An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
Vegeta, prince of all Saiyans, conqueror of planets, murderer of children, destroyer of civilizations, endorser of genocides – has come to accept that somehow, for some reason, it has fallen on him to be the sex ed teacher to every last Saiyan and their mixed-blood offspring on Earth.
He might not like it, but he is man enough to shoulder the burden. And have a little fun with it in the process.
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Brand new one-shot crack/humor fic to round out the year. Starring endearing dummies Trunks/Goten, established Bulma/Vegeta, and background mentions of Gohan/Future Trunks, as well as a ton of easter eggs and spoilers for my upcoming and ongoing WIPs.
It's been 12 months since I came out of my 4-year hiatus, and during those months I've seen an exponential increase in gen-AI slop dominating the fanfic space. This fic is dedicated to all who do it badly, do it scared, but at least do it with their own hands to polish a craft, and practice to get better, instead of using a plagiarism bot to steal from others' works and slap their names onto it.
Vegeta's Mother Headcanons/Backstory (with Lots of Saiyan Culture Worldbuilding)
As promised to @blueper-saiyan, here is the backstory I've made up for Vegeta's mom and some of the royal family! I've literally thought about writing a saiyan Game of Thrones style fic about how King Vegeta came to power and how Vegeta's mother became queen. If, after reading some of the backstory, such a fic sounds fun to read, I might write it someday. Let me know!
(This post came up as part of a wider discussion about saiyan cultural/religious differences. Read here if you're interested, but the post will only enhance this one, and you don't need to read it for the backstory to make sense.)
To begin with some general information about how royal succession functions: There are four nations on Vegeta-sei, each with their own lands and cultural identities. When the heir to the throne reaches an age equal to three cycles of Vegeta-sei's moon (25 Earth years, roughly), they are bound to one consort from each nation. These consorts are within one moon cycle of the heir's age and can be any sex; measured strength at birth/assigned social class determines who is selected. (Anyone, however, can challenge the selected consort for their right to be bound to the heir apparent. If the challenger defeats the one originally selected in a duel, the challenger then becomes the new consort.) The "wedding" itself takes place in the weeks leading up to the first nights of the full moon after the heir turns 25.
The role of royal consort is a political one as much as it is about producing heirs for the royal family. Indeed, the consorts are not always reproductively compatible with the heir apparent. (This plays into another web of headcanons I have: gender/sex isn't really a big deal in saiyan cultures; they care far more about class/strength, and even the way they speak reflects this. Saiyago refers to people by class and not by sex/gender; there are no gendered pronouns.) The consorts function, essentially, as representatives for their nations. They are the highest ranking nobles/elites of their respective countries. The position comes with considerable political power and influence. There are motives, then, for someone to want to become a royal consort even if they cannot produce children with the heir.
Obviously, though, producing royal children is one of the main purposes of a consort. Those that are reproductively compatible with the heir are expected to engage in the necessary activities. And the consort who provides the crown with the strongest child assumes the title of king/queen consort, granting both that consort and the nation they represent special privileges, power, and influence. So even if there are motives for someone to want to be a consort regardless of reproductive compatibility, compatible consorts are preferred most of the time, and incompatible ones are often challenged. (Or, alternatively, certain conniving nobles might manipulate power level/class archives to ensure the person they want is "chosen by the gods" to stand at the side of the crown. Lots of fun GoT style shit here.)
So this brings us to Vegeta's mother:
She was the strongest (still living) saiyan born in one of the four nations within an appropriate age range to the heir apparent. Specifically, she is from the nation of people who occupy a collection of islands near one of the planet's poles. As mentioned in the long post I linked, this nation centers Oozaru transformation in their cultural/spiritual consciousness as opposed to SSJ transformation. The primal beast vs. the Enlightened Warrior. People from her country speak of a special bond to the moon goddess because, due to their location at the pole, they experience seasonal polar night. Whole seasons of nothing but the moonlit sky, and alternatively, seasons where they are waiting for the goddess rule the sky again.
And because they center the more wild, primal, and impassioned transformation, they are at odds with the culture in the royal city and the (most populous and influential) nation that surrounds it that centers SSJ transformation which is, supposedly, passionless and enlightened (in the Eastern sense). The unique cultural practices, powers, and techniques the people from Vegeta's mother's lands boast are therefore looked upon with skepticism by most other saiyans. Most saiyans don't know what to do with this essentially foreign group of people from sparsely populated polar isles who have strange ways. Some of them are even rumored to sense ki without scouters. The most powerful of them can even dissolve the borders of their mind as happens under the moonlight so they can communicate to others without speaking, soul to soul. (It's mild telepathy, basically. Speaking with the mind, being able to share thoughts/dreams; very skilled people might even be able to read others' minds in a limited capacity.)
And Vegeta's mother is one of those exceptionally gifted saiyans from this country/culture. But nobody cares or finds out about this until later. Because...King Vegeta was not the original heir to whom she would've been betrothed. The saiyan who became King Vegeta was a weaker/lesser royal child. One of his sisters, however, was the crown princess. And she was batshit insane.
King Vegeta's sister was exceptionally cruel. Even for a saiyan. And she came from a long line of rulers who were almost as cruel and insane as she was. Her lineage, in fact, is part of the reason saiyans are infamous throughout the galaxy. She and other corrupt royals/elites don't fight because fighting is what saiyans do. They don't fight for the sake of itself. They fight to shed blood, to kill, to revel in others' pain, destruction, and misery. The sadism is the point, not the art and joy of fighting. And they don't kill in a cold, unattached way. They rape and pillage because they are consumed with bloodlust, they get off on hurting others, and they are strong enough that few can stop them.
(Another topic I could write a whole other long post about: There is certainly considerable disagreement among different saiyan cultures about what their "fighting nature" actually entails. Is it about the excellence in craft? Is it about spiritual enlightenment? Is it about feeling at one with the body, the opponent, and the universe? Or...is it about defeating and destroying your rival? Is it about being the strongest? Is it about pain and domination? There are competing narratives for what the Ideal Saiyan looks like and about how that saiyan would fight. For someone like King Vegeta's sister, she and most of her family lean more towards fighting-for-domination/bloodlust because power has gone to their heads and warped them into something monstrous.)
And (not yet) King Vegeta sees all of this, and because he's one of the weaker children of his family, he faces considerable abuse. Naturally, he tries to prove himself by showing exceptional cruelty of his own, waging wars and conquering planets... But he never actually wins the approval of his family or the rest of the elite class. He becomes somewhat estranged. He comes to resent and look down on his parents and his sister especially. He sees their monstrous ways and turns away from them not because he sees their actions as evil, but because he comes to see their hearts as impure. He listens to the words and warnings of religious extremists around the royal city's temples who condemn the nobility for their impassioned bloodlust where they should instead be cold and tranquil when they fight. He becomes a bit of a fanatic himself.
Then his sister reaches the age where she's to be bound to consorts. And the moon festival is approaching and therefore her "wedding." She doesn't treat the consorts chosen for her like the esteemed nobles they are, however. She captures them and tortures them publicly to put fear in the hearts of everyone in their countries. On the night of her "wedding," she makes a humiliating display of them in the royal city's moon temple. It's pretty obvious that, once the ceremony is performed, she's intending to rape her consorts and perhaps kill the ones who can't provide children for her. Vegeta's mother is one of these consorts.
Vegeta's father is fucking disgusted by all of this. His sister is doing something absolutely sacrilege. She's using power in the most impure way possible, and she's literally desecrating altars doing so. It sets him the fuck off. He's watching the beginnings of the "wedding ceremony," but it's the last straw. While everyone's caught up in what's happening, he comes to the front of the temple and blasts his sister straight through the heart before she can touch any of the consorts, killing her instantly. And he doesn't stop there. He goes positively feral and kills every single member of the royal family while everyone is too shocked or drunk/high to defeat him even though he's not the strongest based on power level alone.
Covered in the blood of the king, queen, and all of his siblings, Vegeta's father calls upon any "righteous" saiyan to purge the royal lands of corruption. Certain religious extremists are all too happy to oblige (the tailless ascetic order from the other post is certainly included here). They begin with powerful elite families known to be close to the crown, murdering their figureheads and heirs. And even some lower-class saiyans join in on the bloodshed. Many of them despise the royal family and the elite nobility for degrading and abusing them. (Some particularly wicked nobles make slaves of low-class saiyans, treating them like aliens/animals; some of them even take children from low-class families to slake their most despicable lusts. While might-makes-right may be pretty commonplace in saiyan culture, I think it's still extremely feasible that those who get the short end of that stick would come to acknowledge that power does not justify every action, and that, especially among low-class saiyans, things like rape and murder of other saiyans are seen as traumatic and wrong as well as shameful acts to commit most of the time.)
The nights of the full moon, then, become a massive fucking bloodbath. Vegeta's father and those loyal to him massacre pretty much half of the nobility. And he, naturally, assumes the throne after the moon festival is over. He is at once respected and feared. He maintains his religious fanaticism and imposes it on the nobility. In some ways, he is just as iron-fisted and cruel as his predecessors, but it has an entirely different flavor. He follows the laws to the letter, taking them very seriously and giving them intense spiritual weight. He strives to emulate the model of the SSJ Enlightened Warrior and considers it his calling as dictated by the gods because they appointed him king.
And while he's not morally "good" by any stretch, and his religion/philosophy definitely leads him to commit some truly heinous acts, he's nevertheless "better" in many ways than his sister or his parents. Nobles who, for example, would have before taken low-class children to abuse are instead punished severely and pay dearly for their "impurity." (It kind of makes sense that someone like King Vegeta who faced significant childhood abuse from his family would consider taking advantage of certain kinds of vulnerable people to be weak and shameful---a corruption of strength.) And while King Vegeta isn't necessarily loved by all low-class saiyans, he's probably more popular than many of his predecessors were. Yes, he still ships off weak children, he still enforces the strict caste system (perhaps even more strictly than those before him too), and he still conquers planets and seeks out powerful opponents to destroy, but he does it with a certain spiritual sincerity.
Then it becomes time for him to take consorts. He's in a pretty unique situation where he's already king before he's "married." After the murder of his sister on her "wedding night," he frees the consorts from their bondage and tells them they can return to their homelands until the gods call upon them to perform their duties. They are more than happy to get the fuck out of the royal city for a while, naturally. But when the next moon festival is approaching, those selected are asked to return. One or two of the consorts his sister would've "wed" had perhaps fallen in battle, but most of them are the same, including Vegeta's mother.
Vegeta's mother and her homeland had been happy, initially, that she hadn't been reproductively compatible with the original heir, King Vegeta's sister. The moon-worshiping people wanted as little to do with the royal city as possible so they could govern their own lands in relative isolation. Now, however, her position as consort carries with it an implicit obligation.
In the years leading up to the next moon festival, Vegeta's mother of course visits the royal city a number of times given that she's an important noble personality. But she doesn't spend most of her time there and only goes when absolutely necessary. She crosses paths with the king, naturally, but avoids him if she can. She remembers, however, the night where he, essentially, saved both her life and her honor (though this was not his primary reason for freeing her). Even so, she's been bracing for the king to go insane like his predecessors. Perhaps bracing herself for him to force himself on her in some way. She doesn't trust him. She doesn't trust anyone outside of her homeland.
But the king is strictly business with her even if he does watch her. She's mysterious; he hardly sees her. She doesn't look like many other people in the royal city. She has different manners, beliefs, and even speaks a different dialect of Saiyago (though she can code-switch and speak the standard royal city dialect as well). She has a small, very feminine frame despite having a very formidable power level. It makes her more terrifying in some ways---that her power comes to her effortlessly, that she doesn't need physical strength or size to wield as much might as she does. She is regarded as extremely beautiful and is compared even to depictions of the moon goddess. Her being from the moon-worshiping polar isles reinforces this connection as well; she has an air of pagan magic about her, and her beauty as well as her strange ways/fighting techniques have this spellbinding or bewitching quality to them in saiyan cultural consciousness.
And her beauty, mystery, and foreign background make her the subject of scorn among many nobles throughout the royal lands. They don't want a pagan queen. Especially since the nobles that remain are ones that are more in line with the religious fanaticism of King Vegeta. The king has very recently purged the nobility of corrupt heretics, people who gave themselves over to shameful bloodlust and made no attempt to purify their hearts and live up to the Saiyan Ideal. And the prospect of having someone who is all about losing yourself and becoming the wild Oozaru become their queen is threatening. Many assume, too, that King Vegeta simply won't favor Vegeta's mother for these political reasons and will instead produce heirs with his other consorts.
That doesn't stop King Vegeta from developing a huge fucking crush on her, though. She's drop-dead gorgeous and incredibly powerful. She doesn't fawn over him or try to win his favor. She steers clear of him, and when they do have to interact, she doesn't filter her foreign/pagan sensibilities whatsoever to be pleasing. She always approaches him as herself and comes off strong. She even outright opposes or argues with him when matters of governance/policy arise. She makes very clear that her people don't care for the traditional caste system or how children are measured for their power at birth. She reminds him that the strongest and most wise of her people can sense hidden abilities in others' souls that scouters can't capture with a mere number.
Ironically, though, Vegeta's mother approaching King Vegeta sincerely as herself makes him fall for her even harder. Those precious few times she sees him in the royal city become almost special occasions for him; he waits for her, he looks forward to seeing her even if he's out of touch with it. He relishes their philosophical debates. As someone who takes his "divine" calling very seriously, he admires her own spiritual passion and sincerity even though they disagree on some basic things and have very different ideas about what the Ideal Saiyan looks/fights like. He makes excuses to talk to her and spend time with her. He probably even constructs situations where he is forced to consider her political input. He desires her and feels that the gods gave their blessing for him to desire her by choosing her for him. She, however, rejects even the smallest advances very strongly. And he, nothing like his sister in this respect, does not punish her or pressure her to accept him. He carries on with his other royal duties.
As the moon festival and therefore the official royal "wedding" approaches, however, Vegeta's mother eventually refuses even to attend the ceremony. (Makes sense, after all---last time, an insane princess meant to torture, rape, and murder her.) Many elites encourage other people from the polar isles to challenge her, replacing her with someone who will not shirk their duties. Elites hostile to the moon-worshipers call for her capture and possible execution. King Vegeta, though, requests only that she attend the ceremony if no one will challenge her and vows that she may return to her homeland once it is over, and neither he nor anyone will touch her under pain of death. She eventually accepts this offer. Her limited interactions with the king have at least shown her that he is generally a man of his word, and she will be able to maintain her political influence over him while getting to stay in her homeland and not fear retribution.
The ceremony takes place and is a very somber affair. Think the most traditional, by-the-book royal wedding ever (just with more fighting because they are saiyans). Vegeta's mother returns to the polar isles the very night the ceremony is over, though, as the moon festival nights are sacred to her people, and she has no desire to spend them in the royal city. The king lets her go as promised. The other nations are happy to see her go, as the more time the king spends with his other consorts, the higher the likelihood that the consort that represents them becomes queen. The king does indeed spend the first few nights in the royal city as expected. But...he does something scandalous before the moon festival is over.
He goes to the polar isles. He participates in some of their festival activities (ritual Oozaru transformations, battles, hunts, and sacrifices). He frames it as a gesture of political good will, saying that he will be a king to all saiyans no matter their nation or favored gods/goddesses. He strives to live up to the example of his Super Saiyan ancestors and will seek strength and wisdom in whatever form the gods will reveal it to him. Even if it means listening to pagan moon-worshipers and hearing what they have to say, what knowledge and power they have to impart. He means it sincerely, but his gesture was obviously inspired by his preoccupation with Vegeta's mother.
He doesn't make any attempt to get close to her personally, but he does transform under the moon with her. And afterwards, when some time has passed and he asks her to come to the royal city, she accepts.
She tells herself it's in service to her nation. Not in many generations have they had the crown at their mercy like this. She knows she has the power to influence how saiyan life itself is ordered. She still may not want to give King Vegeta a child or become queen, but she does want to take advantage of the opportunity his favor affords her.
She's there when Freeza and King Cold first contact the saiyans. It's obvious to anyone who was in direct contact with Freeza just how powerful he is, how much manipulative leverage he holds... But Vegeta's mother can sense something is deeply off about him and the entire situation. She's fully aware that Freeza will straight up destroy everyone if they don't enter his service. And she doesn't have the same delusional pride that the king does. She knows he's going to have to bend the knee if they mean to survive. It's because of her influence that King Vegeta doesn't enter a doomed war with Freeza at the start. She helps him acclimate the people to their new "alliance"---emphasizes better access to technology like scouters, healing tanks, ships, and incubation pods. She's a much better and more natural ruler than King Vegeta is, in fact. She brings a certain "humanity" (saiyanity?) to the role---it's about safeguarding the people and their way of life, not about proving that she personally is the strongest.
Naturally, this pivotal political role she plays brings her and King Vegeta closer together. She'd already been developing feelings for him slowly. She already knew he was different after he killed his entire family and spared her from their wickedness. And as she got to know him better, she really came to admire his own sincerity just as he admired hers. They are both deeply spiritual people even though they have different beliefs, and they have an understanding of each other. And the time they spent under the moonlight together was, after all, quite romantic even if saiyans don't really have "romance" the way humans do.
She admits to herself after a while that she's attracted to him. Sure, part of her definitely enjoys being queen in all but actual title. She enjoys how hopelessly this extremely powerful and austere man bends to her every whim and worships her as if she were actually the moon goddess herself and had indeed bewitched him like all the rumors say she has. Even against his better political judgment or his religious sensibilities. He can't help but revere and admire her. You know, saiyans having a thing for strong women.
She's the one who goes to him first. She tells herself initially that it's merely to consolidate her power, her hold on the king. He, of course, can't resist her and just completely fucking melts for her when she commands him to meet her in her bedchambers. But it's clear that it's neither about duty nor politics as they continue to be intimate. They are in love with each other. They connect on a soul level.
She eventually does become pregnant, though it is no guarantee that she will become queen even if she does provide the crown with a child. She would have to produce the strongest child to be crowned queen, after all, and sometimes which child is strongest does not become apparent until later. But...when Vegeta is born, he's leagues ahead of the other children that had been born already (he has a number of half-siblings). He's the strongest royal child born as far as the archives go back. It's unprecedented, but he's named heir to the throne immediately, and his mother assumes the title of queen at the same time he is named crown prince.
That Vegeta's mother bore him such a powerful son just makes King Vegeta fall that much more in love with her. He takes it as a sign, even, that the gods rewarded him for his piety. That he had done the right thing by murdering his entire family (as much as it still hurt to do, deep down, even if he'd never admit it). That perhaps his son was born so strong because the two sides of saiyan nature were for once at harmony with each other, the Oozaru and the Super Saiyan, just as he, descended from the Super Saiyans, learned to love and fight alongside his moon-worshiping consort. He dares to hope that maybe Prince Vegeta will become strong enough to overthrow Freeza and cast off the shame of servitude.
But there's trouble in paradise. The nobles from the other nations are absolutely appalled that the moon-worshiper from the tiny, pagan population of the polar isles has become queen. Many of them do actually think that she put the king under a spell to do her bidding. They don't like that her battle partner, Nappa, was originally low-class (but elevated once the queen came to the royal city---another cultural difference; it's not as taboo for nobles to have low-class partners in the polar isles because their caste sensibilities are not as strict). The fact that the king bent the knee to Freeza just makes things worse. He's weak. He'll lead them to ruin. He's easily manipulated. He listened to a sorceress instead of his own integrity and pride by submitting to Freeza where he should have instead gone to war and proven his strength as his ancestors did before him.
There's unrest among the lower-class saiyans too. Freeza ships them off to faraway planets for degrading assignments. He takes saiyan children to his planet, and they never return. They hate Freeza even if they are encouraged to be grateful for the battles and resources the Planet Trade affords them. They resent the royal family even if the prince is so strong that they can't help but be inspired.
Several elites challenge the queen to fight. She proves victorious each time, however. And this only infuriates her detractors and rivals even more. Eventually, there are plots to dispose of her via less than honorable means. There are assassination attempts. Those that are caught are of course tortured and executed. But...sadly, one of the attempts succeeds. The queen falls ill, and poison is suspected. She begins to deteriorate rapidly, but she doesn't die immediately. Her body resists the illness, and she lingers for a time even if she knows that, ultimately, her death will be inevitable and painful.
King Vegeta, understandably, goes on a fucking rampage. But there's a distraction. Freeza attends a tournament to decide who will become Prince Vegeta's battle partner, and he finds Prince Vegeta himself to be rather remarkable. Soon afterwards, he demands that King Vegeta send the prince to "visit" him on his home planet. He wants to take the prince in and mentor him as a mark of the "friendship" between Vegeta-sei and the Cold Empire.
The queen, however, does not want to give her son over to Freeza. She fucking knows how that will go down. She can feel it. Vegeta will be examined, experimented on, tortured, treated as a pet and a slave. She doubts that the SSJ legends are even real; she's of the opinion that it's just another interpretation of the Oozaru. So she's under no illusion that Vegeta will transform and save them all from Freeza at just the right moment. She knows he's just a little boy at the end of the day, however strong he is already.
Plus...she knows she's dying, and she doesn't want her son taken away from her. She doesn't want her last days to be spent knowing she gave him over to a monster. But at the same time...she also knows that, if Freeza doesn't take Vegeta, then it will put the entire planet in danger. She takes a page from the king's book and tells herself that she'll have to set her personal feelings aside to do what is rational even if it isn't quite right. So she requests only that the king doesn't let Freeza take Vegeta until after she's gone.
The king, meanwhile, is in fucking denial that she's dying at all. He doesn't want to believe it. He's caught up in his feelings about it. He's caught up, too, in the fear and dread their oh-so-tenuous relationship with Freeza is. He says he'll go to war with Freeza. That he won't let him take their son at all. But they both know that they have to. He copes with it by telling both himself and Vegeta that Freeza's "mentorship" and the opportunities his assignments will afford will make him stronger, will perhaps move him to transform when the time is right. The king doesn't explain to the child what he's really in for, just that he must be strong above all else. Vegeta's mother, though, probably tries to warn him in some capacity, as far as he is able to understand (he's about 4 Earth years old at this point).
Freeza, though, comes to collect Vegeta unannounced sooner than anyone expected. He is forcibly taken from his mother. She puts up a fight, but it's useless, and Vegeta ultimately goes to Freeza's home planet to begin his servitude. The queen dies soon afterwards, and when Vegeta returns to Vegeta-sei for the last time before the planet is destroyed, his mother is gone. He never got to see her again after the day he was taken away.
King Vegeta is consumed with grief and anger. He acts according to his worst impulses. Wages reckless wars, tortures people just to watch them suffer. It doesn't help that the person who was the actual political mastermind behind his regime (the queen) is gone. His rule is messy, and he becomes increasingly unhinged. He probably tries to make an incredibly stupid final stand. His actions certainly accelerate Freeza's plan to destroy him and the rest of the saiyans. And this is where all of this backstory catches up with where we meet young Vegeta in canon.
Anyway! There you have it, an epic backstory for Vegeta's mom and the royal family.
I made all of this up to be background stuff in my fic, but it's not just that. It's also there to show some of the internal conflicts going on in young Vegeta's character. He's caught between living up to the legends of his ancestors and his personal feelings just as his parents represent these two opposing interpretations of saiyan nature. He doesn't quite know how to reconcile these things within himself. His first years with Freeza, too, are colored by the loss of his mother and his father's becoming particularly strict and power-obsessed as a result of her death. This background story is in the fic is also there to tell the reader things about how saiyans conceptualize things like "romantic" relationships, what they consider beautiful. Besides all the stuff about religion, spirituality, and how saiyans construct morality, meaning, and enlightenment.
My Saiyan Race Headcanon: The Story of the First Super Saiyan (Specifically, the First Historically Recorded Super Saiyan)
My Saiyan Race Headcanon: The Story of the First Super Saiyan (Specifically, the First Historically Recorded Super Saiyan)
At the time, the Saiyan race was at the peak of its power. All rival species in Planet Sadala had already been wiped out. However, the Saiyan royal family and nobles gradually fell into corruption and decay. They began to toy with the lives of the commoners, taking pleasure in their suffering. The commoners, brainwashed and manipulated, were unable to see that their true enemies were the royal family and nobles—instead, they turned on each other in a frenzy of internal conflict.
Amidst this chaos, a common Saiyan named Yamoshi rose up. He united a group composed of a few fellow commoners and some nobles who had not yet succumbed to corruption. Together, they formed a resistance/revolutionary army. Among them was the future "Legendary Super Saiyan" and the ancestor of Gine (Goku’s mother)—a female commoner poet who used her songs and poetry to convey the voice of the people and to record the true history.
Although the rebellion had just begun to take form, their plans were soon discovered. The nobles retaliated by slaughtering the commoners within the resistance. This enraged Yamoshi, and in his fury, he transformed into the first Super Saiyan.
However, the cunning nobles and royals, unwilling to confront Yamoshi directly, manipulated the commoners to attack him en masse. Yamoshi, who refused to harm innocent commoners, was ultimately beaten to death by those very people he sought to protect.
Witnessing Yamoshi's death, the one who would become the "Legendary Super Saiyan" lost all control and fully awakened. He annihilated most of the Saiyan population and destroyed the original Saiyan homeworld—Planet Sadala. The Saiyan race was forced to flee.
Only one survivor remained from the original resistance: the ancestor of Gine—a poet who preserved the truth through her verses. She escaped aboard a spaceship and, before her death, told her descendants to carry on her mission—to spread the voice of the people and record the real history.
The surviving Saiyans eventually arrived on Planet Plant.
As for the Legendary Super Saiyan, he wandered the galaxy aimlessly, destroying everything in a mindless fury until he eventually starved to death.
The poet ancestor of Gine was a female commoner who taught herself how to read, write, and understand music theory.
The Legendary Super Saiyan was a genetic anomaly similar to Broly, and because of this, he was abandoned at birth. He was found and adopted by Yamoshi’s parents, making him and Yamoshi adoptive brothers.
Had Yamoshi been killed by nobles or royals alone, the Legendary Super Saiyan might not have lost control. What truly enraged him was the fact that the people they had fought to protect—the commoners—had become Yamoshi’s executioners. Still, because of his strong convictions, he wouldn't have lost control over that alone. What ultimately drove him into madness was that the nobles and royals manipulated the commoners into eating Yamoshi alive.
I'm looking to get started on this dragon ball fic idea I've had since I was little, like 12, but I need to get my hands on some canon lore stuff surrounding saiyans, planet vegeta, king vegeta, etc. I want to know what lore already exists so i can build off of it, or if there's popular fanon lore that a lot of people use, things like that.
I've scoured the dragon ball wiki pretty well but I'm looking for specific movies/ovas/episodes that would be best to watch. I'm guessing the Broly or Bardock movies. Or if there's more information shared in the mangas! I've never touched the mangas aside from the original dragon ball run, just baby Goku.
My first dragon ball phase was before tumblr existed or before I had a deviantart account or anything like that so I have no clue what's going on in the fandom or what the vibes are. Any recs of canon or fanon content would be appreciated!
Wait a minute I can just send you an ask about how you think saiyan culture varies by region and also about that religious tail removal headcanon you mentioned on the extremely long tail post lol
Infodump incoming! (Caveat: these are just some fun headcanons, and I love other people's headcanons just as much. I love when there are a million different versions of things so I can enjoy them all and enjoy the content millions of times over!)
Epic Rambling below the cut.
Okay, so. I made up all of this to be background stuff for my Saiyans under Freeza fic. Like a collective memory the characters have that people like Nappa could reference. To give the fic a sense of history and context even if we don't see the saiyan planet. To show how the characters see the world, how they think about things, what they care about, and why.
Basically, I imagine that Vegeta-sei had a handful of "nations" that roughly correspond to different population groups on different parts of the planet. They each have some unique cultural practices, beliefs, fighting styles, etc. Only in the recent(ish) past had their culture become more globalized due to receiving more access to technology from the Planet Trade. So they may have had scouters and whatnot before, but not everyone would have had them. They may have had healing/incubation pods too, but they weren't readily available to most people. All of this is to say that their different cultures wouldn't have converged into a uniform one due to globalization/colonization.
As for the different nations themselves, I imagine that different regions prioritized different things about being saiyan. Or they had different ways of approaching class hierarchies. For example, one nation might center Super Saiyan legends in their cultural consciousness, whereas another might center Oozaru transformation. This is precisely the difference I imagine between the nation that surrounds the royal palace/lands and the nation that houses a population closer to one of the planet's poles:
The royal bloodline bases their claim to power not just on their (supposed) higher latent strength, but also their alleged ancestral ties to saiyans that have become Super Saiyans. And the royals/nobles themselves perpetuate this narrative to consolidate power. Even though it seems pretty apparent that no saiyans have living memory of actually seeing a Super Saiyan---just that there are stories about their might, what they look like, etc. So the royals and everyone around them would be steeped in these legends. And the general culture of nobility, too, would contribute to obsessing over ancestry, power level, etc., where having ties to the royal family grants social status.
But it's not just social status---probably one of the reasons why SSJ legends have such a hold on people is that the Super Saiyans of legend helped them conquer their own planet(s?), won critical battles in the distant past, and perhaps played a sort of "savior" role. They have a sort of spiritual/religious significance. They provide a sort of "ideal" to which any strong, virtuous saiyan should aspire. An avatar for how saiyans construct morality and excellence (beyond just those in power wanting to maintain order and control).
Vegeta references that a Super Saiyan is a warrior with a "cold" or "pure" heart. Some of this is probably his own or his father's spin on the stories he was told as a child. Shutting down his emotions and detaching himself simultaneously from forming any connections as well as from the horrors he was experiencing/committing was certainly a coping strategy for surviving under Freeza. But some of it definitely came from his culture and from saiyan spiritual sensibility generally.
Different translations refer to the heart of the Super Saiyan as "pure," "cold," or even "tranquil." Because "pure of heart" captures a different kind of vibe in a Western mind than it does an Eastern one. It's not about being, like, "morally good" or anything---it's more about being empty, or single of purpose. Unaffected by attachment, and not in the "I don't care about anyone" sense (though it definitely is about that as well in some cases). Think along the lines of nonattachment philosophy you see described in Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, or (for a more Western flavor) Stoicism. So you can see how it simultaneously captures the adjectives of "pure" and "cold/tranquil." Or, for a pop culture reference that many will be familiar with, how the Jedi and Star Wars try to stay above attachment to the world and being swayed by personal passions.
And I bring all of this up to make a point about how saiyans might approach virtue. It's more about excellence than it is about doing what is right. So, something done excellently is virtuous, even if it is something humans would consider evil. A virtuous saiyan is someone who is as strong as possible, fights with clearness of purpose, and is unswayed by personal passions. The state of SSJ is a kind of state of enlightenment. (Which puts the differences between Goku and Vegeta on display: Goku is actually more exemplary of someone who fights in this "enlightened" way---purely for the sake of itself---whereas Vegeta is caught up in his emotions in every fucking battle he fights. He hates Kakarot, he hates Freeza. He's always trying to prove something. While Goku isn't trying to prove anything. He's just fighting because fighting is what he does, and he does it excellently.)
Now contrast this with a group of saiyans who prioritize Oozaru transformation more. Instead of trying to detach oneself, imagine leaning into one's passions and becoming a fucking monster. You know, the call of the moon, the bloodlust of the beast. Totally different vibe from the Enlightened Warrior. I find it absolutely fascinating that you have these two competing narratives for how a saiyan shows strength. That they have these two main transformations with these totally different flavors (that are later unified in transformations like SSJ3/4?). And you even see little nods to how saiyans think about their Oozaru transformation. Sometimes it's just about letting loose and being destructive. Other times, different saiyans in canon (such as Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga) seem to turn to it as a last resort. Not their main line of defense; something messy and unbecoming, even.
I'll write more about the saiyan cultures that lean more into Oozaru vs. SSJ in another post about the backstory I've constructed for Vegeta's mom! I headcanon that she belonged to one of these cultures, and that Vegeta's parents followed different traditions. (Also makes the relationship between King Vegeta and Vegeta's mom quite interesting!)
Now about saiyans who remove their tails: So with alllllllll of that said about SSJ vs. Oozaru and the different approaches/philosophies behind them, you can imagine a kind of extremist faction of the SSJ-prioritizing culture that eschews Oozaru transformation altogether as an attempt to strive for excellence only, to be totally pure-hearted, to have no passions whatsoever. And some of them would remove their tails as an expression of their spiritual sensibilities. Perhaps they belong to an ascetic warrior tradition. Tail removal would simultaneously be seen as something scandalous/taboo as well as very serious, as for most saiyans, this removes their access to one of their more powerful transformations (at least for a little while, if the tail eventually grows back).
I don't think King Vegeta would have belonged to this faction even if he would be drawn to some of their philosophies/practices. He probably couldn't remove his tail for social status reasons as well. But I can see him employing some of the tailless saiyans in various corners of his regime. Like, think of what kind of flex it would be to employ ascetic warrior fanatics to positions of, say, law enforcement. As in "these people are going to torture you, and they aren't going to give a single fuck about you or anything else while they are doing it." Because of the nonattachment stuff. People who just follow the will of the heir to the Super Saiyan Legacy and pursue strength/excellence while casting off all else.
I could literally go on and on about this. How these different philosophies shape the characters we know, how the characters twist these narratives to suit their aims or cope with their lives. I know this is super rambly, but I think you get some of the ideas here?
Bracken is a poet and singer who conveys the voice of the people and records true history through poetry and song. She is a female commoner who taught herself how to read, write, and compose music. A genius in both music and poetry, she was once prophesied by the royal court to be a “hero of destiny.” The Saiyan king at the time invited her to the palace, but she declined all wealth and honors in order to continue singing. She is the ancestor of Gine and the only member of the resistance who survived until the end.
Personality:
Bracken is indifferent to fame, wealth, and power. Her disposition is sunny and cheerful, yet she has little desire or ambition, which gives her an air of emotional detachment. Initially, she had no intention of joining the resistance—until she witnessed war and death firsthand, with the people falling in droves before her eyes. Realizing their suffering had reached a level she could no longer ignore, she chose to join the resistance, even though she had no talent for combat. She vowed to fight alongside Yamoshi until the end.
She will never stop singing. Even though her songs hold no magical powers, her words—sharp and poetic—carry powerful emotional resonance. As a poet, she has great persuasive strength, though she cannot fully compete with the long-term brainwashing inflicted on the commoners by the nobility.
She was born with an extremely strong sense of empathy, allowing her to fully feel others’ emotions as if they were her own. This ability is nearly equivalent to mind-reading—though she cannot read thoughts, she can sense feelings. It took her until adolescence to learn how to control this power. Because of this, she became deeply familiar with the darkness of human nature from a young age.
Although she is cheerful, there is a cold and slippery edge to her personality—just like the bracken fern she’s named after. She is outwardly soft, inwardly unyielding. Her will to live is strong, and that’s why she survived to the end. She is sensitive and meticulous, with deep insight into the human heart.
Appearance:
Her hair resembles bracken ferns—individual strands thick at the root, with curled ends.
The structure is similar to Raditz’s hairstyle, but with the pattern and texture of fern fronds.
Her eye color is a rare, pure black, remaining pitch black even under direct sunlight.
(Name inspired by the English word “Bracken,” and the character concept by the song “The Prophesied Hero” by 灵风.)
My Saiyan OC: Raízloto
Raízloto is the so-called "Legendary Super Saiyan", a genetically mutated being similar to Broly. He was abandoned at birth, and picked up by Yamoshi’s parents, making him Yamoshi’s adopted younger brother.
Personality:
He is a “wise fool”—appearing goofy and airheaded on the surface, but actually possessing strange insights and strategic thinking. He is exceptionally sensitive and intuitive. Since childhood, he felt like a misfit, and only his adoptive family truly accepted and loved him. Because of this, he yearns for recognition, to be understood and accepted by others. But as an overwhelmingly powerful mutant, he is doomed to be feared.
His heart is pure, with a dangerously innocent kindness. Raised by his foster parents, he was taught a strong moral code. Like Yamoshi, he longs for freedom and equality, even if he doesn’t truly understand what “freedom” means. He is extremely straightforward—so blunt that it often unintentionally hurts people, and Yamoshi frequently has to smooth things over for him.
Raízloto has self-destructive tendencies and doesn’t care much about his own life—or most other lives—except for his family and friends. He can see through others’ true natures, but his desire for connection often prevents him from facing reality. He is deeply loyal and idealistic, with a rigid sense of principle from his upbringing.
He has a touch of moral purism and detests hypocrisy. He does things directly, without political cunning. There is a youthful clarity in his behavior, but because of his lack of social finesse, he often meets resistance.
Usually he suppresses his emotions and rarely gets angry, but when he does, it’s terrifying.
Backstory:
Raízloto and Artichoke share similar facial features—Artichoke’s are more regal and mature, while Raízloto’s are more youthful and delicate. This is because Raízloto was actually genetically engineered using Artichoke’s royal DNA, combined with a mutation and the genes of Raízloto’s biological parents (a noble couple who wanted an heir). The scientists lied to the couple, claiming the child would be theirs, when in reality Raízloto was implanted into the mother’s womb as an experiment.
When his biological parents discovered the truth, they abandoned him.
Raízloto was later picked up and raised by Yamoshi’s parents.
Appearance:
Hair is shaped like a lotus flower—soft, layered, with a blooming silhouette.
Eyes are pink-gold, a clear sign of genetic mutation; they are large, droopy, and full of canine-like innocence (very much a dog-like personality).
Skin is pale and smooth. His face is soft and youthful, with little bone definition.
His gentle eyes and childlike face contrast starkly with his immense physical power.
Hair color is pure black, with a slightly fluffy, wavy texture.
Special Ability:
As a genetic mutant, he possesses the ability “Broken Yet Intact”—his limbs, even if severed, do not completely detach and can regenerate.
(Name comes from the Spanish words “Raíz” (root) and “loto” (lotus root).)
My Saiyan OC: Artichoke
Artichoke was the King of the Saiyans at the time, and had unmatched battle power. Even Raízloto, before transforming into the Legendary Super Saiyan, couldn’t defeat him.
He had no talent for politics or governance and relied solely on his combat prowess and military strength to gain the throne. At first, he genuinely tried to be a good king—but later realized that his efforts only backfired and exhausted him. He eventually gave up, becoming a puppet ruler, an inept tyrant who found it easier to play dumb. Ironically, some of his “evil” actions turned out beneficial purely by accident.
Though he accomplished nothing of note during his reign, he redeemed himself at the end by fighting the rampaging Raízloto with his life, giving others a chance to escape the planet. He died at Raízloto’s hands—his final act, at last, a meaningful one.
He was never truly stupid or useless. He was simply ill-suited to politics and better fit to be a general. In fact, he never wanted the throne to begin with, but his overwhelming strength made him a target of jealousy from his royal siblings. Eventually, he gave up caring.
Personality:
A battle maniac, addicted to combat. He had no political aptitude and only rose to power due to his strength. Originally idealistic, he became disillusioned after repeated failures and fell into apathy.
He’s suspicious and paranoid, a classic trait of kings. In the past, he was too blunt and got betrayed—so now he layers himself in emotional armor. His cruelty and soft spot for those close to him aren’t contradictory. He values life and fights fiercely when his people face extinction.
There's a strange, untouched innocence about him that makes him seem even more inhuman. He’s low-key and pragmatic, bad at self-promotion, and uninterested in the luxuries nobles enjoy. Outside of battle, he has obscure hobbies.
Now, he has been reduced to a mere symbol of power—just as he himself dehumanizes others. He knows the court’s prophets are manipulating him, but no longer cares.
Only battle and his hobbies can awaken the dying embers of his soul. His mind is both sharp and numb, strong outside, hollow inside. As a child, his sensitivity was seen as weakness, and he learned to numb it through war. He may seem hard to approach, but ironically, he’s the easiest to get along with in court.
Appearance:
Hair shaped like an artichoke, layers of sleek, dark petals fanning outward.
Hair color is pure black, in stark contrast with his extremely pale, cold-toned skin and very light beige-brown eyes.
Eye shape is droopy (giving a sleepy or sad dog look), combined with thin, low-set eyebrows and a faintly innocent expression—though he is anything but innocent.
No scars—his body is flawless due to his sheer strength.
When he smiles, it’s unexpectedly beautiful. His droopy eyes make him look harmless and pure, sometimes even falsely innocent, especially when he's amused or playing dumb.
What do you think about the Tuffles/Tsufurujins? Do you have any headcanons about them?
Finally getting around to answering asks! (Work has been something else.)
I don't actually have any specific headcanons about them!
I do generally subscribe to the basic lore that the saiyans did not originate from Vegeta-sei/Planet Vegeta, though. That they conquered it after coming from somewhere else.
I made up...a ton of lore concerning this, but to go in-depth about it would involve a lot of spoilers for my pre-DBZ fic, so...
But! There's a lot to wonder about: If saiyans didn't come from Vegeta-sei and had to conquer another planet, why did they do so? Did something happen to their original home? Were they abused or enslaved by someone else like they were by Freeza? Were they just greedy and bloodthirsty and liked another planet more? Lots of interesting things to play with here!
In my own head, I like to think that, wherever they originally came from, the first Super Saiyan helped them defeat their enemies and establish a home of their own. Maybe this has happened a few times throughout history, even! Perhaps saiyans evolved from a small population that was taken from one planet and wandered space, adapting to become strong, until one of them transformed and helped them find a planet of their own.
A lil Rumbuggery Headcanon which I’ve been meaning to flesh out for a while. Kohl, the male saiyan, and Diive, the female saiyan are both Kida’s Maternal Grandparents. Their initial meeting did not go so great.
Diive’s father is ill and leader of the Asper Clan, and unbeknownst to her- her father sent for Kohl, current heir of the Rüt Clan to help ward off Acrosians who have been invading their Northern lands. Diive has earned the Title of Queen through her sheer tenacity, viciousness and fierce loyalty to her people and their way of life. As Kohl entered their Domain, she was quick to set her dominance over the bigger, more influential male.
Kohl had been raised lavishly, protected, and educated by the best in the Saiyan realms, and had acted as ambassador many times to different kingdoms saiyan and other, but never has he interacted with the “lesser” saiyan clans. He is most certainly shocked (And a tad bit smitten) by the unwelcoming and dominating Aspers, and most certainly by their current Queen.
She knows his title, but it means nothing to her. He has yet to prove himself to her, he has never fought, nor put himself on the lines to protect his people as she has done over and over again. She will not refer to him as an equal until he proves himself.
Which he eventually does as Corra exists, and so does Kida. Lol. You can see where Kida gets her feistiness from. It’s a learned trait. Grandma raises no bitch.
