All posts by Hagane no Saiyajin
@Finiznot I also came up with an alternate future for Trunk which I think is more plausible than the one we originally got:
Trunks: This will be hard to believe for someone of your era, but I've come from 500 years into the future
Goku: 500 years?!
Trunks: My name is Trunks, and I have saiyan blood because I'm Vegeta's son
Goku: WHAT?! HIS SON...?!
Trunks: Three years from now, at about 10 AM on May 12th, Dr. Gero, a mad scientist who worked for the Red Ribbon Army, will appear out of hiding on the Ice Continent and cause the Impact, plunging the world into chaos.
Goku: Wait, what's the Impact?
Trunks: It's a catastrophic event that reshapes the world, and it all starts with Gero's actions.
Goku: Why would he do that?
Trunks: He holds a grudge against you for defeating the Red Ribbon Army. But you’ll be infected with a disease not long from now, and you’ll die, motivating Gero to rogue and devastate the world.
Goku: What happened to everyone else?
Trunks: Most are dead, and we can't use the Dragon Balls, Kami fell victim to the Impact leading to Piccolo's death. I at least was able to survive because of cryosleep, we launched into space and get put into stasis until the Earth was habitable enough to come back. Only we came back to a world that was nothing like our own, you can't go outside of any radiation shelter without proper protective gear, and even then you shouldn't be out there for more than 2 hours before suffering radiation poisoning, it's risky for even me to go out for very long.
Goku: What about Namek's Dragon Balls?
Trunks: We can't leave Earth; Engels, giant monsters, roam.
Goku: Engels...?
Trunks: They're nearly unbeatable, and can adapt quickly as you fight them along with being able to regenerate, not to mention they have a forcefield around them that if you're not strong enough to breach would disintergrate you. They've killed Kuririn, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Chiaotzu, my father left Earth when I was too young, but he might as well be dead after 500 years. It's because of them that the populace has dwindled down to just under 500,000 people, while we've only been able to kill one of them. And my Master, Gohan, had to sacrifice his life protecting one of the radiation shelters to do it. WE JUST...DON'T...KNOW HOW TO FIGHT THEM!! THEY'RE TOO DAMN STRONG!!!
Goku: Man though, I wish I hadn't died so early, I could've fought them...
Trunks: You regret that you can’t fight? Aren’t you scared?
Goku: Oh I'm scared, but I just have fighting strong opponents on my mind.
Trunks: You're a true Saiyan warrior. You’re just like Mom and Gohan said. You’re trustworthy, I’m glad I came.
Trunks pulls something out of his jacket and gives it to Goku
Trunks: When your symptoms show up, please take that. It’s medicine for you. It’s incurable in this time, but in the future my Mom creates this special medicine. You won’t die with this medicine.
Goku: WOW! THANKS!!
Trunks: Really, I shouldn’t be doing this. Changing history. But, for that kind of history… I believe that you can surely do something. Mom also wished this, and she managed to complete the time machine.
Goku: Y-your Mom knows me?
Trunks: Yes, very well... Goku: A-and she made the time machine...? Y-you mean... your Mom is... Trunks points to a person
Trunks: She's right over there...
Goku: B-BULMA…!!!!!
Trunks: She's not my mother by birth, but I consider her to be my real mother, she did name me and raise me after all. I never really knew anything about my birth mother, or had any interest in finding out, other than that she's why I was able to turn Super Saiyan at only 18 months old when I sneezed for the first time.
Goku: I think I can understand that...
Trunks: My father left Earth when I was too young, and he might as well be dead after 500 years, so this is the first time meeting him
Yamcha wonders why they’re looking over here, and Pu’er says they’re smiling a bit
Trunks: Please...promise you'll keep this part a complete secret? If Vegeta finds out and it bothers him...I might never be born
Goku: Sure, no problem...
Trunks: I should get going now. I want to reassure Mom as as soon as I can.
Goku: Yeah, well thanks for this. I hope the future does change.
Trunks: Yeah. I have a little hope now that I've seen your strength Goku: Will we meet again?
Trunks: I'm not sure, it takes a lot of time for the time machine to get the energy needed for a round trip, but if I'm still alive, I promise I'll come back in three years
Goku: Stay alive. Now I have something to work towards. We'll spend the next three years training. Trunks gives Goku a thumbs up, then flies off
@BlackstarIsCool what about the X Parasites?
@Finiznot EXACTLY!! You know why the X Parasites, Eva Angels, or the Shroobs worked as villains? It's because of the fact that they're more force of nature antagonists that the writing, on face value, intentionally keeps on in the dark about, leading them to be villains that we can't understand or think they can reasoned with. Just making Cell at least mute and animalistic in the beginning alone would've been a major improvement over what we've gotten.
I also had ChatGPT mash some ideas together, and this is what it spat out:
combining body horror elements inspired by Xenomorphs, Shin Godzilla, and Evangelion Angels into Cell's character could create a truly unique and horrifying antagonist within the Dragon Ball universe. Here's how such a concept could potentially be realized:
Xenomorph Influence: Cell's transformations could take on a more visceral and grotesque appearance, featuring biomechanical elements reminiscent of the Xenomorphs. This could include acidic blood, elongated limbs, and menacing exoskeletal features.
Shin Godzilla Inspiration: Cell could have the ability to mutate and adapt rapidly, similar to Shin Godzilla. This could make him an even more unpredictable and formidable opponent, with his body undergoing terrifying and nightmarish changes during battles.
Evangelion Angel Traits: Cell's evolving forms could incorporate attributes from Evangelion Angels, such as bizarre and otherworldly appearances. He could have additional eyes, multiple wings, or eerie and abstract geometrical patterns on his body.
Body Horror Focus: The storytelling could emphasize the horror of Cell's transformations, exploring the psychological impact on the characters as they face his ever-changing and monstrous forms. This could create a sense of dread and tension in the narrative.
Narrative Implications: Cell's newfound abilities and horrifying appearance could lead to more complex and challenging battles for the Z Fighters, forcing them to adapt and strategize in new ways. This could inject fresh energy into the story.
Character Development: The experience of facing such a monstrous version of Cell could also lead to character development and growth among the main cast as they confront their fears and limitations.
While this concept could make Cell an even more terrifying and memorable antagonist, it would still require careful execution to ensure it fits within the Dragon Ball universe's overall tone and style. Balancing these elements with the series' established themes of action and adventure would be crucial to creating a compelling and coherent storyline.
I'll use Cell as an example of how not to write a villain
Cell really, REALLY, SUCKS!! I'll even yell this outloud so you can hear me... CELL...IS...A...F##KING...WALKING...TALKING...PLOT...DEVICE!!! Whatever Cell says, that's where the plot goes! Cell doesn't serve the plot, the plot serves Cell! This is much like with how whatever Vegeta says, that's where the plot goes! That's why he exposites to Piccolo about what he is why he's in the plot thinking that Piccolo can't fight, even though he knows Piccolo can regenerate; that's why he's so strong that he overpowers Piccolo and #17 and #16 and abosrobs #17; that's why he gets Vegeta to let him absorb #18 and obtain Perfection; that's why when Cell uses the Cell Jr.s inorder to get Gohan's anger out.
And with Cell saying that he's an amalgamation of all the fighters' cells in one being personafied, I call total bullshit! If he's supposed to be that, then why is talk so much?! And if anything his personality so much like Vegeta's or Freeza's that it hurts. Remember when I said above how the characters in the Freeza arc are treated like characters, well let's just compare Freeza to Cell; Freeza's motive, agency, along with his wants and fears are tied to the Legend of the Super Saiya-jin. If he gains immortality, then not only would he not have to worried about being vanquished by the Super Saiyan, he would be able to comfortably rule his empire forever with nothing to possibly usurp him. Now, I understand the whole Freeza tennis thing, and how he calls percents for the amount of power he uses, but at least his motive, agency, and wants and fears keep him from being flat. There is also a bonus that he has his conflict/connection with Vegeta as he basically usurped Vegeta's position from being ruler himself. And also, I liked it for Goku to get the win on Freeza over Goku because the narrative is meant to show how Vegeta's way for getting strong through Zenkai boosts is inefficient and ineffective while Goku's method of continuously training and self-improvement does although this might be hypocritical because Goku did obtain a massive Zenkai boost from healing in Freeza's ship that let's him be able to stand up to Freeza.
For Cell though, he doesn't really have all that, he has no conflicts or connections, his wants and fears are tied to wanting perfection, which really I don't really understand as it's not like he will die if he doesn't become "perfect"; his motive of "I want perfection because a computer told me to" is so stupid that he might as well not have a motive; and the plot serves his agency! And he might as well have no motive or agency upon obtaining perfection. You see where I'm getting at? Cell isn't a character, he's a plot device, a marketing tool, a punching bag for the characters to measure how much they matter to the plot, a corporate character meant to advertise for toy sales, and his regeneration just works serves to keep him in the plot until the plot says it's time for him to die. Imagine if Freeza had the same writing? Oh wait, everyone would die! Because the plot literally serves Freeza the Dragon Balls on a silver platter and he doesn't need to know Namekian to speak to Porunga! And you know, what exactly makes Cell "Perfect" by absorbing #17 and #18, all he does is get stronger and faster which isn't interesting, he did have the forcefield from #17, but he only uses it once and never again, and that's it. That's not to mention that Cell's designs upon absorbing don't really scream to me that he's attained some sense of perfection, outside of his Imperfect form, Cell is just not interesting to look at. And you know his regeneration is pretty underutilized all things considered, think of the gory, grisly, gruesome, body horror fun you could have with it; Cell can reheal himself from it anyway so what's stopping you from doing it? Is it just too hard to draw?! Yusuke Murata was willing to put in the effort for Boros' regeneration, and it looks awesome! For Cell, it's just to keep him in the plot until it is time for him to die which is not fun.