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Background:

In 2007, I ended up going to camp the week before the second year of GX started. I knew nothing except the names of the episodes, and I had a lot of time to mull them over. One day, walking along in the forest, I was pondering the title "Champion or Chazz-Been?", and thought to myself, what, is that some kind of trick question? That was the birth of this poem. And in an irony I will never live down, less than a week after this was written, we were introduced to another "Phoenix" that I almost instantly took a disliking to. I've since then made my peace with Aster, but I still worry that this poem will confuse people. But Chazz's story really is one of destruction and re-creation, and I think that it's apt to compare him to the mythical phoenix. Also, a funny story about the writing of this poem, I kept writing it at camp, and around the fire that night, I was writing away when a guy came up and sat next to me. I anxiously hid my work; I tend to be very self-conscious that way. He told me he'd already seen it, and he especially liked the line "drop it like it's hot." There is no such line, and I showed him that there wasn't, before I thought to myself, wait a minute... He was cute, and nice. I haven't met him since. Also, 'for goodness' sake not white!' was added later; I thought of it and it was too good not to add.

A word about Chazz. I remind myself of him when I'm having an attitude, deciding to be different just because someone has to be, and I'm the one with the guts to follow my own path. I have a huge amount of respect for Chazz; judging by the rest of the school's reaction to him, most of the other students admire him deeply. Back in the early days of GX, I harbored constant hopes that the three polarized and elitist Dorms of Duel Academy would dissolve and just be a school, with great duelists in Slifer and some lousy ones in Obelisk as it were. The Dorms are stil there, but thanks, in part, to Chazz, they barely mean a thing anymore; these days, most of the good duelists are friends with Jaden and Jaden's posse, a combination of all three dorms, has essentially taken over the Slifer Dorm. We don't see many random red-jackets there anymore. But Chazz was one of the first to stand up and say that "It doesn't matter if you're wearing red, yellow, blue, or polka dots! You'll always be the same loser! And I'll always be The Chazz!!" (quoted/paraphrased from "Champion or Chazz-Been?")