Endnote
~~~~~~~
Well, that's it for Chichi in Charge! I hope people enjoyed it, and will recommend it to others. I guess I don't have too much to say about it-- everything I wanted to say, I tried to say with the story itself. I wrote this story in large part because I was inspired by the episode where Chichi slaps Buu on the Lookout for killing Gohan, and is then killed without a second thought. It's the ultimate, defining moment for Chichi's character-- that idiotic, brave devotion to her family that is her own domain as a warrior. I wanted to write about that woman. Especially since, like her, I'm an adult, not a teenager anymore (unlike many ffnet authors). And since Gohan's my favorite, I had to write about him too. (Piccolo's my second favorite, which is why "the second son" is my favorite chapter in here.)
And I also wanted to capture something of the unique winning formula of Dragonball Z, that golden mixture of humor, action, and angst. Diverted a little by ending on angst instead of ending back in humor-- but hopefully it was a fun ride for all concerned. Because of events in my own life, the story eventually became focused around loss, and the way it turns the landscape of relationships and emotion into a new map. Losing someone or something makes us lost in turn; we have to rebuild everything around that hole. And the same in a show which has lost its central character-- that's something very true about life. How can that world go on without him? It's a testament to how real the relationships on Dragonball Z are that we can concieve of the story going on, not understanding how or why it is happening, when the central character has gone. Not something Toriyama himself planned on, and something that he skipped over entirely when pressured into continuing DBZ; by the time we meet Gohan again, all the relationships have solidified again. I wanted my story to help build that bridge, for all the characters-- how they wound up the way they did in the Buu saga from where we left them, alone without the hero. That's the chapter "The Pieces Try to Fall Into Place"-- the way I think we really feel once the initial grief of loss has passed, when we start to realize just how far-ranging such an event is for us. A rare true consequence in a world where magic brings folks back to life all the time.
(I guess I had more to say about it than I thought I did.)
Whew-- I'm not pretentious or anything!
Anyway, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially DBZFQ, Briememory, happygohangirl, BigNamekianBallz (what a moniker), discordchick, liliboom, who have been there all along; Unromantic Poetess and Lady Eldaelen for their longer reviews; shadowphoenix and LadyAngelFiren for being plot twist lovers (like me); and if Psycho ever actually finishes *posting* his/her review evil grin, for unrepentant sesquipedalianism. But thanks to everyone. It's been great hanging out with all of you here on ffnet's DBZ section, even the ones who didn't review (because I'm psychic like that); good luck to you in your own endeavors, and au revoir!
~Kettr.
~~~~~~~
Well, that's it for Chichi in Charge! I hope people enjoyed it, and will recommend it to others. I guess I don't have too much to say about it-- everything I wanted to say, I tried to say with the story itself. I wrote this story in large part because I was inspired by the episode where Chichi slaps Buu on the Lookout for killing Gohan, and is then killed without a second thought. It's the ultimate, defining moment for Chichi's character-- that idiotic, brave devotion to her family that is her own domain as a warrior. I wanted to write about that woman. Especially since, like her, I'm an adult, not a teenager anymore (unlike many ffnet authors). And since Gohan's my favorite, I had to write about him too. (Piccolo's my second favorite, which is why "the second son" is my favorite chapter in here.)
And I also wanted to capture something of the unique winning formula of Dragonball Z, that golden mixture of humor, action, and angst. Diverted a little by ending on angst instead of ending back in humor-- but hopefully it was a fun ride for all concerned. Because of events in my own life, the story eventually became focused around loss, and the way it turns the landscape of relationships and emotion into a new map. Losing someone or something makes us lost in turn; we have to rebuild everything around that hole. And the same in a show which has lost its central character-- that's something very true about life. How can that world go on without him? It's a testament to how real the relationships on Dragonball Z are that we can concieve of the story going on, not understanding how or why it is happening, when the central character has gone. Not something Toriyama himself planned on, and something that he skipped over entirely when pressured into continuing DBZ; by the time we meet Gohan again, all the relationships have solidified again. I wanted my story to help build that bridge, for all the characters-- how they wound up the way they did in the Buu saga from where we left them, alone without the hero. That's the chapter "The Pieces Try to Fall Into Place"-- the way I think we really feel once the initial grief of loss has passed, when we start to realize just how far-ranging such an event is for us. A rare true consequence in a world where magic brings folks back to life all the time.
(I guess I had more to say about it than I thought I did.)
Whew-- I'm not pretentious or anything!
Anyway, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially DBZFQ, Briememory, happygohangirl, BigNamekianBallz (what a moniker), discordchick, liliboom, who have been there all along; Unromantic Poetess and Lady Eldaelen for their longer reviews; shadowphoenix and LadyAngelFiren for being plot twist lovers (like me); and if Psycho ever actually finishes *posting* his/her review evil grin, for unrepentant sesquipedalianism. But thanks to everyone. It's been great hanging out with all of you here on ffnet's DBZ section, even the ones who didn't review (because I'm psychic like that); good luck to you in your own endeavors, and au revoir!
~Kettr.