This is certainly going in my favorites!! It is beautifully written with amazing characterization. PLEASE UPDATE!!

I check back to see if this has been updated about once a year. It's just. that. good. I'm a horrible person for never review before, I know, but better late than never!

I can't imagine what your writing would be like now. Probably some level of fantastic that would make my brain explode if I ever came across it.

I've been keeping an eye on this story for a few years now and it still hasn't been updated. Not even your author page. I thought you were going to update after the 2003 competition was finished judging.
Are you still writing or do I have to mark this wonderful tale off as abandoned. It would be a crying shame, but I understand that some people just loose the urge to write. Still... I hope you're not one of them.

OMG!
I know you've probably heard this like a million times but you must up date! if not for me than for your story! it's too good for you to just leave it high and dry!
and the fact that my curiosity it killing me is just a kawinkydink.^.^
Please for the sake of all good Gohan stories every where Up Date!Please!
But as to the storie I love it! and poor ox-king maybe you could kill him off and have Cichi become queen and then Gohan could just go and blast the asses off of the blue monarch empire!
yay! that would so rock!
love your story!

Beautiful story. I've been meaning to review for a while.

First and foremost, I love your treatment of the characters. You've taken great care in crafting each and everyone, with faults and scars and hopes. The pace is slow and languid, but you can feel the tension rising beneath. It's like the Son household itself - it appears normal and human on the surface, but there are other nuances passing over your head.

I was prepared to dismiss Jondalar as an underdeveloped two-dimensional villain... and I'm happy to say I ate my words. Every last one. He represents a threat to the Son household (albeit not a phsyical one), but you've evolved him to the point that sometimes I catch myself hoping he does get to marry Chi-Chi.

I had a lot of good things to say, about Jondalar's positioning within the story, but it's nearly 2am and I'm almost falling asleep. Suffice to say, Jondalar represents the non-existant 'status quo'; the state that everyone aspires to, but can never truly achieve. It is telling that Chi-Chi, the woman who craves an idealized existance, is the one who is most attracted to him. His coming heralds the begginnings of what would be a farce if it wasn't so sad. Everyone lies, everyone pretends to be something they're not. Gohan pretends to be human, Goku's true origins and death are left shrouded in mystery, Puar hides her ability to speak, and assumes the form of a regular cat. And everyone but Jondalar knows that it is all a lie.

He is the least freakish of them all, and yet conversely, he IS the freak. He is abnormal because of his complete normality. He is a threat because, intentionally or not, he forces that status quo onto everyone else. Everyone must pretend to be normal around him, and he is prince of a kingdom that destroys anything that departs from their standard of normalcy.

So yeah. Love what you've done with that. Puar's perspective is so interesting, because she is the most 'subversive' out of them all. She is everything he is trained to guard against, but she manages to slip under his radar and be privelaged to information she wouldn't otherwise. One can argue she's made headway towards 'corrupting' him, as he pats and confides in her, and finds out that animals really aren't all that bad.

And your Yamcha is just... amazing. I fell in love all over again. There's that half-wild boy from the wilderness, keeping to no rules, as much animal as he is human. He wasn't lost, just buried under piles and piles of horrendous fanfic. Thank you for digging him out again. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...

Anyway. Must go sleep. Finish assessment. You know the drill. I've got you on Author alert I think, so I'll know if you ever update again. If not, amazing fic, and thanks.

Walutahanga

I just love your Gohan-centric stories. Please update this one soon!! I am always hopeful to find a new chapter to this story. I think the inner perspectives you do of his character are some of the best I've read. If I didn't already love his character I would after seeing your portrayal of him. Keep it up!

hm , you know this fic doesn't have nearly as many reviews as it deserves, but better too few than too many OMG TIHS FIC ROX CONTINUE PLZ!1!! So remember to measure quality, not quantity. I love your writing style. Actually I started off with Transition Anchor, and after I finished, migrated on to your DBZ fics, despite not being a huge fan of the series. Your characterizations are spot on, given the situation, meaning Gohan seems a bit broody and withdrawn, but understandably so. And also, shock of all shocks, an original character with a realistic personality! I never thought I'd see the day. So keep up the good work, and I hope to see an update soon...eventually...some day...

LOVED IT! I cant wait for the next part!

It's interesting!! I hope you update soon!

Brillaint.

I can't believe I'm here... Reviewing one of YOUR stories. I always thought it would be awkward or something because you are somewhat of a DBZ legend to me. Sounds silly yes, but completely true. ^_^' Just now, I went to your site to see if it had any updates and it did. Then they made me feel terrible, I have been neglecting to do my part, it's called reviewing. I have not out of sheer laziness because it always comes out so long, and with someone who writes as wonderful and as much as you I'd never be able to finish writing reviews. The closest I came was to reviewing one of your now deleted stories and signing your guest book (what I said in both make me look like a complete fool). Now I feel just completely awful that you feel no one enjoys your work so I'm going to make a small (still working on the small part of that sadly, but what can you do?) summary of how you have actually become a DBZ fanfic writing legend to me. Sounds very cheesy I know, but it's actually TRUE.
About 2-3 years ago I ran into ffnet in a DBZ obsessed craze, CM was currently on the front page with 10 chapters as being labeled one of the best (or favorites, I can't even remember what it was) so I read the first three chapters, then I had to get off the computer and I lost the link...(!! I actually found ffnet before it went completely corrupt, that's awesome...) Couldn't find it for the life of me, and finally near a year later I found your fic again. It was on chapter 30+. I read the first ch. and realised it was 'that one fic from long ago'. It took me two days of just reading to get caught up. Then I starved for more of your work and read anything you had written, even about GLAD. Which may be scary... o.o And I also visited your site! (Beautiful drawings, just stare at them...) I nearly went insane when the server went down because you were still using Tripod. Ever since I have been very attentive with all your fics. I regret not giving feedback to VE when it first came out, I could of been in the first ten... And that was a YEAR ago. I'm just feeling worse and worse the more I write of this.
So now you know you are the goddess of DBZ to Katie! Lol. Um, I'm a terrible person... Simply because I'm lazy. Arrgh. What is an incredible injustice is that all the trash written is reviewed like it's going out of style (it's a shame that it isn't) and the real stuff, the best things, the ones that were actually there in the beginning, are completely ignored. Times are changing and it's for the worse in quite a few ways (have been contemplating too much about life lately). I think it's really something in the respect of you still after all this time sticking through thick and thin and writing AND illustrating some of the best, as far as I know best, fanfiction for the love of all that is Dragonball Z. Oh yeah, and Gohan. Unless you would say that by the end of the story him having gone through alot of angst and mental trauma is a bad thing... O_o Basically, I revere and respect you, and, eh, sort of worship you... That sounds completely wrong, but being at my young fragile age, hero worship is still very common (Don't get me started on all the anime characters...)
Now, I should end the note on what I am actually reviewing. VE just in summary format is a terrific idea. You'd think someone would have come up with it by now, but even if they did I doubt they would be able to pull it off as well as you. Jondalar actually isn't evil at all. It's just human faults that shine through. Him and Gohan are on different sides, but none are actually what you would call EVIL. Jondalar is even so far as a nice guy. Plus you've nailed EVERYONE'S character spot on. They are all painfully drilled into the walls, floors, and even cielings of their homes, mansions, look-outs, and gravity chambers. I'll never cease to be amazed at how realistic everything turns out to be either. I wonder what would have happened if Dickens wrote DBZ work. O.o Not something to dwell on. Jondalar's accent makes me laugh... Now for the moment of truth. The stay at Jondalar's house, I mean mansion, no wait, CASTLE! Gah. Too much housing. @_@
Now I think it's bedtime. 2:30 am Saturday, now Sunday, sounds very reasonable to me. Phew, finally got all of that out of me! What a relief... I feel free! Whe! Maybe that's just the sleep deprivation taking. Well, this is the end to just another insight to how good of a writer you REALLY are. This whole thing was written in your honor after all.

Please, please, PLEASE don't stop writing this story! I've been a great follower of yours ever since I encountered your site and read Contradicting Mission. Admittedly, at first I only read it because I hoped Cell would show up (he's my favorite character, though Piccolo and Shin come close) and because the idea of Gohan working with villains intrigued me. But as I continued to read (and realized Gohan wasn't going to kill his "allies," thus Cell wasn't going to show), your brilliant illustrations and intriguing villains (non-pathetic new characters! What an innovation!) kept me reading on. Of course, now I've read all of your other stories, looked at all your pictures, and surfed most of your links. When I saw a new story was on your site, I started reading it immediatly, even though I don't even like Gohan much (he's too overused, and I hate Videl). Anyone who can get me to read Gohan fics without massive amounts of Piccolo interaction is a brilliant writer. Your characterizations are very realistic; not the happy, undertrained prep of the Buu era, nor the angsty, depressed, suicidal, and/or insane and villified evil Gohan (though admittedly, a few of those are worth reading). Gohan still has some issues, but he's dealing with them and not breaking into crying fits every three seconds. Jondalar is an OC, but I actually like him and am rooting for him to win Chichi (though if you are sticking to canon, it isn't going to happen). Another character whom I don't like in canon but am glad you included is Yamcha. He comes off well as the old friend of the late husband who wants to put the new prospect through a grilling to see if he is worthy to court his old friend's wife. Bulma seems a little stressed when she yelled at Trunks, but still within character. An interesting aspect that Gohan can speak German. Gohan is highly intelligent in your fics, but unlike most writers who acknowledge his intelligence, you don't throw it in our faces and proclaim he is a genius superior to Bulma. His intelligence is understated, which I like because in your story everyone already knows how smart he is so he doesn't have to say it. Vegeta comes off as a little harsh, though. I can understand his frustration at a saiyan who refuses to act like one, but beating on Gohan outside of sparring seems... not OOC, but exaggerated. Trunks is cute, and again his adoration of his father is understated but obvious enough. Piccolo is IC, and though there isn't as much of him as I like, it works in this story. Don't stop writing. From experience, most readers rarely review. Many brilliant fics I have read had less than twenty reviews, but were excellent pieces of literature. When you finally update this (if you do) I look forward to more manga. Your artistry rivals your writing skills, which isn't inconsiderable by a long shot. I will continue to read, and you are on my favorites as an author for sure. Don't be discouraged by the lack of reviews.

Truely amazing, that it is. It has a depth in it that most writers can only hope to achieve. It's a joy to read and is honestly better than the show, that it is. It digs deep into the charatures' well of emotion to reveil stuff not usually shown. It creats a feel that should be be there wheb you read. You also explain things so well. Like Sayians haveing good memories from their infant years. I wish it wasn't a fanfiction. It is truley worth publishing. I wish you alot of creativity and luck!

^^ I feel slightly pathetic, only reviewing when it was brought to my attention that you were lacking in the area.
FF.net is strange- it embraces the mediocre (and completely crappy, pardon my french) writing that abounds on this site, but ignores the impossibly fantastic level which you have acheived. But I think people are reading- they're just like me, though, and are simply too lazy to review.
Or perhaps they couldn't find words enough.
I'd try to justify my laziness but there really is no way to do so ^^ I find myself checking your webpage each day for an update, looking over the impeccable art and the immense toil you put into each chapter. Your writing is fantastic. Your drawing is impossibly good. I simply can't find the words to explain ^^ You are, undoubtedly, the best author on this site, the best fanfiction author I have ever seen. You put more work into your stories than anyone else I've read. If you continued at this pace, carrying on with your unique and mesmerizing writing style, you would most certainly leave a timeless mark on the writing world. Perhaps the next Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. And, all along, you can think of all the fools that didn't even pay attention to you on FF.net.
Well, enough babbling. I'm reviewing the story, right?
I was re-reading the first chapter for a moment this morning- it surprised me how well you described the Dragonball kingdom. I did not, in any way, doubt the way you named them in Ox King's speech. Your style of writing is impossible to explain with my pathetic vocabulary- you mold characters I always thought, envisioned as cartoons, into real life people. Of course, we know this not to be true, they are still the same as Akira Toriyama's creations, but you give a depth to each character that makes them all the more realistic. Rather, completely realistic. Not a word uttered from anyone's mouth is out of character.
The most poignant part of your story, one that has always stuck in my mind, was the scene between Vegeta and Gohan. "Perhaps I shouldn't be allowed around children." That line is permanently stuck in my head! Impossible to get out. Few authors, even published ones, are able to leave such an effect. More proof of your fantastic style.
There are many more parts I could name- but I would go on forever, most likely restate the whole story!
I read, in a review, I think, someone stating that you seemed too cocky and it was showing through in your writing. I think you have, to put it bluntly, all right to be cocky. You are the best fanfiction author I have ever met (or most likely ever will meet). You have a grace to your speech and use of the English- and German- language that is impossible to ever be duplicated. I do hope that you continue your work. I will be there all the way (Although I can't say I'll always review o.o; I'm not the most initiative-driven people...)
Ignore the lack of reviews. It's quality, not quantity, to be cliche. I've seen some of the reviews Astrozazel posted. She is a fantastic author, and she is completely right about you.
^^ Pass on some of your "cockiness" to her, huh? She needs it!
Good work! I hope you continue ^.~ I'll be watching you! (

Dear Chelsee,
I have to say that its a shame people havent been reviewing your stories. I myself would have, but I read VE on you website. I looked for you on FF.N a long time ago and found nothing so I assumed that you werent on it, and then five minutes ago I saw your latest update and was shocked! Now that I know I'll definintely read and review here. Please dont stop VE, its an amazing story. I love all your work, I read Contradicing Mission and was totally hooked. Nobody writes Gohan the way you do. I love the German you use for Gohans Diary and how you write the relationships between Gohan and other characters. It would be a shame if you stopped writing. I guess thats all, one other note; your art is as good as your writing. Just amazing.
Bye.