On Tue, 23 Jul 1996, Ross McKenzie wrote:

	AARGH!  What is wrong?  I can't send anything to the list!  Could 
one of you guys forward this for me?
	Oh, and in case I've become a complete moron without noticing, 
what is the address for the fanfic mailing list?

   fanfic@fanfic.com, as always.

	Where were we?
	There is nothing to do in Modesto, California besides RPG's and 
higher mathem-
	Oops.  That's where _I_ was.

   Hah!

	Once upon a time...
	No, that doesn't quite work, either.  Not with my stories.
	O.K.  There was this girl named Tachi.  She'd recently been dragged to 
the past, where she witnessed the near destruction of her native 
timeline.  That left her confused, morose, and moody, so her mother 
suggested a vacation.

   You would do well to repost parts one through five.

	"To _see- you!  We flew to China, risked death, engagement, and 
having our very human bodies turned into something unnatural just to 
_see_ you?"  Shun's voice, normally high pitched, hit glass-shattering 
notes.  "Wouldn't a vid call work?"
	Mousse laughed.  "Vid?  Girl, we don't even have _telephones_ in 
Joketsuzoku."

   They do however have a village paper. It's not entirely clear just how 
advanced the Amazons are.

	Shun threw his hand in the air.  "I give up.  This is a totally 
different planet than the one I was born on.  Nothing here on Mongo makes 
any sense."  He dropped his backpack to the floor and slumped down on a 
nearby stool.  "China, do your worst; I can't get any more confused than 
I am now."
	Mousse frowned.  "I wish you hadn't said that."
	"Why?"  Suspicion colored the edge of his voice.  "Did I activate 
some ancient mystic Chinese curse or someth..."  The other three people in 
the hut stared at the long-haired boy.  "Oh, shit," he muttered as he 
slapped himself in the forehead.  "I forgot where we are."

   Heh.

	"I guess it's a sure bet that you're not going to just tell me why 
we've come here, right, Uncle?"
	Mousse pushed his glasses to the top of his head.  "Would Nabiki send 
her only child to Joketsuzoku for a week if the answers to her questions 
could be found in a single conversation?"
	Tachi knew the answer to that.

   If only all fanfic writers did.

	Mousse blinked, just now remembering his manners.  "Forgive me. 
Please, have a seat."  He indicated a second stool, identical to the one 
Shun sat moping on.  "I live alone, so I'm afraid there isn't much space 
here.  I've made arrangements for you to stay with other members of the 
tribe, though."

   Alone? No. He and Shampoo aren't divorced, are they? How things change...

	"Father, may I go now?" the young amazon interrupted.  "I do have 
sentry duty tonight."
	"I don't think your mother would begrudge you the time it takes 
to see to the needs of village guests, Brook," Mousse chastised.

   By analogy to Spring. Clever.

	"Yes, Father."
	"And what have I told you about wearing your glasses?"
	Brook sighed.  "Yes, Father."
	Mousse folded his hands in his sleeves.  "Well?"
	In a small voice, Brook whispered, "I left them in my room."

   Tee hee...

	"Go."  That single word sent the odango-haired amazon running out 
into the rain.
	Wind slammed the door shut with a bang.  Tachi stared at it for a 
moment, then looked at her host.  "That was rather hypocritical of you, 
wasn't it, Mousse?" she accused.
	"Uh, Tachi, are you sure you want to go there?" Shun asked worridly.
	She waved him quiet.  "Mother told me you never used to wear your 
glasses, and that you kept mixing people up.  Wanting to keep your daughter 
from making the same mistakes you did is one thing,...[b]ut your glasses 
are sitting on top of your head, even as we speak.  What gives you the 
right to humiliate your daughter like that, when you're doing the exact 
same thing?"
	Mousse stood stone still in the center of the room.  "You would accuse 
me, in my own home, in the middle of a world that is so unlike yours that 
your friend compared it to a work of fiction?  After you came to me for 
help?"...
 	Tachi got up and stared Mousse straight in the eyes.  She had to 
look up; he was much taller than she was.  "Yes."

   Blunt as her aunt's hammers. That's Nabiki's kid, all right.

	Mousse slowly reached for his glasses.  He carefully took them 
off the top of his head, folded the temples closed, and smiled.  "Good 
for you."  He handed Tachi his glasses.  "Your father wouldn't have let 
me get away with that sort of behavior, either."

   Umm...Tachi is Tatewaki Kuno's daughter, if I'm not mistaken. Usually 
it would be Ranma who gave Mousse a hard time about his glasses. Is 
Mousse referring to Ranma? If so he wouldn't have said "your father" but 
"your uncle". I don't recall Kuno giving Mousse a hard time about his 
glasses. Have I missed something?

	Tachi snapped Mousse's glasses open and stared through them.  She 
could see the inside of the hut perfectly; people were people,  
bookshelves were bookshelves, and hanging potted plants were hanging 
potted plants.  "These aren't prescription lenses!" she accused.
	"No, they aren't," Mousse agreed.  Then he clapped twice, and the 
lamp behind his reading chair snapped off, plunging the room into darkness.
	Tachi could still see.  "Light intensifying eyeglasses?" she asked 
incredulously.
	"And a Clapper?" Shun echoed.

   Tee hee...

	Tachi eyed him quizzically.  "Then your vision is just fine?"
	"Twenty-Thirty.  Surgery is an amazing thing."
	An idea began to take shape in Tachi's mind.  "It's also expensive."
	...Tachi set Mousse's glasses on the stool behind her.  "To make 
that kind of money, someone would have to do something very dangerous, 
or possibly illegal."
	This time, the white-robed man offered no answer.

   I guess all will be revealed in time...
   This story seems to be moving very slowly indeed. Mind if I ask just 
what you're leading up to here?

Paul Corrigan
pcorrig@uoft02.utoledo.edu