Well, time to see if the resub worked...

From:        gaffney@iconn.net

[scene:  Windir, Frito, and Lyra returning from the arrest at the
end of the fic.]

Frito:  So now what?
Windir:  We go back to reviewing the odd story.  You saw the end; 
  there wasn't a "to be continued".  It's over.

Yup. Uh-huh. That's the way it was planned. See the author's notes. :)

Lyra:  I can't believe that.  You saw the look that Yuri gave me.
  He can't just end it like this.  He's got to have something up
  his sleeve.

Windir: Perhaps. And perhaps not. While it is not unreasonable to assume 
that the author might, in fact, have something 'up his sleeve,' as it 
were, in case of emergencies... it is also not unreasonable to assume 
that the author wanted -- or at least had hoped -- to leave the ending 
ambiguous.

Frito: Nahhh, you saw da author's notes! Da Boss was plannin' ta make 'em 
da patsys, then wimped out at da end. <Pulls out a knife and begins 
excavating his fingernails.> Good thing, too.

Windir: Perhaps. Nevertheless, the cognizant point in those notes remains 
that *this*, in fact, is where the author intended to end the story. 

<Annoyed> You don't need to keep talking about me as if I weren't here, 
you know...

<At that moment, a huge explosion blasts open a nearby wall.  Frito
is plucked from the air and held up against the end of a VERY BIG 
GUN(tm).  The other end is attached to a tall, thin man in his mid
20's, with a black leather fedora and a slightly crazed expression.>

Um... never mind. You guys are doing a good job, so I'll try and keep 
personalities out of it.

Lyra: <Dryly> Thanks.

Sean:  I wouldn't do that.  I had Fred Herriot implant the *saikoo
  jinseijitsu* in my head before I came here.

<Lyra and Frito pale; Windir looks blank>

Lyra: Gaah, I hate it when makeup screws up.

Frito: <Disgusted> You're tellin' me? How the heck am I goin' ta get all 
dis flour off?

Sean:  Skip it.  Look, I don't care what Butler or anyone else 
  thinks, you are going to continue this investigation and find
  out who framed the Pair.  I'm not having my fanfic ruined just
  because Travis can't be bothered to add a Part I.

Windir: Ah, yes. A typical persecution complex, the belief that 
everyone's actions are planned persuant to their effects on his 
situation; compounded, no doubt, by the impression that his projects are 
of import to the populace at large. Classic paranoia.

Frito: Uh-huh. Right. <Grins> Whatever ya say, Windy.

Lyra:  You're *writing* a Dirty Pair fanfic?  For real?
Frito:  We thought youze was extinct.
Sean:  Not true.  Bryan's still turning 'em out, and the UF team
  are working on the next part of the saga.  Sure, Ryan's doing
  songfics, but he'll be back.

Windir: This might be more convincing if these items were, in fact, in 
evidence. Our tally might be biased, admittedly, given that our main 
source is the FFML. Nevertheless, the only appearence of the Lovely 
Angels in the last year was the revenge fanfic written by Zen; hardly 
suggestive of continuing support.

Sean:  Yeah, yeah, no free will, blah blah.  This story was 
  designed especially to pacify me, so I wouldn't figure out what
  he was doing.  Kaede, Miyuki and Natsumi, Akiko...all some of 
  my favorite characters.  He thought that by making all those
  great cameos and cool running gags that I'd miss the big 
  picture. (Looks up at the sky) WELL, IT WON'T WORK, BUTLER!
  DO YOU HEAR ME?!!

Lyra: <Shaking head, with a rueful grin> Yup, classic case.

Windir: <Slightly miffed> Did it not occur to this person that, in fact, 
the author might have included those characters because of some slight 
interest on his own part, and the desire to see them gain some modicum of 
respect and proper treatment?

Frito: Sheesh. Lighten up, Windy!

Sean:  Well, yes, but that's beside the point.  I need the Dirty
  Pair for my fanfic.  Sure, they don't come in until 2/3 of the 
  way  through, but they're necessary.  I need the three of you
  to find out who did this.  There's lots of suspects.  Hell,
  Blade's arguing right now about how Ranma's a jerk, check him
  out.

Lyra: <Tapping chin> Hmmm... perhaps, perhaps.

Frito: Leastways ya picked up on some of da hints da Boss put in!

Sean:  (grins, drops Frito)  Thanks!  Sorry to be such a bastard,
  but you know how it is with the creative urge - don't say it,
  Frito.

Windir: <Dryly> He hardly needs to.

Lyra: Heh.

--to be continued when Travis wraps this all up.

--Sean Gaffney
--who loved it, btw

Heh. :) Thanks.

From:        Raphael, raphael@asu.edu

   And me, too! But I have to agree with Sean; that ending just didn't 
do the Dirty Pair justice. I'd love to see a conclusion to this one (I 
just can't believe that the Pair did it, and as far as I can tell, 
neither do you, Mr. Butler). 

Ah, so? <Sigh> Well, it looks like I'll have to implement those 
contingency plans, then. ;> 

"Ranma Pride: The Stacked Deck"

AnimeTown is a great idea that had long been 
coming; you could do so much with it!

It was kind of a necessity, or something like it; to do a story involving 
the review characters, I either needed to do some kind of unconvincing 
insertion into several different anime universes, or set everything at 
one step removed from the actual stories. The backstage setting was kind 
of a natural. :) I had a lot of fun thinking it up, and I was kinda 
hoping some people at least would pick up on it.



Travis Butler
(The Professor, formerly of Myth and Magick!, Lawrence, KS;
 tbutler@tfs.net, now from the Wandering Powerbook;
 <http://www.tfs.net/personal/tbutler/>;
 Mac page <http://www.tfs.net/business/tbutler/>)

...Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.