Subject: [FFML][Ranma][fanfic]Happi days 4g (rough)
From: MetroAnime@aol.com
Date: 6/9/1998, 9:25 PM
To: FFML@fanfic.com

NOTE: do not ask me for copies of prior chapters until after
   i've gotten the C&C, the bugs out, and posted the finished
   version on the FFML and RAAC. at that point i'll have them
   as a text file on my site anyway. thank you.....gregg

Ranma 1/2
Happi Days 4g: Letters To Home

by Gregg Sharp/Metroanime@aol.com
Ranma 1/2 char (c) Rumiko Takahashi, VIZ, etc.

-----------------------
Dear Mother & Father,

First things first, the meeting with Yuko did NOT go
well. What was I supposed to think when a woman I'd
been writing for eight years is talking about what
kind of house she wants to live in and what kind of
guy she's looking to marry? It turns out that she
regards gaijin as an inferior species, NOT suitable
for introducing to one's parents.

I took it pretty hard, her rejection still ringing
in my ears, and I rejoined the anime club on the
second day of their tour.

Get the family together and watch the videotape that
I've enclosed.

Done? Good. I found one of the Japanese television
stations doing English news for travelers and contacted
them for that videotape. Now you remember that scene
showing the anime store in Nerima?

Well, yeah. That's me. That is why my one week trip to
Japan is currently in its third week. No, it isn't a 
hoax. The woman you see at the end of the tape, the one
who says "Hello Mom, Dad, Brother. I miss you" is 
actually your former son. Hope you don't mind having a
daughter, it was kind of a surprise to me too.

I mean, really, there I was standing outside an anime
store in Japan, waiting for the doors to open so I could
practice my fragmentary Japanese and try to pick up a 
copy of the new NukuNuku laserdisc, and some little 
hentai creep splashes me with some water.

I gotta tell you, just the memory of that creeps me out
worse than living with the effects. It didn't HURT, but
your skin feels like you're taking a bath in something
carbonated, and you feel your skin and bones and flesh
moving. Dan used the phrase "reconfiguring" -you can
tell he's an engineer, has to put everything in techie
terms.

So I find myself looking like you see in that video. It
could be worse, trust me. Three of the others now want
to take up housekeeping as a vocation, that weird guy,
Sean, is wearing a Sailor Moon fuku and running around
making speeches about how "In The Name Of The Moon, I
Want A Large Fries With That."

The curse is related to the water, and is permanent for
most people. Some of the later people didn't get hit 
with the permanent aspect, or that aspect wore off after
two weeks. Now cold water turns these last into their
housewife persona, hot water returns relative normalcy.
I don't seem to be that fortunate.

According to Nabiki, this major mercenary out here who's
selling her sister's cookies (her own cookies aren't
edible), says that there was more than one kind of water
used. One curses you with the "Housewife" attitude, then
there's this water dealing with someone from a place 
called "Niichieju." (I think that's it. My Japanese is a
LOT better but still ain't that great.)

As I understand it, these are some hidden village of
Chinese "Amazons" that may have some relation to the
Greek variety. I know that my enthusiasm for the martial
arts has increased dramatically, and I'm getting lessons
nightly after my job at Ucchan's (sort of a Japanese
pizza parlor.) It doesn't pay that well, but it pays
enough to cover expenses.

I don't know when I'll be back. Some of us want to stick
around for a cure, but apparently some people have had
these water curses for quite some time, and those of us
who are "locked" can't even use the one cure that is
supposed to work- some "Spring Of Drowned Man" over in
China. Right now there's a major problem caused by the
fact that I don't look a bit like my passport photo, I
only have two sets of clothes that fit the new body, 
and even when I do get back, what then? I mean all my
records, my driver's license, everything is for a guy
who doesn't really look that close to me.

On the plus side, I look thinner now but I'm a helluva
lot stronger. I figure I can bench 200# now, got really
good endurance, and I'm almost a foot taller. Yup, gone
from being the shortest kid on the block at 5'3" to 6'2".
Also got really long hair. I understand from some local
Elder of this Amazon Village, that long hair is a sign
of honor- that shaving one's head indicates a loss of
honor or status within the tribe. I dunno, I kind of
like it despite it being hot as all get out here, and
humid too.

Some other aspects I'm really having trouble with, but
I won't burden you with that. The upshot is that there
are apparently mental/attitudinal effects. The really 
good news is that this stuff apparently cures all 
sorts of problems. I've never been healthier, and the
martial arts sensei says I show promise.

There's also a chance I can be accepted as a provisional
member of this Amazon Village place, which means that 
even if I can't find a cure, I'll be able to find a home.

Later,



Richard M. Straczynski

PS: My fingerprints apparently remain the same. I assume
retinal patterns are likewise unchanged. I don't know
how much this will help, though. Unless I find a cure 
and soon, assume that I'm going to have to manufacture
a new identity. Will call later.

PPS: According to that Elder, I need a name to be called
if I'm inducted into the Amazons. I'm thinking of going
with Nayami, one of the many words for trouble.