Tonbo wrote:

Hi All,

I wanted to ask anyone who read part 6 of The Plan for their opinions
regarding the following:

When I originally wrote this part, I gave no real explanation for
Akane's excessive behavior, yelling at Nabiki and Kasumi.  That's just
the way she was, and it was just the way I needed her to be in order to
lead the sisters to adopt The plan.  It had been a hell of a week, and
Akane just lost it.  But after I re-read it, I was startled by how OOC
her over-the-top anger seemed, even for her.  So, I got nervous about
posting it.  I felt I needed to explain (justify?) her excessive
behavior.

Since I hadn't really given it that much thought, I just grabbed around
for the first excuse I could find.  The  obvious reason was, of course,
Mom.  So, I wrote the following during her run from Kasumi to the dojo:

It set a good mood of desperation for Akane, helped to redeem her (in
the eyes of some) for her earlier poor behavior AND set a properly
antagonistic mood for the following scene with Ranma.

Here's my current quandry:  I received feedback from one reader that he
was disappointed that it all came back to Akane's Mother.  He felt it
was something of a cliche.  He is, of course, absolutely right. 

<Shrug>  Some things are cliches because they are true.  Mrs Tendo, and
her absence really have had a major effect on the girls.  It's clear 
that although Kasumi might be quite domestic, without her position as
surrogate mother she probably wouldn't be quite so extreme about it.
Akanes obsession about cooking is definitely related to her memories of
her mother.  Takahashi said so.  The way Akane flipped out at the sight
of her mother's cookbook says that the influence of the dear departed 
can not be ignored, at least in Akane's case.  

I'll admit that I tend to disagree with authors who weave theories about
Nabiki's greed being rooted in her insecurity following the death of
her mother.  There are so many simpler reasons, including the very real
possibility that her father doesn't give her much of an allowance, and
hasn't made adequate financial arrangements for Nabiki's college 
tuition.

 That's

one of the reasons I grabbed for that explanation.  I though I would
knock off one quick little paragraph, everyone would read it and go,
"Sure, right, great," and go on with the story.  But I thought it would
just be about being alone and lonely.  I didn't know it would turn into
a block of paragraphs ending up with more reasons why she felt so
aggressive and violent toward Ranma.  I also received feedback
disagreeing with my characterization of Akane here, but that's pretty
normal I guess.  What I'd like to hear is what others think of these
paragraphs.  Are they too obviously an attempt to justify OOC behavior?
Is the whole deal with Mom just too cliche, or is it useful?  Should it
stay or should it go?  Does it add to or subtract from the story?  If
you think it's not needed, does that mean you don't think she was acting
so bad that it warrants a special explanation, or do you have any other
alternative explanations which you might be able to suggest.  I'm open
to other ideas on this, and I'd love to hear any opinions.

Well, there is another alternative.  I believe that Japanese school 
children do still follow the practise of ostracising schoolmates for 
unacceptable behavior.  If for example, Akane beat
up another girl for insulting speech, she could have received the
silent treatment for a month or so and connected silence with being
punished.  Often ostracised children are compelled to transfer to
another school to escape the problem, but if Akane sweated it out
it would be one of the worse times in her life.  

My chief problem with this story is that Akane tried exactly the same
thing with Ranma early in the series.  Not only did it not work worth
a darn, but Ranma obviously dreaded the silent treatment far more than
any degree of physical or verbal abuse.  

Nor do I see it truly furthering their relationship.  Now, not only
can they not express love to each other, they can't express much of 
anything at all.  For the next 50 years, it looks like the most 
meaningful discussion they may ever have will concern whether it
looks like rain.