Just A Place Of Worship

Since Demigra/Chronoa is my OTP, and Demigra's return in SDBH's Universe Mission had some dialogue that can be used as ship fuel for them, I wanted to go through it and pick these parts out for some discussion. Some of this could be interpreted in more than one way- but this is based on my personal viewpoint/bias as someone who has shipped it since I first played DBXV. I'm just always looking for justifications for this ship, ya know~ By: Beshamaru Reference source for all quotes: Arcade SDBH UM translation document by Lightning aka Rakurai (Arcade dialogue quotes in italics) 1. Let's get started with the scene where Demigra gets the opportunity to wish via dragon balls. Dark Shenron! Give me the power to undo Mechikaboola's mind control! He wishes for the ability to break Mechi's spell on Chronoa. He's a smart guy that overthinks things, whose top advisor is a smart lady that *also* overthinks things. When they help the Time Patrol, they bring millions of years worth of knowledge and wisdom to the table which of course really helps with resolving the team's obstacles as they advance against Mechikabura. So, it's easy to imagine that they could've come up with alt ways to do things which wouldn't require the rescue of Chronoa. After all, if Chronoa had ended up getting killed by Mechikabura, it would've been convenient to Demigra's quest to become the Kaioshin of Time himself. He could've lied to the Time Patrol and insisted that she couldn't be saved, and gotten away with it (at least in the moment). But he wanted her alive, in her right mind, and away from Mechikabura (remember how terribly beat up looking she was after coming out of the Time Labyrinth? Mechi was obviously not good for her health LOL. Did this treatment of her bother him?). Maybe he went through 1,000 possibilities and determined that they really couldn't do this without her. But maybe, just maybe, could it be…? He cares about her? And hates to see her in such a state? They have so much history together; he's had plenty of time to develop feelings for her. It wouldn't be entirely surprising. (Side note- I think this first point of discussion is the most debatable out of all of these, but I wanted to include it anyway, because it is *an* interpretation which fits in with the subject matter I'm wanting to talk about here.) 2. If Demigra was only regarding Chronoa with businesslike detachment, he wouldn't have said this. No, really. Chronoa, I'll release you from that brainwashing right now…! After getting the aforementioned wish granted by Dark Shenron, the Demigra Army and the Time Patrol are able to make their way through Mechikabura's castle until they run into the out-of-her-mind, creepy possessed Chronoa. Demigra says the above quote when freeing her from the spell. Well, hear me out- if he's *only* getting the job done, it was totally unnecessary for him to say this. It's a comforting thing for him to say! He's letting her know that he's making things right so that she'll be okay, just in case she isn't too far gone to understand what he's saying. While the script writers *did* need to make Demigra's actions clear through dialogue (due to the only very sparse animations used during SDBH's story cut scenes), I think they would have worded this differently if it wasn't meant to be read this way. Easily. Just have him address the Time Patrol instead of Chro, and it becomes a matter of necessary business, not comfort. But they didn't take that route. Bonus relevant shipper points: I just gotta point out that for the whole of arcade SDBH UM and also BM (thus far) Demigra has been the *only* person who sometimes refers to Chronoa by her real name and not just always by her title. I feel like if this was intended as a disrespect to her, some member of the Time Patrol would've bristled at it and called him out already (given how easily they will fight/argue with him over things). Rather, I think it's his close familiarity with her, and maybe even some endearment coming out. Who knows if he's even noticing that he's the only person calling her by her real name. But now that I've brought this to your attention, isn't it a fun (and let's be real, kinda adorable) detail? **Side note! I haven't checked the dialogue for God Mission (from the original Heroes arcade serieses) to see if anyone other than Chronoa herself refers to her by her real name within *that* portion of the story, because it's not as convenient to check those. You're certainly welcome to comb Kanzenshuu's forum for these translations if you don't have them on hand yourself and want to investigate. I'm also going to add that Demigra seems to have undergone some character growth between God Mission and UM, from being characterized closer to his original XV self (a separate continuity, sure, but it did form the basis of his SDBH self), into a more complicated person.** 3. Next, how about we talk about the ways in which Demigra and Chronoa interact now that she is herself again. Featuring just a few example quotes (there's more talk between them that I didn't include). (Kaioshin of Time is released from her mind control.) Demigra: Kaioshin of Time, this time you know what you have to do. Kaioshin of Time: …Yes, Mechikaboola intends to obliterate this world. If we don't stop him soon… As soon as Demigra and Robelu detect that Mechikabura has made his escape from the Labyrinth, they are forced to change their current objective and ask the Time Patrol for a truce so that they can all band together against this immense threat. They ask several times (LOL) and get attacked again (damn) because the protags just don't trust the demons to be sincere. Chronoa, however, provides an entirely different reaction. She sees that Demigra's helping out, and there is nothing in the text showing her having doubts or second thoughts about this. It seems she was already in a place mentally where she was able and ready to trust him. Was she waiting for this opportunity? Perhaps she knows him well enough to be able to tell when he is being honest. Something that could have been a disadvantage to him in the past, but would serve him now. So she responds with immediate trust, and he in turn treats her with respect. Yes, I know that you know what to do and I'm not going to talk down to you. Which is SO much more than he gives the rest of the Time Patrol, whom he often looks down his nose at. There was a time when he was a threat to her, but now they're in a place where they can be civil and trusting of each other's capabilities and motives. Man oh man, I just love this character development! Look at how healthy their relationship is here, who would've thought it would come to this? Demigra: This black hole… is said to have resided for tens of millions of years, swallowing up space-time. What kind of energy even resides in this? Can you imagine it? Kaioshin of Time: No way…! And check this out, one of my favorite bits of dialogue between the two. Here we have these two ancient beings, who have seen almost everything under the sun in their years of existence, having this un-jaded moment of wonder between them. Just musing about something so amazing. They don't sound like rivals anymore, they sound like friends with their guard down. God, it's precious. *They're* precious! 4. Last but not least… Kaioshin of Time: …I'm doing it right now! But, I only have a little bit of power left…! Majin Demigra: No matter where I go, you're always in need of me…! I'll help out too…! Yes, he really said that. And there is not a hint of rudeness or disgust in regards to her needing his help in his wording. He's just hinting like, hey, I'm just sayin', but there's a history of you needing my help. He seems AMUSED by this, and he wants to draw her attention to it. Hey, Chronoa, I think you really need me around. ;) Hint, hint. Even possibly… a flirt? It's not outside of the bounds of reason (if you'll allow it to be). He didn't have to say that, but he really wanted to say that. And the implied history behind this is great, perhaps a call back to when he was her assistant millions of years ago. And it may also allude to events we don't even know about as it seems to imply a consistent pattern. It's also foreshadowing for Big Bang Mission, when he's once again needed as an ally. Final note: This is all a matter of interpretation and you are 100% welcome to see things differently- I'm just putting my own personal thoughts out there. My main purpose here is to show that this *can* be read as having this deeper relationship between these two if you want it. I may also have missed out on some nuances that would impact the context of the dialogue because I am reading a translation here and not the original Japanese text. I don't need to include the manga and the anime versions of events in this discussion because they are separate continuities.