who's standing there frozen in shock. Which means Ginyu must be... You look down to the floor and catch the frog scampering away. You shake your head and snicker. What a coward.

"That was a close one, huh?" Gohan chuckles.

"Ya... If I only knew what happened." The Namekian scratches his head. He seems a bit dazed.

"I'm back! Inner and outer beauty are in perfect harmony once again!" The woman jumps around in pure joy. You'd think being a slimy frog, even just for a few minutes, would've taught her a lesson about vanity. Looks like she hasn't learned a damn thing.

"We're all overjoyed for you. But look, you need to get out of here and find someplace to hide. This is the absolute last place you want---" A harsh gust of wind interrupts Krillin, blasting Bulma back.

Gohan gasps. "Bulma!"

"Save me!" The woman shouts as she's flung up into the air out of view."

You watch in horror as Frieza splits the ground in two, carving a massive trench in the landscape. It extends as far as your eyes can see, even through the waters. You always knew Frieza was the most powerful being you've ever encountered. Yet, this is the first time you've ever contemplated the level of strength he truly possesses. Because viewing him as the strongest being you've ever met is no longer sufficient enough.

"Did that really just happen? This is starting to seem like a one-sided fight." Krillin comments.

"Of course it does. Frieza is stronger than any of us could've even prepared for. The look on Y/N's face should tell you all you need to know. I don't think even she anticipated this." The other two turn to you as Piccolo speaks. The look of dismay clear across your features. "There's nothing else we can do now. He's just too powerful." You never thought you'd see it. It's as if the Namekian has given up entirely. He seems different than he was on Earth. You can't exactly put your finger on it, but something has changed.

The battle, more appropriately labeled as Kakarot's beating, continues. Frieza smacks him around like he's nothing. You watch as Frieza holds Kakarot underwater with only a single limb. That's not good. If Kakarot is so weak that that's all it takes to drown him, you're all in trouble.

For every second that tics on, you have less and less hope. Your mind filling with possible contingency plans for after Kakarot's demise. But not a single one is up to par. And just when you thought Kakarot was down for the count, he comes shooting up from the water. His voice booming louder than ever.

Gohan and Krillin cheer, shouting words of encouragement as they watch in awe. "For Gohan, everyone on Earth, and the future of Namek. I'm not about to give up!" Goku shouts as red energy engulfs his body.

You gasp as he goes right back at Frieza like the last few minutes never happened. If you ignore the whole selfless hero thing, you'd say you're impressed with his resilience. Goku uses the Kaio-Ken technique on Frieza. Frankly, you were impressed with its sheer power. Once the blinding light disappears, your vision clears once again.

And no surprises here; Frieza hasn't moved an inch despite the brute force Kakarot used. To the untrained eye, you'd think that little stunt had no effect on him. Unlucky for you, you're very well versed in Frieza's mannerisms.

"There's no way... Goku put everything he had into that. So how is Frieza still floating there with barely a scratch on him?" Krillin questions in utter disbelief.

"Dad's energy dropped like a rock..."

"There's no way someone this powerful exists." That human is sure shocked a lot. You think he'd learn by now.

"Goku's finished." Piccolo scoffs. "Guess that lunatic King Kai was right. We should've listened when he told us to avoid a monster like Frieza."

"Frieza's off," You speak in almost a whisper, your sights locked on the man. He's relatively unscathed. There's barely a scratch on him, only a few nicks. But you can tell. The slight spasm of his extended hand, almost as if he was shaking. Mixed with his eyes. His eyes give it all away. The twitching mixed with something you thought you'd never see from Frieza. Fear. A being has never come that close to scathing him before.

Three heads dart in your direction. "What do you mean?" Krillin asks you. "He's fine. That blast did nothing to him."

"You don't know Frieza like I do." You chuckle. "Out of the many years I've worked under that snake, not once have I seen him look like that. His physical condition may be fine, but mentally he's off." Frieza's fear is quickly replaced with a much more familiar emotion. Pure rage.

You watch as Frieza knocks the man down. And he continues to pummel Goku into the ground. "Wow. Kakarot's really gotten him all worked up."

"Dad, no!" Gohan tries to run out to his father, but Piccolo grabs his cape, restraining the boy in place.

"You might as well send Y/N back out here!" Frieza mocks. "Even in her injured state, she'd put up a better fight!" He's not wrong. You'd never give up like that. It's pathetic.

"I'm ashamed to even call you a Saiyan, Kakarot!" You shout as Frieza's beating of your fellow Saiyan continues.

"I can't take this anymore!" Gohan shouts. "I can't just stand here. I have to help him!"

"No." Piccolo, yet again, stops Gohan from running into the line of fire.

"But... Dad will die if I don't!"

"He'll die if you do too." You scoff. "You'd only be prolonging the inevitable... and I doubt it would be for long. We're all going to be slaughtered today. I say, if the boy wants to die sooner, let him."

"Don't listen to her. Goku has something up his sleeve. I can tell." Piccolo assures the boy. "But he has such little power left. I have no idea what it could be." Kakarot looks as if he's posing. Maybe he got possessed by Ginyu again. You chuckle to yourself at the thought.

"A spirit bomb!" Krillin abruptly shouts. "It's a special last-ditch move he picked up from King Kai. It gathers all the energy from everything around. The grass, trees, even us. Everything that has a life force."

"But how?" Gohan eyes the older man skeptically. "This place doesn't look like it has much life left."

"I know, but just look down there. It's not like he has many options." He notices the look of concern across Gohan's features, quickly throwing an arm around him. "Besides, your dad knows more about it than us. I bet he'll make it work."

"Oh, yes. Let's just blindly put our faith in Kakarot. When has that strategy ever failed you before?" You sarcastically mumble. "I'm not a gambler when it comes to my life. And if I was, my money's on Frieza."

"Do you always have to be so negative?" Krillin cranes his neck in your direction, his displeasure with you apparent.

"I'll start being more positive when---" And just like that, an idea pops into your head. "Wait. So the more energy Kakarot can get, the better?" Your energy increases significantly in your newly unlocked form. So, if this spirit bomb works as Krillin claims, your new form could still be an asset against Frieza.

"Exactly." Krillin narrows his eyes at you. "Why?" Without a word, you stand back up. You crack your neck, getting into a better stance. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Cause a few minutes ago, you could barely stand without Gohan's help."

You smirk. "I'll be fine, human." You start to scream in a desperate attempt to replicate your original transformation. It's much easier to do than the last time. It's different from the Great Ape one that you're so used to. That one you were born with and had to learn to control. This one you had to unlock. You quickly transform. Your hair changing into a yellow hue, and your eyes glow. You're the Great Super Saiyan again. Now that you're not using it directly in battle, it's less impressive than you imagined as a child. It's sort of anti-climactic. You just need to hold this form as long as possible and hope your body doesn't give out.

Gohan and Krillin stare at you in confusion, but the Namekian chuckles. "Smart." Out of all of Kakarot's little friends, you suppose the Namekian is the most tolerable. Well, he's at least the most intelligent.

"I doubt it will do much." You roll your eyes before moving your gaze back to the battlefield. You can't lie. You do enjoy the look of bewilderment on Frieza's face.

After a few moments, the Namkeian looks around. "What the hell am I sensing?"

Krillin looks up at him. "Like I said---"

All three of you turn to Gohan, who's gazing at the sky in dismay. "The spirit bomb..." The three of you look up, finally seeing what Gohan does. You've never seen a ball of energy that size. Not even when you were flipping planets.

"That can't be it..." Krillin gulps. "It's gigantic."

"Damn." You shake your head. "Well, I guess I'd rather die by Kakarot's hands than Frieza's."

"By the look on your face, Krillin. I'm assuming this one is exceptional." Piccolo looks over to the human.

"The one on Earth wasn't even half that size. He must be collecting energy from all over the universe!"

"Frieza hasn't caught on yet," Piccolo announces. "Why doesn't he use that thing while he has the upper hand?"

"It must not be enough to... you know..." Krillin trails.

"You can say kill. It's not a bad word." You snarl. "You had no problem with it when you tried to murder my brother back on Earth."

"Come on, Dad!" You can hear Gohan shout as you glare at Krillin. "Hit him with everything you got!"

"How long do you intend to just stand there?" Frieza shouts, irritation evident in his voice.

"You know." Goku lets out a breathy chuckle. "That's a very good question." You adore watching the way Kakarot gets under Freieza's skin. Kakarot's antics sure are amusing when you're not the one being subjected to them.

You watch as Freiza twitches before knocking Kakarot back. "Oh, no!" Krillin shouts. "He caught on."

"No, Krillin. I don't think he did."

"The Namekian is right." You grin. "Kakarot's just pissing him off." Goku stands up, returning to his pose. Which only enrages Frieza more.

"I'm not going to ask you again." Frieza continues attacking him. Goku simply ignores his request, going back into the same stance. Your invasive laughter echoes throughout the remnants of the planet as Kakarot's beating counties.

The other three watch in horror with the occasional glance of disbelief at you. "Krillin, Gohan. Transfer any power you can spare to me. Quickly." The pair begin to give their remaining energy to the Namekian.

"What about Y/N?" Gohan asks.

"Right now. I think all of her energy is concentrated on keeping her transformation active." Piccolo chuckles. "Both of your energy will be plenty for what I have in mind. Don't worry."

"What's the big rush, Frieza?" Goku chuckles. "You're so impatient." Moments like this make it clear that there's still some Saiyan left in Kakarot. It might be the only thing attractive about him.

"You dare mock me, ape!" Frieza creates a large blast with his hand. Knocking Goku back further, sending him flying into the water.

"You two!" Piccolo shouts. "Pay no attention to what's going on down there. Just focus your energy." You do wonder what the Namekian has in mind. Neither of those earthlings have much power left. So, it can't be anything too powerful.

"This should be enough." Piccolo shoos them away. "Now listen here and listen well. None of you are to involve yourselves, understand? This is my fight and my fight alone." You scoff. It's like Vegeta never died.

"But---" Before Gohan can raise any opposition, the Namekian shuts him down.

"You'd only get in my way. You gave me all your remaining energy."

As Piccolo leaves the rest of you, Gohan speaks up again. "We can't just let him do this. He'll get himself killed."

"He's not trying to go after Frieza." You chuckle. "He's going to attempt to buy Kakarot sometime. It's a suicide mission... and he knows it."

"We can't just let him---"

"Then what's your plan?" You scoff. "You need to stop jumping the gun. I used to be just like that, too. You're gonna get yourself killed if you keep this up. How would your death help the Namekian?"

"It... wouldn't." Gohan sighs.

"Exactly. So stay there and shut up."

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh?" Krillin turns to you. "He's just a---"

"You shut up, too!" You cut the human off. " I didn't know children were omitted from death on your planet." You sarcastically mumble.

While Frieza is distracted by Kakarot's idiocy, Piccolo finally strikes. Sending Frieza flying back and out of view. A sneak attack. Not a bad strategy. But that kind of thing only works once. You know that when Frieza returns, he'll be less than pleased.

"Piccolo!" Goku shouts in relief.

"Ya, ya. Just hurry up and finish that thing before he comes back."

"I owe you one." Goku gets back into his stance to finish the spirit bomb.

"You better make it quick. That sneak attack is the only thing I can manage right now."

Frieza launches back over. A vein bulging from his forehead. "How is that Namekian still drawing breath? I thought they've all been taken care of." You just love it when Frieza is enraged. It fills you with joy.

"Goku... hurry it up! How much longer do you need to finish that damn thing? Cause something tells me that Frieza is losing his patience."

"I'm sorry." Goku grunts. "I just need a bit more time."

"Ugh." Piccolo groans. "Just throw it already."

"No. It's still not done. It's too weak. If I throw it now, it'll do nothing!" Piccolo scoffs at him, flying up into the air.

"Too pesky to live but too stubborn to die," Frieza smirks at him.

"You're going to eat those words, scum." You watch, waiting to see who'll throw the first blow.

"What's he doing now?" Gohan asks.

"I think he's going to sacrifice himself. He can't have much power left after that move he just pulled. Since Goku's not done yet, I think Piccolo's trying to buy him some time." Wow, the human is observant for once. You assume there's a first time for everything.

"I told you he was going on a suicide mission." You cross your arms, wondering how this will all play out. You know it'll probably end with the Namekian splattered across the landscape. But the moments that lead to that are far more interesting to you.

"Goku... hurry it up! How much longer do you need to finish that damn thing? Cause something tells me that Frieza is losing his patience."

"I'm sorry." Goku grunts. "I just need a bit more time."

Piccolo groans. "Just throw it already."

“I don’t think Piccolo can last much longer… he’s really taking a beating.” Krillin looks on in horror.

"We have to help him!" Gohan starts to fly towards the two men. You shake your head. The boy has learned nothing. If he refuses to adhere to your warning, there's nothing more you can do for him.

"Gohan, wait!" Krillin's voice stops him dead in his tracks. He doesn't speak another word, just shaking his head at Gohan.

You roll your eyes. "As I said before, You'd just get in the way. You'd be more of a hindrance than an asset. Don't be stupid. That job belongs to your moronic father." You look away from the earthlings, directing your attention to the battle. The Namekian is far too weak to provide you with any kind of entertainment. The only attacks he can manage are several small yellow energy disks.

"How can someone so resilient be so dumb?" Frieza mutters. You've often pondered the same question about Kakarot. "You must have a death wish, Namekian."

"We're at the end of our rope, Goku. Finish the damn thing!" With little effort, Frieza slams Piccolo onto the ground. "That's all I got. Please tell me you're almost done."

Goku shakes his head. "It's still not finished yet. If I throw it now, this all would've been for nothing."

Frieza grabs Piccolo by the collar. "Say goodbye, Namkeian. You get to die on your home planet. You should be thankful. The others aren't so lucky. Thanks to me, two of them don't even have one to die on." Before Frieza can kill him, Krillin and Gohan shoot a collective blast at Frieza with the minuscule energy they have left. Stopping yet another murder attempt. Frieza's three for three for his assassinations on this damn rock. That's not a bad stat in general, but it is terrible for Frieza.

"You... pests!" Frieza shrieks. "I hope you all end up suffering the same fate as this damn planet!" You've never seen Frieza look this unhinged. You've seen him pissed off countless times, but never to this degree. You watch as Frieza starts another attack. The ball of energy from his palms growing larger and larger by the second.

"Goku..." Krillin chuckles nervously. "It doesn't look like we have much time left!"

"Okay... Okay. I think it's ready!"

"Come on then!" Piccolo shouts. "Throw it!"

"Now, Dad!"

"While we're still young, Kakarot!" Wow, all of you are on the same page for once. Maye hell has frozen over? Goku screams, launching the spirit bomb at Frieza. "Holy shit..." That monstrosity absorbs Frieza's entire attack like it was nothing.

"Get down!" Piccolo shouts. Everyone falls to the ground, the spirit bomb causing severe damage to Namek's landscape... well what was left of it. The harsh winds send you all flying up into the air. The planet has turned entirely into a body of water. And you're thrown right into it. You weren't really intending to go for a swim today. Guess you have no choice now.

You grab onto some rock, pulling yourself up, gasping desperately for air. "I hate this vile planet!" You laugh as your eyes land on the earthlings staring at you with wide eyes. "Sorry to disappoint."

"Y/N!" Gohan exclaims, running over to you. The boy practically tackles you. Wrapping his arms around you, clinging onto you for dear life. "You're okay!" Your body goes rigid. You're not used to this. As you've said multiple times already. Physical affection isn't something your people partake in.

Krillin walks over to you, a faint grin on his features. "I never thought I'd say this, but oh boy, I am happy to see you."

Gohan finally releases you from his tight embrace. "Did you sense my dad or Piccolo down there?"

You shake your head. "I can barely sense myself right now, Gohan." You look around, taking in Namek's drastic remodel. The once vibrant planet is now drowning. This isn't exactly a foreign sight to you. For many years, your job was to destroy and flip planets for profit. You scan the area, searching for any source of life. You'd like to say you're looking for Kakarot or the Namekian, but that isn't true. You can't help but search for Frieza. That man has terrorized you since you were a small child. It's hard for you to believe he's gone. You can't ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Everything just feels far too easy.

"Hey, over there!' Gohan points to another area. "I see something!" A green hand grabs onto a rock. Using all his strength, Piccolo pulls himself up, dragging Goku with him.

Your lips unconsciously curve upwards at the sight. What the hell is happening to you? You should've wanted Kakarot dead. The idea of getting rid of him and Frieza in one blast should have been joyful... but it wasn't. You were worried? Upset? You don't know how to define your emotions for this hypothetical scenario.

Though, Kakarot is the only other member of your race alive. With Vegeta and Raditz dead, you and Kakarot are the only things left of your home. And when you're both dead... it will be as if your planet never existed. Like your species never existed. The Saiyan race would be nothing but a distant memory... a tale of the past.

"Goku!" You hear the human shout. You see Kakarot there. He's alive. And yet, you can't help but think about what things would've been like if he wasn't.

The reality of everything begins to set in. Frieza, Raditz, Vegeta, they're all dead. And yet, you're still standing. For the first time in your life, you're truly alone. What do you do now? Where are you supposed to go? It's not like you have a home to go back to.

Your brother would know what to do. He always knew what to do. You feel so lost. You try to think about what Vegeta's next steps would be. First, he'd kill Kakarot, obviously. And with Frieza gone, taking over the universe would be a piece of cake. The Frieza Force is weak, but their soldiers are malleable. But is that what you want? Do you want to rule the universe?

That was Vegeta's dream. Not yours. You always just went along with his whims. Ruling the universe with Vegeta would've involved a lot of work; without him, it is next to impossible. The plan was always for Vegeta to do all the work, and you'd selfishly reap all the benefits. Without your brother, you don't desire to dominate the universe. But if you're not going to take over the universe, then what the hell are you going to do?

You watch their little reunion from a distance. It's filled with hugs and happiness... and all of the other shit you find nauseating. Frieza's dead... you should be happier than ever. Yet you're not. You feel... numb? You've never felt this lost in your life. Whatever is left of Raditz and Vegeta is somewhere underwater now. That is if their bodies weren't destroyed by Frieza's trench. Saiyans don't mourn. They suck it up and move on. That's what your father did after your mother died in childbirth with you and Tarble. Yet... you're melancholy. It's almost bitter-sweet. But mostly bitter.

Goku frowns, and starts to look around. Like he's searching for something, "Where's-" His eyes lock on you, a grin quickly replacing the frown on his lips.

You slowly saunter over to them. "You actually lived." You shake your head at the buffoon. "Color me surprised."

"Does that mean you're happy to see me?"

You roll your eyes, chuckling. "You really just hear what you want, don't you, Kakarot?"

"Man, that spirit bomb was a doozy. It was like the size of a planet." And they're back to their little celebration. Who are you kidding? It never ended.

"You better believe it was, Krillin. The hopes and dreams of the entire universe were packed into that thing." Goku looks at you from the corner of his eye. "And maybe a bit of extra help from Y/N, too."

"I was still afraid that you got caught in it."

"Come on, Gohan." Piccolo chuckles, ruffling the boy's hair. "Give your father and I some credit."

"Well, I guess it's time to head home with our heads held high. Might even have the chance to live the dream." Krillin announces.

"Huh?" The father-son duo looks at him in collective confusion.

Krillina laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "You're seriously going to make me spell out what's at the top of my victory list, aren't you?" His face flushes bright red. "A girlfriend."

You sneer in disgust. "Humans are such pathetic creatures." The other three stare at Krillin in surprise before breaking out into laughter. You'll never understand any of them. And you don't desire to.

Once the initial adrenaline passes, everyone's now standing. Goku has one arm around Krillin, the other placed on top of his son's head. "You all ready to go? My spaceship should be able to get us back home in just under six days."

Gohan jumps in joy. "Yay! I get to see everyone in less than a week."

Goku grins at his son before turning to you. "You're more than welcome to come with us."

"It's not like there's any other way off this damn rock." You look away, avoiding his gaze. Great, you get to go from one horrid planet to another. You can't even pick which one is worse. Namek, which is a shell of its former self. Or Earth, which is home to some of the weakest, most pathetic creatures you've ever encountered.

Your ears perk up as Krillin screams. "What is it?" Goku asks, alarm dripping from his voice.

"Bulma's out there somewhere. And I totally forgot." He looks terrified. It's the same way the human typically looks at you.

"Come on, Krillin." Goku laughs. "Don't scare us like that. From the look on your face, I thought that Frieza was back."

"Ya, well, he's got nothing on her when she's pissed off." Really? He finds the Earth women terrifying? You've seen insects with a higher power level than her. You doubt the earth woman has eradicated entire species when she was angry. It must be an exaggeration.

The others laugh, but you aren't amused. "Don't make me laugh." Goku chuckles more, gripping his side. "My body's already mad enough at me as it is."

You stare at your reflection in the water as the Namekian speaks. You look like crap. You desperately need sleep. You look back up and see the earthling, his mouth hanging ajar; he's practically shaking in fear. You turn your head to see what he's staring at. Laughter escapes your lips. It's Frieza. You knew it. You knew it seemed too fucking easy.

"How can this be happening? There's no way someone could survive a blast like that and not get obliterated." Krillin looks on in utter disbelief.

"He's not just anyone. He's Frieza...." Your voice trails.

Frieza extends his arm, shooting a blast at Goku and Gohan. Piccolo jumps in, knocking the pair out of the way. Taking the impact of the blast entirely. "Piccolo!" Gohan screams, falling to his knees.

"He's alive..." You cross your arms over your chest. "At least for now."

Gohan gets up and rushes over to the Namekians' side. "Piccolo... please get up."

You watch as Kakarot clenches his fists, his knuckles turning milky white. "Bravo, my friend." You don't think you've ever heard Frieza refer to someone as a friend. Pest, sure, but a friend? Never. It's unnerving. "You nearly brought the mighty Frieza down. I've never had a call quite that close before."

Goku's gaze darts from Frieza to you all. "I want you all to get out of here. My ship isn't far. Grab Piccolo, find Bulma, and set a course for Earth." Why is everyone always so bossy? First Vegeta, then the Namekian, and now Kakarot. Who’s gonna try to boss you around next? The brat? "I'm not leaving. So don't get any ideas about waiting for me." His eyes lock on his son, who's in a trance-like state. "Snap out of it, Gohan!"

"I won't!" The brat stubbornly stands his ground; how Saiyan-like. "I owe it to Piccolo to stay and fight." Gohan starts to tear up.

"With what?" Goku questions. "None of you have enough strength left. The most you'd do is get in the way."

"Goku..." Krilin's voice trails. "You're serious."

"I advise against placing much stock in your vessel. But if you'd like, I can bring you much closer to home." That sounds mildly threatening. You know he's not talking about your home. All that's left of your homeworld is most likely a handful of rocks floating aimlessly somewhere in space.

"Krillin! Look out!" Gohan shouts. Frieza takes control of Krillin's body, blasting him high into the air.

"Frieza... don't do it!" Begging will only encourage him further. You don't see a way where any of you make it off of this planet alive.

"Goku!" Krillin shouts as he dangles in the air. With a clench of Frieza's fist, the human implodes. Talk about going out with a bang. You don't even see a body. He must have... disintegrated.

"You are a ruthless... heartless... bastard." Kakarot's fists remain clenched, his entire body vibrating.

Frieza laughs mockingly. "I think the pretty princess should go next." He extends his index finger in your direction. "And after I take care of her, it'll be the brat's turn." Frieza shoots a blast of energy straight toward you. It all happens so fast that any attempt to move would be in vain.

You can feel the heat of the energy against your armored chest. Yet there's no pain. The beam reflects off your chest as if you were made entirely of rubber. Frieza dodges out of the way, just barely evading his own attack.

"What the hell?" You mutter to yourself. You look down. Your armor is the same... but your chest is glowing. You reach into your armor, pulling out your necklace, holding it by the chain. This is the source of the light; the stars of the charm are shining. It's never done that before. Your necklace... it saved you?

"What kind of damn trick was that Y/N?"

"I- I have no idea." You grasp the charm in your hand. It feels warm, an odd, comforting familiarity you can't describe. Where the hell did your father actually get this thing?

Frieza is about to speak again, but his attention quickly focuses on Kakarot. Whose anger has only seemed to grow. Beams of light shoot all over the planet. It almost resembles lightning. He must like Krillin more than all his other friends you had slaughtered back on Earth. The waters form waves, and rocks shoot everywhere. "I will make you suffer!" Now, this is a version of Kakarot you can get behind. His hair flickers from black to blonde. No way... he can't be.

With one final shriek, he transforms right before your eyes. His hair was now in a semi-permanent state of blonde, with his eyes a much lighter shade. Kakarot... is a Super Saiyan. "Holy shit..."

"Both of you go. Take Piccolo with you, and get the hell out of here." It's clear this isn't a request. "Find Bulma, find the ship, and go." Gohan hesitates, not moving. "Do as I say now before I lose what little sense of reason I have left!"

"O-Okay." Gohan nods, rushing back over to Piccolo.

"Move as fast as you can, and don't look back. If Piccolo dies, then Kami dies... and I don't think I have to remind you what happens after that." And still, after all of this, his priority is resurrecting his pathetic friends. Unbelievable.

"What are you trying to say?" Gohan's voice shakes.

"I'm saying go without me. Get back home; I'll be there when I can."

"But... if we take your ship, you'll be stuck here. You'd have no way to get home."

"I'm your father! Don't talk back to me!" Goku snaps. "Just do as I say!"

"Alright, Dad." Gohan nods. "I'll see you at home." Gohan picks up Piccolo, flying out of view."

After his son is gone, Goku turns to you. "That means you too."

"But I wanted to watch..." You pout.

He scoffs. "I'm not asking, Y/N."

You place your hands on your hips, rolling your eyes at the man. "You sound like Vegeta."

Goku takes several steps toward you. Now, standing directly in front of you. "Stop being a stubborn brat and listen!"

You chuckle. "Now you really sound like Vegeta."

"I'm not playing this game." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Now get the hell out of here!"

"I never knew you could yell so much." You smirk.

"Well, that's because yelling seems to be the only damn thing you respond to!" He snaps.

"That's not---" Wait. Have you been conditioned to only listen when someone's screaming at you?

"Now, I'd happily entertain you any other goddamn day of the year, but not now." He takes a deep breath. "Now go before I lose my damn patience."

"Man, now you really sound like---" You're cut off by Kakarot's lips pressing against your own. The warm sensation causes your heart to flutter. Your eyes widen. Your breath catching in the back of your throat.

"How about now? Do I sound like Vegeta now?" You touch your lips. Did... Did that just happen? "Now go!" He takes a deep breath, seeming to have calmed down a bit. "When I return to Earth, we can get back to what we started before. So you'll get a turn, too. I'll gladly fight you... or fuck you if that's what you'd like instead. Maybe both if you listen." You choke on air. Who the fuck is this? Cause this isn't the Neanderthal Kakarot. Your brain is short-circuiting. "Just wait for me, alright. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"A-Alright." You're not sure if you love or hate this new Kakarot. You take a deep breath and regain your frosty attitude. "Don't die. Or do. I don't give a damn what happens to this planet. Well, it's not much of a planet anymore, is it." You fly up into the air.

"Hey!" He calls out to you one last time. "Take care of Gohan for me while I'm gone."

You grin, shaking your head. "You really are a terrible father!"

#dragon ball x reader #goku x reader #dbz x reader #saiyan reader #dragon ball fanfiction #the princess of all sayians

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leezlelatch · 1 year

Text

Copia x Reader: Lightweight

These anons share a very big brain, so I decided to combine the two and answer in one go!

Reader

✨- Okay, you might be a little drunk. You might be a lot drunk. But you just had a couple, you're fine, everything is bubbly and warm and Terzo said he had a funny idea and Lucifer preserve you, it's Copia.

✨- You half run, half stumble into him, his arms going around your waist tightly as you giggle at him, your cheeks flushed from the alcohol and the euphoria of being up close and personal with the most beautiful man in existence. His eyes are wide as he leans in to nuzzle his nose against yours, a crooked grin stretching across his freckled face as he coos, "Eccoti, mio piccolo peso leggero. I think you have had enough, si?"

✨- You glance around at the ongoing party, watching as Aether and Omega lift Terzo head first into a vat of vodka while Secondo dances with several siblings nearby. Primo sits in a cloud of smoke completely zen on a pile of pillows. The party was just getting started! A gentle hand grabs your chin as your attention is turned back to your date, thumb stroking a loving pattern below your lip.

"How about we go back to our rooms, hmm? Cuddles?" He bribes with a wink.

✨- Copia guides you through the hall, an arm around your waist while his other hand gently cradles one of yours. He leans to pepper a quick succession of kisses against the side of your face, the kissy noises making you laugh and sigh dreamily, singing his title. You feel him smile against your skin. He's so enraptured with you, his amore sciocco, tipsy and blushing, loose tongued with your praises that nearly bring tears to his eyes.

✨- Copia ushers you into the room, settling you down and removing your shoes, pressing delicate kisses to your ankles. He makes sure to grab plenty of water and pain relief for the morning as well as one of his shirts that you slip into with a happy, contented sigh that cradles his heart and squeezes until he can do nothing but lay beside you and pull you close, whispering his eternal love.

"Copia?" You ask, closing your eyes as the room spins just a little. "How many did I have?"

He sighs, "One."

Copia

🐀- As soon as he sees those fun colored drinks, Copia knows he has to try them. Which turns into trying several. He stands at the bar, leaning heavily against it as his finger presses into a droplet of condensation that runs down his empty glass.

"Another," he hiccups, not even loud enough for the bartender to hear him.

Secondo scowls beside him, he and his brothers having come out with you and Copia. He didn't intend on playing babysitter to the younger man.

"You have had enough," he growls, grabbing Copia and dragging him back to the table where you sit, depositing him in a chair with an unceremonial, "He is your problem."

🐀- Copia sits for several seconds in a daze, staring at his hands in his lap until your voice rouses him. His head snaps up and the most delighted gasp escapes him as he blearily takes you in. His amore. His beloved. His one and only. This is a touch-starved man who suddenly has all his inhibitions taken away with a few well-put-back drinks, and he is all over you in seconds. His nose is practically smashed against your cheek as he nuzzles into you, his lips moving against your skin. You can just make out slurred Italian, "Sei così bello. Non ti merito. Dolcezza mio, amore mio, mi ami? Ti amo tanto."

🐀- Copa takes you around the room and introduces you to complete strangers, raving about how you're his, that you chose to be with him. That he plans to be with you forever. He takes this all the way to the car, keeping you firmly in his lap as he leans over the back of the driver's seat to speak to Aether.

"Do you see them, amico mio? Do you see the absolute gift I've been given?"

"Yes, we've met," Aether responds dryly.

"But you do not understand," Copia insists. "I am so in love."

Copia then proceeds to bawl his eyes out while clutching you to him in the backseat of this car.

🐀- You have to drag him inside, his crying now turned to incredibly loud Italian singing. Maybe it's a love song? You aren't entirely sure, and you're tired, but you'd give the whole world to this man if he let you. Even drunk out of his mind, he's perfect to you. Your Copia. The man who you would gladly spend the rest of your life with. Getting him inside is difficult as he leans heavily against you, but you eventually dump him on your shared bed, his legs hanging off the end.

"Amore, where are you?" He groans at the ceiling, an arm over his eyes. The light was too bright. "I am so drunk." He giggles.

🐀- With much difficulty, you help him get undressed and climb into bed with him, letting him curl into your side, his head tucked against you. You cart your fingers through his hair, humming softly, and feel him press little kisses to your neck.

"I’m going to ask you to marry me," he says sleepily, his eyes closed.

You glance down at him, eyes wide, but he's already snoring.

Tomorrow is sure going to be interesting.

#the band ghost #cardinal copia #papa emeritus iv #copia #papa iv #copia headcanons #papa iv headcanons #papa iv imagine #copia imagine #cardinal copia x reader #papa emeritus iv x reader #poorly translated italian #drinking

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textfromthelookout · 1 year

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just read ur entire essay about vegeta and like.. goddamn you just gave me a whole new perspective on that funky little man. i love the way it was written and organized

ALSO ALSO i read this bit and am begging u to expand on this concept it sounds so interesting /gen

Oh you would, would you. I am delighted to oblige.

So. Super Saiyan. A transformation available to Saiyans past certain power thresholds that, while more or less freely accessible after first awakening to it, needs a trigger to become accessible in the first place. Over the course of Z in its many adaptations, we see the first awakenings of Goku, Vegeta, Future Trunks, and Gohan onscreen. Goten, Trunks, and Future Gohan are also Super Saiyans, but we don’t know for sure how that came about. Goten and Trunks in particular are why I say that Super Saiyan (more specifically, the first time you access Super Saiyan) can be read as a trauma response, because there’s no real evidence this is the case on their parts. You can make an argument for them, but in general I choose to believe they’re exceptions to this take, so I won’t be discussing them.

Oh and as for Cabba, Caulifla, and Kale…… they’re literally from an alternate universe. Super Saiyan just has different rules there. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Getting back on track. Goku’s the obvious place to start, so let’s look at him first. In the entirety of Dragon Ball (that I’ve seen), not counting the comedic needle bit in that one episode of GT, Goku has only ever been seen crying three times. Once was his reunion with Grandpa Gohan in early Dragon Ball. Once was in the anime’s version of the Tournament of Power, after Roshi’s near-death incident.

Once was at the beginning of King Piccolo, when he finds Krillin dead. King Piccolo saga is a little infamous for the sudden tonal whiplash—yeah, Tien breaks Yamcha’s leg in the tournament just prior, but they make up about it and it’s not as dire as someone dying. What’s really striking to me about it is Goku’s reaction. He’s more upset than we’ve ever seen him. And he loses worse than we ever see him lose because of it. Sure, in the end everything is put right, but.

But, the thing about trauma is that it makes time go weird. Fast forward about ten years. It’s suddenly happening again. His best friend is dead. He couldn’t do anything to stop it. He doesn’t know that Porunga can revive people who have already died once. As far as Goku knows, Krillin’s gone for good this time. And he watched it happen and watched Freeza laugh about it.

And he reacts essentially the same way. Only this time, he’s orders of magnitude stronger than he was when he was 15, and he has the experience and the wherewithal to control himself somewhat better. Emphasis on somewhat, because it’s very clear that he’s worried about going completely off the deep end in the grips of this power. And he’s right to be! I’m willing to bet money that in Gohan’s whole life, Goku has never pulled the ‘I’m your father, don’t talk back to me’ card on him, and that’s one of the smallest ways this power changes him. When he’s fighting Freeza, he’s a lot more like Vegeta, down to the way he smirks. He’s condescending. He’s brutal. I’ve seen comments to the effect of ‘Freeza’s not fighting Goku anymore—now, Freeza’s fighting Kakarot’ and that’s truly what it feels like.

I could go on, but the particulars of the Namek fight aren’t the important part. The important part is that Goku recognizes how badly that whole thing fucked him up and stays on Yardrat for a year explicitly to get a handle on Super Saiyan before returning home. He knows that if he loses control like that again, there’s a very real possibility he’ll end up hurting someone he cares about, or worse, becoming someone he really doesn’t want to be. (Call it a reach, it definitely is one, but I like to believe Goku picked up Instant Transmission while he was there so he’ll never be too late or too far away to help ever again.)

Vegeta’s case is less… visible? So, much of this is going to be purely my extrapolation. If you take him at his word, Vegeta triggered Super Saiyan with the sheer amount of hatred he felt toward himself for his inadequacy and like. Hello. That’s already a giveaway. I don’t believe he’s outright lying, but I also believe he’s simplifying matters a little. Or a lot. Per My Last Long-Winded Essay, he only gets that far because he leaves Earth entirely for areas uninhabited, which is good for him in some respects and bad for him in others.

The sweet irony of it is that it was Vegeta’s own efforts that locked him out of Super Saiyan. He tried to brute-force his way into it singlemindedly, in the belief that he was simply not strong enough, but Super Saiyan’s trigger is raw, overwhelming emotion. It can be one very clear emotion, or several different ones mixed up, but it’s emotion. It doesn’t answer to logic by its very nature, and frankly, neither does trauma. So Vegeta’s removed all the distractions to his training, yes, but in doing so he’s also removed all the distractions from everything else. Without anybody else around, he doesn’t have anything to get himself out of his own head, so now he’s got a whole universe of space for two and a half decades’ worth of repressed shit to come raging out. Funny how the minute he lets himself feel actual emotions other than the ones he wants everyone to see, the transformation explicitly tied to and powered by emotion rears its head, huh.

Vegeta makes several really dumb decisions once he gets back on Earth, in sharp contrast to the way he handles himself on Namek before he’s face-to-face with Freeza. On Namek, he’s careful to fly under the radar whenever he can, which is why I love the fit he launches into when he realizes Gohan played him, because that’s his control slipping. He’s opportunistic and sneaky and it’s clear he’s doing his damnedest to get what he wants without having to fight people who can kill him. He doesn’t hear the Ginyu Force is coming and rush off to challenge them, he’s like ‘oh shit’ and immediately fucks off elsewhere. I can only make sense of the way he acts during the androids/Cell as a symptom of his need to prove himself.

And make no mistake—it is a need, not a want. The power’s meaningless without people to witness and acknowledge it, the same way the authority of royalty is. His chosen course of action, though, is sort of like painting over rotten wood, if that makes any sense. Letting himself get high off the power, pretending that everything went exactly the way it should have gone from the start, refusing to acknowledge all of his Issues more than passingly. Furthermore, his victory must be complete and unquestionable: that’s why he lets Cell take Android 18. He can’t just… not lose, he has to win. Anything less is anathema to him. You see, he hasn’t yet figured out that he can survive without it.

Okay sorry that got a little in the weeds but I hope you get what I was driving at there. Vegeta’s a mess and talking about him makes me Unstable. Let’s move on.

Of the main four Saiyans, I think Future Trunks’ awakening is the simplest to understand: his trigger is that moment of pure, crushing grief when he finds Gohan dead in the rain. And it’s no wonder. Aside from Gohan and his mother, who does Trunks even talk to in that timeline? We never see him with friends, not until Super. Trunks’ ‘You were everything to me’ in the dub version of the special might be only debatably canon but it’s hardly an exaggeration. Friend. Teacher. Comrade. Brother. Perhaps even a father figure, in some ways. Certainly the only other one of his kind—half-human, half-alien from a long-dead warrior race. There was literally nobody else in the world who could come close to understanding him to the degree that Gohan could have. Gohan dies and Trunks is effectively all alone, the terminarch of one species left to shoulder the fate of another.

It’s a staggering loss for anybody, let alone for a boy of 12 or 13.

Speaking of. Gohan. I think Gohan’s a strange case—not powered by grief or anger, but something different. In the moments before he unlocks Super Saiyan, he’s thinking ‘I have to do it’ before flashing abruptly to all the different times where he was ‘too weak or too scared’ to fight. I personally believe that it’s less determination or ‘the power coming in response to a need’, as Goku puts it, that tips him over the edge. Fear, I think—while not being the whole reason, there’s surely some self-directed anger or disappointment involved—is probably the biggest factor. That’s Gohan’s whole thing—he’s scared of fighting, and to some degree of his own power. If I laid out all the specific examples we’d be here for another thousand words, so I’ll just say that he’s been Through It. We all know this.

This sort of has a continuation in the iconic Super Saiyan 2 transformation against Cell. It’s all on him and it’s not until Cell actually kills someone in front of Gohan that it really twigs that it’s do or die for him. And as much as he’s angry at Cell, the realization that Cell means business, that he really will kill them all? It scares him. Fight or flight takes over. The only real difference is that he chooses fight. The change in how Gohan handles Cell is what really convinces me that emotionally he’s going through something similar to Goku and Vegeta—because it’s almost to the letter exactly what happens with Goku against Freeza. The cruelty, the condescension. I’d argue Gohan leans into the mean demeanor, subconsciously or not, to keep from feeling the fear. And it costs him. But the Gohan discussion is a whole other discussion.

As for Future Gohan, I’m putting a disclaimer here now that none of what I’m about to say is really provable—just really really interesting to think about.

Future Gohan’s life is maybe the worst-case scenario. Like the future timeline sucks specifically for Gohan because he doesn’t like to fight and he has to anyway because what other choice does he have? Let everyone on Earth die without at least trying? He couldn’t, not in good conscience. And it’s not like he’ll have a normal life so long as the androids are around anyway. So in the middle of grieving basically everybody he’s ever known and felt affection for (sans his mother and grandfather, it’s more implied that he’s estranged from them, or at least intentionally distancing himself from them to keep them out of harm’s way), he's also making himself channel anger he hates feeling so he has a shot of even surviving these killers that only exist because of something his father did at least ten years ago. This shouldn’t be his fight, and yet.

Here’s my personal theory. Gohan goes into that final fight with the androids fully intending to die. Not just expecting to, but hoping to. He knows that if he was only barely scraping through those fights with both arms, there’s no way in hell he’ll kill them both when he only has one. He’s not an idiot, but you know what he is? Exhausted. Twelve years of this, being the only resistance to this threat and failing each and every time. He knows what will unlock Super Saiyan for Trunks. He knows there’s someone to carry on the torch and lift the burden. And it’s cruel and selfish of him to put all of that on Trunks and throw himself to the wolves, but it was cruel that he had to carry that all by himself for so long.

He’s fucking tired.

Anyways. That’s my TEDtalk on Super Saiyan. If you read it all the way to the end you’re a real one. Thanks for this ask, you two!

#son goku #son gohan #future trunks #mirai trunks #vegeta #goku #trunks #gohan #dragonball z #dragon ball z #dbz #'jojo it's not that deep don't put more thought into it than toriyama did'#Make Me.#text from the mod

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