It all started here
If you ever ask yourself, "why did this sad little rat start writing fanfiction in his spare time?", then look no further. I started out with DBZ OCs, and they will always be in my heart no matter what my current fixation is. My oldest OCs still feature roles in my current work, after countless revisions and tweaks over the years. Despite everything, it's still them.
IMGI have a few DBZ projects lined up, so explaining them is a bit much. I'll get into as much detail as I can without ranting too much.
Table of Contents
Spectrum-Verse
Most recent publication: Three Musketeers
Next project: Black And Blue
My current DBZ project is an OC-driven series, Spectrum-Verse. An early version of it exists as "Dragon Ball Spectrum", athough I've revised things a lot since posting that. Being trapped in my apartment for months in 2020 really did something to me, so I don't recommend reading the early version.
Spectrum-Verse is set in an alternate version of Universe 7. Specifically, one that directly follows the natural destruction and revival of canon's U7. History echoes itself in the new U7, as similar events from canon DBZ play out. However, it's not all the same. There's another Acrosian emperor, but he's killed due to a failed Saiyan uprising that plunges North Galaxy into imperial collapse. Another crazed doctor makes a Bio-Android, but in the name of "saving" Earth as opposed to conquering it. There's also plenty of original storylines, such as a splinter "clan" of Namekians and a religious orginization that both turn out to be horrible cults.
My main fixation is on OG Dragon Ball and DBZ, so I get pretty lax and non-compliant with lore introduced after those two (such as GT, Super, etc). I'll still draw from later works, but I bend the rules with later lore. For example, I keep the basic structure of Gods outlined in DBZ, while adding reworked versions of Super's Gods on top of that. I also completely reworked the Demons, since I've never been quite satisfied with how they're portrayed in canon. I've also had to change things that were specific to canon DB's lore (such as replacing Korin's tower/The Lookout, as Korin no longer exists). I try to keep the spirit of DBZ at times, while also making it work in a written book. Not sure if I 100% pull it off, but I have fun writing it.
Three Musketeers
The humble beginnings. The story of Maize, Konnie, and Prism: three unlikely friends who find themselves fixing the mistakes of their mentors (well-meaning or otherwise).
As expected, Earth is a humble and peaceful planet spared from most of the drama going on in North Galaxy. On Earth, there's two young Saiyan girls: Maize and Konnie. Maize is a reclusive hermit, living in the shadow of her mentor, Master Limax. She's utterly devoted to his teachings, which revolve around one goal: avenging Maize's dead father, Auber. Maize never met him, but Master Limax is convinced that vengeance will "fix" the quiet, awkward hermit. Konnie, on the other hand, knows what she wants. She's loud, brash, and seemingly fearless. She'd make a fine Saiyan warrior, if her father would let her train. Konnie's father, Okkoro, vows that Konnie will have a life of peace and quiet. Which is why he doesn't let her train, despite her genuine interest in learning how to fight. He also keeps everything about the Saiyans a secret from Konnie, because she "doesn't need to know". As the years go on, Konnie grows insatiably curious.
And then, Maize and Konnie meet. After a chance encounter over the Internet, which Maize stumbled upon by sheer accident, the two become unlikely friends.
A couple years later, Konnie finds a golden ball with three stars. She tells Maize, and Maize remembers an old legend Master Limax mentioned: the legend of the Dragon Balls. Konnie recognizes it too, as the Dragon Balls have a place in some of Earth's mythology. The two realize they have an artifact of great magical power. And with the help of Konnie's mother, a brilliant inventor named Serenity Sai, the two meet in real-life and search for the rest! However, it's not all easy living.
The first antagonist of the book is Prism Lockwood, alongside their pixie friend Mist. Prism has the mercurial ability to "split" into six other facets, each with their own personality. They're dead-set on getting a wish from the Dragon Balls, and for a while, they don't take "no" for an answer. Later on, when their situation is revealed to be one of desperate survival, they agree to work with Maize and Konnie instead of against them. Prism is slow to trust, and it's hard for them to determine where they start and where their facets stop.
Over the course of the story, some of Earth's history is revealed. There used to be a lot more warriors walking the planet, with three schools rising above the rest. However, for several reasons, almost all of them are dead and forgotten by the time the story begins. Prism's mother turns out to be one of the victims, and one of the main villains is the mastermind behind it all. He's the strongest warrior on Planet Earth, by elimination.
Can We Stay Like This A Little Longer?
A brief "filler" arc that fits in-between Three Musketeers and the next book, Black and Blue. It sets up the change of setting that Black and Blue takes, while also laying some history for Earth and North Galaxy.
The events of Three Musketeers changed Konnie, Maize, and Prism forever. And there's still more to come, now that they're Earth's protectors. But they need some time to recover, and plan their next moves. So they decide to have a movie night, with one of Konnie's human friends! However... Konnie's still grieving. Maize still questions whether or not she did the right thing. And Prism is still adjusting to their newfound freedom.
Black And Blue
This second book takes us away from Earth, and into a still-recovering North Galaxy. In the middle of it all, two bounty hunters are trying to pay off some medical debt.
(summary)
Sburb Z
This is a DBZ/Homestuck crossover I've been ideating on for a while, but I have yet to make a concrete plan. The original idea came from "Trunks Strider", since Dave and Trunks share a little handful of similarities and I thought the crossover was funny. And that turned into "hey Trunks himself could arguably be a Knight Of Time", to "Future Gohan as a Mage Of Time too", to "omfg what if they're meant to play with the androids", and now I've got a few things simmering.
Basically, it's DBZ characters and the setting, but adapted into Homestuck's plot with Sburb. Certain villains are reshaped into Sburb-esque villains, such as replacing Bec Noir with Perfect Cell (Perfect Jack? Cell Noir? Cell Noir) and using Frieza as a stand-in for The Condesce. Ideating on whether or not Buu makes a good Lord English. Granted, I can't mirror everything about Homestuck, but I definitely will.
If you're not familiar with Homestuck, that all sounds like nonsense. And it's not going to get any clearer, I'm afraid to say.
Ideas I've got so far
Trunks, Gohan, Lapis, and Lazuli are all part of a Sburb session together. Due to some time-bullshit, their meteors do not all arrive within the same timeframe. However, their dream selves all remain young. Trunks is the last to arrive, and therefore still the youngest. Android shenanigans still happen, except Lapis and Lazuli as dream-selves do not remember what 17 and 18 do as androids in the waking world. Their only lens into the waking world is what they see in Prospit's clouds, so they mistakenly believe that Gohan and Trunks are the ones destroying everything because "we're fighting them and we'd never destroy anything". This is a hard reveal for them later on, and the duality between 17 and Lapis/18 and Lazuli is a whole thing.
Not exactly sure how everyone gets into the game, but since Trunks is Gohan's server player, he doesn't meet the other players face-to-face until he enters the game. There's a bit where 17 realizes that Sburb nerfs most of their DBZ-esque abilities once installed and has to be talked down by ghost Gohan. Oh yeah, ghost Gohan eventually gets a robot body and becomes Gohanbot. Gohanbot ushers everyone into the game, 18 is killed before Lazuli can become a Seer of Heart, and Lapis "merges" with 17 once he becomes a Thief Of Mind (and now has to deal with 17's memories while still being Lapis). Trunks nearly goes grimdark, but Gohan uses a "strange artifact" which turns out to be that Trickster lollipop, and Trickster bullshit ensues.
There's still trolls, too. It wouldn't be Homestuck without some trolls. Someone abandons the Dark Carnival, and the Heir becomes a man of motherfuckin' faith. There's also a mind honey dealer who sent Goku and his session a bunch of spam DMs, hoping to scam them out of grist.
The Back Doors
This is also something I've been ideating on for a while, as a love letter to different sides of the DBZ fandom. Good and bad. It's vaguely inspired by a shitty parody fic I deleted out of shame, surrounding the concept of someone getting isekai'd into fanfiction and being tossed about by the various tropes taking place. Once again, I have no concrete plans right now, since Spectrum-Verse is up first.
Ideas I've got so farI think I could revisit having someone isekai'd into fanfiction, with the premise of "the Ship Of Theseus but it happens to a person". A young fan of Dragon Ball walks through an ordinary door, onto the surface of Namek. Inexplicably, when they turn around, the door disappears. They are briefly caught up in the action of the Namek Saga, with Vegeta showing them an uncharacteristic amount of mercy... Until they encounter Frieza, and the protagonist asks to be shot in the face. Expecting to wake up at home, or maybe in the hospital, they awaken in Dr. Gero's lab. And it goes on from there.
I think I could pull off writing this as a "reader-insert", with the catch that the ambiguous protagonist slowly gains more and more distinctive features as they begin to change. The protagonist also begins to forget about their former life, but is very much aware of it happening. Something like, "how long until you turn into a DBZ OC?". The protagonist wondering if it's better to find a way home, or to become someone new.
In a similar vein, I like to imagine someone with an existing OC making them in Xenoverse 2, only to get trapped in the game as their OC. And every time they die, they start over at the beginning of the game, getting stronger and stronger each time. Seeing if they can "speedrun" everything if they know what's going to happen in advance. Escaping to different timelines and toying around in them, all while being distantly aware that this isn't a world they belong in.
Trunks And Marcella Trench Go To Five Guys
This was a joke idea at first, but it's a crossover with canon DBZ and one of my Spectrum-Verse OCs, Marcella. TLDR, she ends up in the Future Trunks timeline and has to adjust to a new Universe 7. What she really wants is to take her new friend to a Five Guys. Literally everything that could prevent going to Five Guys happens, including villains from canon DBZ and ones from Marcella's universe. Throughout the whole story, the Z-Fighters wonder just how Marcella survives as a bounty hunter. She has the resilience of an idiot.