Eternal by Sholio (PG)
Title: Eternal.
Fandom: Dragon Ball Z.
Pairing: Bulma/Vegeta.
Categories: Post-series, Romance.
Length: Long.
Warnings: Character death, DBZ style (i.e. everyone going on in the afterlife).
Author on LJ: friendshipper
Author Website: City on the Ocean's Edge (SGA fic) / Sholio @ AO3
Review:
After a long and eventful life, Bulma dies. Yet she is not content to have a place in heaven if this means being away from Vegeta for all eternity...
Considering that most DBZ fics read as if they were written by twelve-year-olds (probably because most likely they were written by twelve-year-olds), it is refreshing to find a well written DBZ story with an interesting plot. As this is the same author that wrote some of my favorite SGA fics, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Sholio managed to accomplish it.
I love that despite the fact that this is very clearly a Bulma/Vegeta story, Sholio managed to avoid all the clichés that abound about them (there's no "Sayan bond" or mating compulsion here) and keep the story from becoming overly soppy despite it's overall theme of love transcending death. Romance has always been an afterthought in DBZ canon, but though it becomes more prominent here, it doesn't erase a lot of the great things about the original series: Bulma's determination and versatility, Vegeta's inability to truly share his feelings, the interesting structure of the afterlife in the DB universe and the 'perks' allowed to the Z fighters and the intricate bonds of blood and friendship that tie all the characters.
In short, this is a great Bulma-centric B/V fic that manages to showcase the depth of their love while still being very much in character, a rarity that needs to be appreciated.
Eternal
Fandom: Dragon Ball Z.
Pairing: Bulma/Vegeta.
Categories: Post-series, Romance.
Length: Long.
Warnings: Character death, DBZ style (i.e. everyone going on in the afterlife).
Author on LJ: friendshipper
Author Website: City on the Ocean's Edge (SGA fic) / Sholio @ AO3
Review:
After a long and eventful life, Bulma dies. Yet she is not content to have a place in heaven if this means being away from Vegeta for all eternity...
Considering that most DBZ fics read as if they were written by twelve-year-olds (probably because most likely they were written by twelve-year-olds), it is refreshing to find a well written DBZ story with an interesting plot. As this is the same author that wrote some of my favorite SGA fics, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Sholio managed to accomplish it.
I love that despite the fact that this is very clearly a Bulma/Vegeta story, Sholio managed to avoid all the clichés that abound about them (there's no "Sayan bond" or mating compulsion here) and keep the story from becoming overly soppy despite it's overall theme of love transcending death. Romance has always been an afterthought in DBZ canon, but though it becomes more prominent here, it doesn't erase a lot of the great things about the original series: Bulma's determination and versatility, Vegeta's inability to truly share his feelings, the interesting structure of the afterlife in the DB universe and the 'perks' allowed to the Z fighters and the intricate bonds of blood and friendship that tie all the characters.
In short, this is a great Bulma-centric B/V fic that manages to showcase the depth of their love while still being very much in character, a rarity that needs to be appreciated.
Eternal