Your story is nice and well written, the emotions were very clear. But I really think Chichi deserved the kind of treatment she got. Why? I have a few reasons. One, she instantly jumped into the arms of a total stranger and asked that stranger to marry her, even going as far as throwing a tantrum when he refused to, which is very uncalled for. Sure she did spend some time with him when they were kids and he “promised” to marry her, but is that really enough? And yeah, the fans of Chichi might say that Goku had been given a quick rundown of what marriage is before he agreed to marry Chichi but dudes, hello? IT’S MARRIAGE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. Marriage which should be taken seriously, and do you seriously think that a quick rundown is enough when it comes to marriage, which is a lifetime commitment? Think about it.
Another reason, she manipulated Goku to be someone whom she wanted him to be, and she berates him even in front of their sons. Remember her telling Gohan, “I don’t want you to end up in a gang like your father!” And wailing, “Not another monster in the family!” After Goten transformed Super Saiyan during their training. Seriously, what kind of a wife does that? A normal wife would never berate her husband especially in front of their kids because as a mother, you wouldn’t want your kids to lose respect to their father. In fact, the first thing you are gonna teach your kids as a mom is to respect both you and your husband since you are their parents, and as much as possible, you would try to cover up for your husband’s shortcomings instead of exposing them all to your kids, because as I have said, you would want your kids to respect the man they call father. When Chichi said those to her sons, is she actually teaching them to respect their dad? She indirectly called Goku a monster in front of Goten, is that even a way to teach your kid to show respect to his parents? How will your children respect their father if you as their mother is setting the example of berating and belittling him in front of them? Again, think about it.

Chichi is too obsessed with the idea of a perfect family, a perfect husband, perfect children, perfect home and being the perfect wife, in fact too obsessed that she went as far as manipulating others to “do” what she wants and “be the person” she wants them to be, totally ignoring the fact that they’re their own person and they have their own minds.

So since she brought that to herself, she got herself into that situation, then deal with it. Deal with all the consequences that came with it, and stop wishing for the “perfect life” that you so wanted to have, because it won’t ever come true.

This reduced me! I love it. You are so amazing! Gohan broke my heart and Chi Chi is just stunning. She's really extraordinary and you captured that. Grace under pressure; unacknowledged grace under pressure.

You're a wonderful writer, but I'm certain you already know that :) It seems that Chi Chi would truly feel this way, and your in-depth expression of her moved me emotionally, just not in her favor. If Chi Chi were real, and I had the chance to voice my opinion concerning her marriage, I'd tell her this, "shut up and deal with your life; this is exactly what you get for manipulating a culturally ignorant alien, savior of the universe into marriage!" She wholly came after him on some "promise", he didn't go looking for her at all and never would have married her if she hadn't held his ignorant and painfully loyal self to this "promise". She kept hanging on him so much at the tournament, and he couldn't understand that. I always believed that Chi Chi was more in love with the institution of marriage itself and all the domesticity that came with it. She was just so in love with marriage and the typical, cute husband and wife marital roles in and of it self! She is the poster woman for the quintessential, domestic married woman. That's all she wanted: the perfect 9-5 husband, the perfect home, to be the perfect wife, the perfect kids to get the perfect education, etc. Too bad for her that she put her hooks into an alien warrior instead of a 9-5, domestic human being! It's what he was born to do, his destiny, his purpose. He was living his destiny, and becoming the person that Chi Chi wanted would have robbed him of his destiny. He was never meant for that life, which is why he left with the dragon in the end. Its like she never knew or cared to know Goku. She didn't care enough to acknowledge the truth of who and what her husband was. She wanted to zip him up into this false, domestic human suit to live her perfect life, ignoring his true self and heritage forever. Well, it didn't happen; she made her bed and now she ought to lie within it. Good! That's what I'd tell oblivious Chi Chi. Whew, I had to get that out! :)

A truly beautiful fic. Very heartbreaking and realistic. Your portrayal of Chichi is one of the better ones out there and I hope you do more fics like this. Great work!

I can't stop crying. The way you described ChiChi's feelings was so emotional but not corny at all.

Your story makes me wonder if Goku ever thought about her feelings.

Great job!

ah very beautifully well written fic :D

Poor ChiChi, she really got the short end of the stick in the series. This was really sad but you know, it ended at just the right spot I think. She was so happy at the beginning, but at the end, it's like she didn't even exist T_T

Great story!

This broke my heart~! I really felt for Chi Chi.

Damn you for being so damn brilliant~!

Fav'd.

very well done.

I know this was written ages ago, but I just had to review. I absolutely love this piece. I think so many people give ChiChi a hard time, when they never stop to think how hard her life must be. All she ever wanted was a family to love and to love her in return. As pure as Goku's intentions are, he is always off saving the world, which must wreak havoc for Chi, since to begrudge him is selfish, yet one can't help but desire some alone time with their husband. I think you've done an excellent character study here. Kudos!

Nice Chichi perspective. I enjoyed the way it was structured, focusing on specific scenes. Goku & Chichi's relationship is such an interesting, complex question that there isn't necessarily any one "right" answer to; this is very thoughtfully written fic that handles the issue well.

What an I say? This is incredible. The whole thing, and the end especially, was just so raw, and real, you couldn't help but feel for her every step of the way. I also love how you set it up, how there's sort of mini-stories. You really get the feeling that you're inside her head, because how the thoughts are sort of jumbled together, and you have to sort them out for yourself. Amazing job!

Wow, it's a shame I didn't get around to reveiwing this fic sooner. I love G/CCs, but this is so much more than that, it sort of encompasses the whole family. I love it when people adress the children as a key part of the relationship, like a missing puzzle peice. I really love the unique transitioning, almost like... miniture chapter titles, and especially the one where Chi-Chi descirbes: I'm the Princess that... it's awesome that 'she' adressed herself as a princess, that's a great dynamic that's too often forgotton or overlooked. Oh, and the little jibes of sarcasm: 'Great, my husband can do tricks. Let's see him do the dishes.'

There are so many things I love about this that I can't get away with saying them all without writing a garbled essay. It's safe to say I'm a fan. Definitely a favourite.

... More G/CCs, please :3

So sad, but so true. This is the epitome of the bitersweet tale of son goku and chichi. Reading all the truths's in this fic really made me feel miserable. What can I say, I like happy, happy makes me smile and the truth's in this story just made me sad.

very well written, an excellent catharsis indeed. this has inspired me to try and write something happy for chichi so i can find my smile.

What can I say? You've outdone yourself again. Chichi was never a character I cared about let alone sympathised with, yet you've taken her and molded her thoughts, her love for Goku and her family into something I can understand. Every up and down she went through I felt along with her, and more often than not, fanfics don't deliver such an experience. Thank you for bringing Chichi alive through your words and for teaching me that even the most unsympathetic characters have stories to tell.