Two sides of the same awesome coin.
A Dragon Ball Fanfiction by Bobdude 17 posted on Archive of Our Own can be viewed here
The story diverges at the start of Goku and Krillin's training under Master Roshi, with Launch joining them as a student under the old master. A new saga thus begins with Launch(Blonde) and Lunch(Blue) playing a much larger role and the impact that has.
This story contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Launch of course, though Lunch starts to be this as well. Also included to a lesser extent are Yurin of the Crane School and Paopao from the Attack of the Saiyans DS game.
- Original Character Sumo wrestler Sara Morganson is shown as a capable fighter in her own right, being able to crush Pamput fairly effortlessly on her part.
- Adapted Out: Krillin is absent from the Pirate Cave story and the Baba Arc.
- The filler episode that introduced Tien and Chiaotzu, has the beast Inoshikacho replaced with Yurin playing the role of a witch in their scam.
- Adaptation Name Change: The Blonde personality is named Launch while the Blue one is named Lunch.
- Adaptational Badass:
- Launch of course with the divergence, but Lunch starts to get this as well later.
- Yamcha starts training under Master Roshi earlier after getting beaten by Launch in the 21st Tournament.
- Colonel Silver returns at Muscle Tower and puts up a fight piloting a mecha.
- Bora also reenters the story having been training to get stronger.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Gero and his wife appear during the Muscle Tower arc having built the two androids stationed there.
- Yurin appears much earlier as an adult student of the Crane School working alongside Tien in the lead up to the 22nd Tournament.
- Hercule not only shows up to the 22nd Tournament but makes it past the elimination rounds.
- The Grand Kai makes an appearance after the Baba arc has wrapped up, talking to Gohan and Baba after Shenron has been summoned and Goku and Launch are getting ready for their next adventure
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Hasky doesn't come after the heroes in their brief encounter, instead running a shooting booth at Dreamland.
- Roshi may fall under this as the writer makes clear that for all of his faults, Roshi's not a rapist unlike that one infamous episode of Dragon Ball Super implied.
- Adaptational Villainy: Dr. Frappe in his filler appearance was a reluctant accomplice of the Red Ribbon Army, here he is willingly working with Dr Gero and Candi on the Androids.
- Adaptational Job Change: Hasky works for Dreamland in this universe instead of being a theif for hire like she was in filler. Also, technically, Launch/Lunch walking the path of the martial artist.
- Alternate Universe: The story mixes manga and some of the anime filler with some additions by the Author.
- Badass Normal: Hercule is stated by Roshi to be one after his victory over Nam, but easily veing defeated by Chin. Namely that he is a skilled fighter who clearly worked hard, but has not under the Training from Hell to break the barrier of humanity mentioned in the series.
- Split personality aside Launch/Lunch could qualify considering she's not a Saiyan like Goku.
- Writer's OC Sara Morganson also qualifies, though she is stronger than Pamput at least.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Dr. Gero's odd taste in Android designs is noted by his colleagues.
- Canon Welding: Kinda. The writer plays fast and loose with freely adapting things from anime filler or the video games if he thinks it makes the Dragon World more interesting. Also, the Dragon World version of Beelzebub makes an appearance. Though the writer hasn't decided on making the rest of the Sand Land cast a thing in the Dragon World's Demon Realm, yet.
- Canon Foreigner: The writer throws in some characters from filler and various video games be it Dr. Frappe being a thing along with Gero, Candy (aka Android 21) still being alive at the time of Dragon Ball's story, and Paopao being an Ascended Extra from her minor role in Krillin's substory in Attack of the Saiyans for the Nintendo DS.
- Instead of the weird Tai fighter Dracula from canon and the Invisible Man, Yamcha fights a werewolf version of Randy Savage and a Bishion version of Drac from Castlvenia.
- Designated Girl Fight: Averted. In addition to Launch fighting many male villains, in the 21st tournament she faces Roshi, Goku, and Yamcha in the ring.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Unbeknownst to Commander Red Black is recognized to have veto power over executions and issues orders behind his back. Though Black remains loyal to Red until being Disappointed by the Motive sends him past the Rage Breaking Point.
- Entertainingly Wrong: During the 22nd Tournament Tien assumes Yamcha to be the strongest of Roshi's students, same as canon. Apparently he never checked that Launch beat Yamcha in the last Tournament and of course doesn't know Yamcha aspires to surpass Goku. In fairness, despite their filler conflict being a part of the story here, their clash with Launch and Goku was brief and Tien's still confident enough in his and his fellow student's skills that he underestimates Goku and Launch regardless.
- For Want Of A Nail: The story kicks off with Krillin blurting out who they are and what they're doing before Launch is able to shoot them like in canon, and shortly after Launch takes Roshi's offer of training seriously unlike her bluehaired self in the manga/anime.
- Giver of Lame Names: Launch/Lunch is bad at naming attacks.
- Good Feels Good: What Launch develops after eight months of training with Roshi plus dealing with all the terrible stuff that the Red Ribbon Army does to innocent people. She (and Lunch for that matter) winds up taking the 'defeat evil if you see it' part of Roshi's training to heart.
- Heel–Face Turn: After killing Commander Red and realizing he squandered twelve years of his life, Black decides to call it quits on world domination and turns himself in to King Furry. Though he still kept Dr. Gero's science unit secret and directed Tao and Blue to meet up with the scientists, so he has hardly come clean completely.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Staff Officer Black does this after killing Red in this timeline, rather than fighting in his Battle Jacket. As a result he is still alive.
- Mugging the Monster: Lunch is lured into an alley to get mugged. It ends as well for the thugs here as it did in canon with Goku.
- Noodle Incident: Lunch claims the Devil's Toilet is the second strangest basement she has ever woken up in.
- "Reason You Suck" Speech: Black delivers an epic one to Commander Red before shooting him dead here.
- Related in the Adaptation: Hasky is implied to be the mother of Launch/Lunch.
- Full Metal jacket is clearly stated to be Android 7 making him part of the production line of numbered Androids in the series.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Some characters are still alive here as opposed to canon.
- From the Red Ribbon Army Colonel Silver, General Blue and Staff Officer Black.
- Stations of the Canon: Played with. So far despite the journey having many differences the overall plot has hit similar points. But that has decreased with the differences building up.
- The Bus Cameback: The 22nd Tournament in addition to the canon characters who returned for it, brings back Bora, Chichi, and Chin.
- The Cameo:
- Some characters from Yu Yu Hakasho make an appearance in the demon world filler arc this time around, as do the bank robbing couple from Pulp Fiction in a bonus chapter where Goku discovers the wonders of hamburgers.
- Grand Kai makes an appearance to Baba and Gohan after the Baba Arc wraps up.
- As does the villain Towa from the Xenoverse games during the demon world filler adapation.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Chichi does not take it well when Goku, on Launch's advice, clarifies he didn't know what marriage was and breaks off the engagement. Thankfully she gets better.
- Staff officer Black as well, considering what he does to Commander Red after learning the truth.
- Took a Level in Badass: Tao, Blue, and Silver all volunteer to be cyberized by Dr. Gero in order to do this and get revenge on Goku.
- Launch/Lunch herself counts, naturally.
- Yamcha does a lot better at Baba's tournament then he did in canon thanks to Roshi's training.
- Chi-Chi as well as she decides to get an early start on training and appears at the 22nd tournament this time around instead of the 23rd.
- True Companions: Launch/Lunch develop this bond with the Turtle School; Goku in particular.
- Take That!: Tori's Red Lady one shot manga apparently exists in the Dragon World. The issue is that in universe Red Lady's an action girl and neither Bulma nor Launch, fans of the fictional character in this fanfic, are impressed by it as an adaption.
- Underestimating Badassery: The villain at Master Chin's Village even after seeing his brother easily defeated by Launch still assumes he can defeat the Turtle Students. Not because he thinks they are weak, but assuming that he is still stronger than them.
- Hercule does this initially in his fight with Master Chin, but despite his boasts clearly starts to worry he may be outmatched. He is indeed outmatched.
- We Have Become Complacent: Bora realizes this after Tao's invasion of the Land of Korin sees Upa killed. This leads him to challenge the Tower once again and train under Korin. And subsequently enter the 22nd Tournament to test his new strength and learn more of the warriors of the wider world so as to better serve his role as Guardian of his land and people.
- Would Hurt a Child: Tao makes good on his threat to kill Upa here.
