#niteryde

Ok so quick run down of the story. We all know Vegeta is a BadMan - he's killed a shit load of people in his lifetime, but what would happen if there were powerful spoopy ghosts that wait and take revenge on those who have wronged them greatly in the afterlife? That is the premise that this fic explores. Theres an outbreak of a terrible disease, and it is making people go insane before killing them. Creepy shit starts happening in Bras room, her fish are dying and the water turns to blood, and she is talking to the bad people. Trunks is fucking a ghost, who sends him to the hospital, and even Bulma is beginning to see things. Meanwhile Vegeta hasn't been sleeping and with the stuff going on at home, he thinks he is going crazy from sleep deprivation. After several hospital visits, Capsule Corps being practically destroyed, Vegeta and Bulma making a visit to the creepy sage in the bad part of town, Goten/Trunks and Bra being mutilated, moving to the Lookout, and Bra being captured, Vegeta realizes what he must do and is resolved to end the madness on his family. 

So I am not a huge horror/suspense fan. While I will say that my opinion on this particular element of the story is biased towards that, for me the horror aspect was still well written. Granted I am a huge chicken, but it was creepy as fuck. Anything with kiddos being used as pawns or talking to ghosties and stuff really fucks me up. I was just waiting for Bra to turn around and say to Vegeta “I see Dead People” She just gets the shit end of the stick with the revengers, avengers? I honestly can't remember what they were called - and my chicken shit self is not going back in the story to find out. I’m not gonna lie, I had to turn on lights to sleep the first night I read this story. The Shadows with blood red glowing eyes was very convincing, and I am currently visiting a friend who has their guest room IN THE BASEMENT. 

I loved the premise of the story. The spirits of those who died terrible deaths exacting revenge on their tormentor through possession, disease and torture. There were magical elements in the story. The juju that typically happens when magic spells and the like are introduced in horror can be really cheesy, but this was pretty well written. I gotta admit, it felt a little cheap that there are these people who are diviners basically and they are witches who use potions and blood magic and the like. I realize this makes for just another aspect of this world that already has magic elements to it, but I thought it was a little obvious, and didn't feel right within this world. Maybe the Xhaos come from a long line of sensitive people,  (did she call them practitioners?) but it was established that Tyler was very good mechanically. I think there could have been some cool techomancy going on from that angle. Just this magic element didn't sit well with me, mostly because it felt disjointed with what was already going on. This very well could have been a genuine artistic choice to show how out of their elements Vegeta and Bulma are, but I just wasn't a fan (sorry Niteryde). The Namekian legend, and having all this shit come from those slug bastards - fantastic. Really fits in with their shaman-esque lore.

What I did love were the characters. Bulma being the boss bitch she is, figuratively and LITERALLY dragging Vegeta out of his doom. Goku being the genuine good guy he is. Trunks being insecure, scared and in need of the approval of his father. Bra being precocious, curious and  just a fucking amazing tiny Bulma. Vegeta being too strong to admit defeat, self-destructive and fiercely protective, and making the ultimate sacrifice. Goten and Gohan were on point as well, Goten being stuck to Trunks and loyal to a fault (plus I love the Goten/Bra moments, were they not the sweetest little points of joy in this dark ass story?) Gohan being the good guy, but being angry when Vegeta seems to be making things worse, but still not abandoning them when they need help. Just fantastic characterizations and really in line with what we know as canon, although lets be real, I am pretty forgiving when it comes to a writer writing OOC as long as it fits the story. 

Ok so lets talk about that last chapter. So Vegeta’s goodbye, that's what did it in for me. Whenever our boy pulls the ILY card out, we know shit is serious. I was ugly crying the entire time. What a great goodbye scene. And the last line leaves so much open for interpretation. Niteryde definitely took a line out of the Sopranos playbook. What happened with Vegeta? Did Dende and Piccolo get Bra back? I think this was a totally fine place to end the story. We don't know how it ended, and that's ok. Did Tony Soprano die? There are so many thoughts and theories out there and it has spurned so much conversation and debate, and that is ok. This is also a great parallel to Bu, and it is noted in the story itself that a sacrifice is coming and it will hearken back to the sacrifice he made when fighting Bu. I also think its great that we don't know exactly what is gonna happen after Vegeta kills himself. We know that it could stop everything, but also that it could make the avengers angrier, but we just don't know what happens after Vegeta goes. Also, are we 100 percent sure he did it? (I am pretty sure he did, it is very much in line with his character) I am sure lots of people are upset that this is where the story stands, there really is no concrete resolution to the issues of the story, and you have to really infer resolutions - and none of them are happy. The thing is that this fic was last updated in 2016, now lots of writers have taken this long of a break and come back, but I think this is it, and I think there should not be a sunny happy final chapter where everyone is happy on the outside with the knowledge that there is an alien material grafted into Vegeta’s skeleton, Trunks fucks hot ghosts, Bra sees Dead People and they all have PTSD from the horrifying events that took place. Oh and Vegeta blew himself up and his soul was horribly ripped apart by vengeful spirits so it is still a sad ending. It just doesn't need that. 

I feel like this was a really strong chapter, with so many good things going on, but it just wasn't in the same story as the chapters before it. Before this chapter there was all this angst and creepy shit and our loves being trapped in rooms with no lights and no way of escaping and Goten being held up by incorporeal creatures who are burning messages into his back, and this chapter is just heartbreaking and an expression of the love Bulma and Vegeta share. It felt out of place. I feel like this interaction with Vegeta and these people in his life was really needed. The closure that Bulma gets is needed (and hold on one second Boss Bitch Bulma Briefs is just fantastic here, bawling and pleading him not to do this, but knowing he is gonna anyway and then having the courage and will and strength to let him go! That shit is what drew him to her in the first place, the perfect goodbye!) and it is nice to see this soft side of Vegeta after so much anger and old Veggie coming forward. But if the spirits are angry that they are not getting their ultimate revenge (Vegeta suffering and ripping his family apart himself) it just seems like some shit should be going down where they are saying goodbye. It is just so leisurely and theres no rush. The armageddon flooding doesn't seem to be an issue any more. The Shadow people aren't around to fuck with them (and lets be real they KNOW what's about to happen).  There was no urgency to the ending, just “I have to die, I love you Bulma” and then it's over. Where was the stalking shadow ready to pounce if Vegeta didn't take himself out? There was no more foreboding feelings in this chapter and they totally permeated the rest of the story. Now Niteryde did say she wrote herself into a corner and she wasn't sure how to end it in her AN, but I still feel like she did such a great job with the rest of the story vibe-wise and even though this chapter is AWESOME, it lost the feel of the rest of the story. 

10/10 would recommend this fic. If you have issues with children being the harbingers of doom, sad endings, spoopy things or that feeling of unease when you get to the end of something and it has not been spelled out for you what the ending is, then this story is not for you. However, if you LOVE a horror aesthetic, like psychological drama and are generally ok with the things above, you will love this story. It is well written, there are little gems of fluff throughout the story, the characters are phenomenal, and it it truly and emotional journey.

Oh and look at this fan art my girl @vegetapsycho drew (colored by @terasedward

I had seen this shit around (I may have even reblogged it) but didn't read the fic till just now, and damn. This goes with the last goodbye between the two and shit, the emotion you get from the story and the emotion here just go hand in hand. I loves it you two!