Author's Outro
Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed it.
I hope the characterizations weren't too jarring. Like I said in the Intro, I tried to create good - and logical - reasons for the characters to behave the way they did, even if it wasn't exactly the way they behaved in the OAV.
Mihoshi was a big challenge. It's clearly indicated in the OAV that she was a highly competent officer at one time. What happened? Could she get over it? I hate it when Mihoshi is cast as basically someone to break things or for Kiyone to yell at. She's one of the most genuinely nice characters in the entire series. Even Sasami gets angry once in a while - but not Mihoshi. I felt she deserved a moment in the sun and to be treated as a person; I tried hard to do that.
I also tried to mature Tenchi quite a bit. His reactions to Ryoko's advances are never as arch as they were in the OAV. Basically, he's gotten used to it and understands that it's part of her personality. He's also realized that by being a little less touchy he goes a long way toward making her happy - and therefore less grabby. Make sense? Well, it did to me...
I spent a lot of time working on developing the relationship between Sasami and Tenchi; I'm not sure I got it right. Falling in love is a complicated thing and there are a lot of little steps you take on your way to the destination. Most fan fics that I've read just have the characters (usually Tenchi) having a sudden epiphany. I've been in love a time or two and - holy cow - it ain't like that.
When I first started working on this, I had no idea Ryoko would want to be sealed into the Demon Cave again. However, as I considered her reaction to not having Tenchi, it became clear that's exactly what she would want. I see Ryoko and Washu as essentially tragic characters in the Tenchi saga. Every other character has had setbacks and challenges, but none that are so staggering as those faced by those two.
This was just one of several surprises I had as I wrote this. Some of the others were: Washu's designs on the Masaki line and Funaho and Misaki's active plotting to marry off their daughters.
The tree selection ceremony was a pain to write. The descriptions I could find of it were translated from the True Tenchi novels by Japanese speakers and lacked detail. I was a true to them as possible, but I honestly have no idea how well I did.
While we're on the tree selection ceremony, I specifically chose not to use the common interpretation of Juraian women as leather-clad, whip- wielding dominatrices. This is a perception provided by a song from one of the OVA CDs and reinforced by Okuda in the "No Need for Tenchi" manga (See the "Samurai Space Opera" chapters.). Happosai did great justice to this in his epic lemon "Aikan Muyo", as did several other authors. But since it wasn't canonical, I decided to do without it in this and go with a more 'normal' relationship.
Some early reviewers also had issues with how I portrayed Juraian royalty. Since the Jurai Royal Houses are descended from pirate clans and neither Azusa nor Seto - two of the most powerful folks around - are noble born, I chose to represent the royal family as a drinking, brawling, sex- having, hanging with the people sort of royalty. I think this is in keeping with the tone set in the True Tenchi novels. In any case, it's my take on the situation.
Of the names: if they're recognizable I either stole them as an homage or used the names of things or places I know. For instance: Keichi is the name of the protagonist in 'Ah! My Goddess' and Ken Akamatsu is the creator of 'Love Hina', while Mr. Iwakuni (the unfortunate mailman whom Washu surprised on the toilet with her dimensional doorway) is named after Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. Similarly, Mr. Kokusai is named after Kokusai Dori, the main shopping street in Naha, Okinawa. If I recall correctly, Kokusai Dori translates to International Street.
The only two names that were actually designed to have meaning were Kinpa and Shinchi. Kinpa is a romanji translation of a Japanese word meaning 'moonlight'. There were several words with that meaning and that one was the most pleasing to my ear.
I sort of cobbled together Shinchi out of two other words and as an extension of Tenchi. I honestly don't remember what I originally intended it to mean, but as it turns out it is a word that means something like 'a newly discovered land'. That seemed fitting, so I left it.
John Takis says quite plainly in "Washu's Lullaby" that Washu never cries. Considering that John has quite a bit on the ball, I have to respect his opinion on that. However, it just seemed unreasonable for Washu not to be upset enough to cry when Ryoko was sealed back into the Demon Cave. So, she cries. I take full responsibility for raking Washu over those coals.
Shawn
Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed it.
I hope the characterizations weren't too jarring. Like I said in the Intro, I tried to create good - and logical - reasons for the characters to behave the way they did, even if it wasn't exactly the way they behaved in the OAV.
Mihoshi was a big challenge. It's clearly indicated in the OAV that she was a highly competent officer at one time. What happened? Could she get over it? I hate it when Mihoshi is cast as basically someone to break things or for Kiyone to yell at. She's one of the most genuinely nice characters in the entire series. Even Sasami gets angry once in a while - but not Mihoshi. I felt she deserved a moment in the sun and to be treated as a person; I tried hard to do that.
I also tried to mature Tenchi quite a bit. His reactions to Ryoko's advances are never as arch as they were in the OAV. Basically, he's gotten used to it and understands that it's part of her personality. He's also realized that by being a little less touchy he goes a long way toward making her happy - and therefore less grabby. Make sense? Well, it did to me...
I spent a lot of time working on developing the relationship between Sasami and Tenchi; I'm not sure I got it right. Falling in love is a complicated thing and there are a lot of little steps you take on your way to the destination. Most fan fics that I've read just have the characters (usually Tenchi) having a sudden epiphany. I've been in love a time or two and - holy cow - it ain't like that.
When I first started working on this, I had no idea Ryoko would want to be sealed into the Demon Cave again. However, as I considered her reaction to not having Tenchi, it became clear that's exactly what she would want. I see Ryoko and Washu as essentially tragic characters in the Tenchi saga. Every other character has had setbacks and challenges, but none that are so staggering as those faced by those two.
This was just one of several surprises I had as I wrote this. Some of the others were: Washu's designs on the Masaki line and Funaho and Misaki's active plotting to marry off their daughters.
The tree selection ceremony was a pain to write. The descriptions I could find of it were translated from the True Tenchi novels by Japanese speakers and lacked detail. I was a true to them as possible, but I honestly have no idea how well I did.
While we're on the tree selection ceremony, I specifically chose not to use the common interpretation of Juraian women as leather-clad, whip- wielding dominatrices. This is a perception provided by a song from one of the OVA CDs and reinforced by Okuda in the "No Need for Tenchi" manga (See the "Samurai Space Opera" chapters.). Happosai did great justice to this in his epic lemon "Aikan Muyo", as did several other authors. But since it wasn't canonical, I decided to do without it in this and go with a more 'normal' relationship.
Some early reviewers also had issues with how I portrayed Juraian royalty. Since the Jurai Royal Houses are descended from pirate clans and neither Azusa nor Seto - two of the most powerful folks around - are noble born, I chose to represent the royal family as a drinking, brawling, sex- having, hanging with the people sort of royalty. I think this is in keeping with the tone set in the True Tenchi novels. In any case, it's my take on the situation.
Of the names: if they're recognizable I either stole them as an homage or used the names of things or places I know. For instance: Keichi is the name of the protagonist in 'Ah! My Goddess' and Ken Akamatsu is the creator of 'Love Hina', while Mr. Iwakuni (the unfortunate mailman whom Washu surprised on the toilet with her dimensional doorway) is named after Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. Similarly, Mr. Kokusai is named after Kokusai Dori, the main shopping street in Naha, Okinawa. If I recall correctly, Kokusai Dori translates to International Street.
The only two names that were actually designed to have meaning were Kinpa and Shinchi. Kinpa is a romanji translation of a Japanese word meaning 'moonlight'. There were several words with that meaning and that one was the most pleasing to my ear.
I sort of cobbled together Shinchi out of two other words and as an extension of Tenchi. I honestly don't remember what I originally intended it to mean, but as it turns out it is a word that means something like 'a newly discovered land'. That seemed fitting, so I left it.
John Takis says quite plainly in "Washu's Lullaby" that Washu never cries. Considering that John has quite a bit on the ball, I have to respect his opinion on that. However, it just seemed unreasonable for Washu not to be upset enough to cry when Ryoko was sealed back into the Demon Cave. So, she cries. I take full responsibility for raking Washu over those coals.
Shawn