[We open on the little hole in the wall from which previous criticisms 
have been done.  It definitely looks different, however, as it's almost 
bare.  SEAN and HOTARU are sitting on packing crates and dressed entirely 
in black.]

SEAN:  Hi, everyone.  Time to review Converging Series Part 8, the second 
to last part of a truly epic fanfic.  We're on a tight schedule here, but 
luckily our director has given us permission to film this really quickly 
before going back to Pluto Club Med...

[We briefly pan over to a disgruntled young man wearing a T-Shirt reading 
DON'T CALL ME JEFF-KUN tapping his watch.]

HOTARU:  So let's get right to the nitty gritty.  As usual, this is less 
of a nitpicking C&C than a philosophical discussion of the entire 
Converging Series concept.

SEAN:  First of all, we have our usual series of rotating authors.  For 
those who haven't followed the behind the screens gossip, Miss Seawright 
hasn't been involved with ConSer for years, Mister Eav has almost retired 
from fanfic writing, and Mister McKenzie is missing, presumed dead.

HOTARU:  Waaaaaaah!  Come back, Ross!

SEAN:  However, as usual others always manage to pick up the slack.  Chris 
Willmore, who had been AWOL from the series for a few parts, returns in 
blazing form here.  David Tai is now firmly ensconsed, writing Miyabi when 
no one else wanted to. ^_^  And newcomer Alan Harnum writes Rat so well, 
you'd SWEAR he was whispering deranged things in your ear!  And RpM puts 
it all together, sacrificing goats to Baal so that this fanfic can be 
completed!

HOTARU:  Well put...in a weird way.

SEAN:  Thank you!

HOTARU:  As usual, Sean leaves it to me to mention the flaws that we 
noticed.  One that was subtly different was the style of the fanfic.  The 
authors seem to have gotten used to each other's styles by now, and we can 
no longer tell which one wrote which part.  However, the tone of the 
fanfic still sounds undecided.  The wacky comedy is *so* wacky it's almost 
frenetic, and makes the dark undertones (which are, let's face it, what 
ConSer *really* is about) look all the more out of place.  This is a fic 
that still hasn't decided what it wants to be, though I suspect the comedy 
bits might be few and far between in Part 9.  Oh, and the hospital burning 
was entirely gratuitous and pointless.  Thank you.

SEAN:  What about Childra's ecchi dream sequence?

HOTARU:  That was gratuitous and pointless in a good way.

SEAN:  Uh huh.  Well...wait a minute...

[Both look off camera for a bit.]

BOTH:  OK, WHO SWITCHED THE CUE CARDS?!?!

SEAN:  Remember, folks, *I'm* the pervert, *she's* the staid one.

HOTARU:  Should we move on to general thoughts?

SEAN:  Sure.  I have a rant about Ryo Saotome.

HOTARU:  Rant away.

SEAN:  In case you hadn't gathered by my comments for parts 2-7, Ryo S. is 
my favorite character in ConSer.  He's very similar to his mother in that 
he gets very much to play the wounded, tragic figure in this, only wanting 
to return to his life and happiness before the adventure snuffs him out.  
And, as befits heroes and martyrs, no one in the series seems to like or 
trust him.  Everyone of our little band has an ally in some way, except 
for Ryo S.  Not even his parents really understand what he's going 
through.  He's been fairly well disillusioned by now that even if he 
returns, his world might not seem the same to him (especially his father, 
apparently not the Ranma he once was).  And now his fiancee and love of 
his life is being held by an insane psychotic monster.  He's really had a 
shitty week.

HOTARU:  Don't you think he might be getting a tad obsessed?  You know, 
his goal above all others?  Not too different from Muhoshin?

SEAN:  No.  Let me say why.  Ryo is determined, yes.  And he is 
sacrificing his moral principles quite a bit to get what he wants.  He 
knows this.  Ryo is a scholar, he's not dumb.  He *knows* he is doing 
wrong...and hates himself for it.  This, in case you were wondering, is 
the difference between him and Muhoshin.  Muhoshin not only doesn't care 
if he's doing the wrong thing, but I suspect he doesn't even know what 
right and wrong *are* anymore, except tools to manipulate.  Saotome would 
have a long way to go before he could be compared to Muhoshin.

HOTARU:  Sorry, minna, Sean gets obsessed with happy endings sometimes.

SEAN:  Anyway, I'm done. <grin>

HOTARU:  Final thoughts:  this part, despite the balance between humor and 
dark still being off, was a big improvement over 5-7.  The series really 
does feel like it's coming to a climax now, and Part 9, whenever it comes, 
will be something to see.

SEAN:  We'd also like to take the time to acknowledge the huge history 
behind this story, and applaud the authors for not abandoning it despite 
INTENSE problems in their various private lives.

HOTARU:  In particular, RpM deserves special praise.  More than any other 
author, this is his baby, and his sweat and blood have made it a fanfic to 
be proud of.

JEFF HOSMER: [offscreen] Any frigging time now!!!

SEAN:  I think we're late.  Nice job guys, write a happy ending for Ryo S. 
in Part 9, and oh, yes...

BOTH:  WE MISS YOU, ROSS!!!!!


--SG