In a message dated 1/3/01 10:16:18 AM EST, ayonge@yahoo.com writes:
Hi,
To celebrate finally(I hope)
getting my new HD up and
running I'm going to C&C
this "idea" ^_*
1)Ideas, in and of themselves,
aren't worth much.
For instance . . .
I've got an "idea"
for an Iron Chef/Battlebots
Ranma/SM fusion. ^_^
Usagi vs. Akane in a death match cookout LIVE ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!! ^_^
It's what
you DO with the idea . . .
Bring the characters to life, put
them in interesting situations,
get the reader involved----THEN
you might have something.
2)Well----I think almost everyone
has been killed off in the Ranma-verse
at one time or another. IMO, the
Ranma-gets-shot isn't very interesting.
Plus, pending on the country where Ranma got shot, it may not be very likely
at all. For example, biting the bullet (pun intended) in Japan will
oftentimes cause the suspension of disbelief you're asking of your readers to
fall really quickly.
And Ranma's got enough sisters to field
a woman's hockey team. ^_*
So many sisters (that remarkably look just like him if he was born a girl)
you'd think you walked onto the set of NGE by accident (yep, that's a hint of
spoiler for NGE).
(There's NOTHING wrong with any of
this, it's just been done. Therefore it's
HARDER to do it well. There are so
MANY bad examples to overcome.)
True. There isn't much in the way of original ideas, so we have to reinvent
a concept to make it look fresh.
3)Competing for the right to "teach"
fits well with martial arts traditions. IMO
start with this. There isn't any need to kill
Ranma off, unless there is some plot-point that
demands he be removed/replaced.
HOWEVER----there are other options.
A)Ranma got "swapped" for the new girl.
Or, Genma pulled a scam and picked up the
wrong baby on the way out of town. (Fits
in with Anime/manga)
Which reminds me...
I do have an idea for such a story you're mentioning. It involved using the
Kaori Daikoku story from the anime. Here, Genma swapped Ranma for a bowl of
rice and two pickles, then suck back to Daikoku-san's campground and hastily
made off with his son. Only thing is (the twist!), it's not Ranma he took,
but Kaori! Going back to the grounds, Genma discovered that the spot has
been vacated of all life (in other words, Daikoku took Ranma with him).
After hours of hunting hunting for him, Genma doesn't find them. Imagining
how his wife will react, Genma comes up with a brilliant (to him) idea--raise
the girl as if she was Ranma (while he searches for son, of course) and hope
to the gods Nodoka never notices the difference should the two meet!
Years go by, and the old opening happens, only this time, it's a guy with
long, fiery hair duking it out with a panda. Skim to the Tendos, and
Nabiki's practically throwing herself at "Ranma" though he looks a bit too
ill-at-ease.Akane challenges him to a fight (mainly to get him out of their
house--she do not want this *boy* to make a play for her). Fight
results-"Ranma" wins, though it's closer than the normal beginning: that
haymaker just missed its mark, for a reference point. Anyway, Kasumi comes
in, sends Ranma to the bath; Nabiki sends Akane to the bath; Kasumi and
Nabiki converge and realize they made a terrible mistake and go to the bath
to prevent a murder only to find Akane and a girl having a conversation
(though the girl looks ill-at-ease). When asked for a name, the strange girl
replies "Ranma."
Everything starts to go to Hell from here.
Questions, and later accusations, are thrown about which brings Genma (who
mysteriously shows up) into explaining. And explain, he does, weaving a tale
to baffle the Tendos (note, he never explains the switch-a-roo he botched
up), and silences "Ranma" whenever he tries to say something. After
explaining, which they all bought, either because they believed that
outrageous lie, or found it too complicated to try to sort out and chose to
accept it, the fiancee subject is brought up. Automatically, Akane has been
pushed forth as the sacrificial virgin. Genma and Soun are happy, Akane's
very upset, and "Ranma" looks as though she's going to faint (changed to girl
somewhere in the explanation).
=DING DONG=
Kasumi answers the door and is greeted by Daikoku-san and a young man. She
allows them entrance, and Genma panicks upon seeing the guests. Daikoku sees
"Ranma" and hugs her at once, calling her Kaori as he does so, then mention
that she and her fiance can be married at last. Tendos are once again
confused, then the young man that had accompanied Daikoku-san introduces
himself as Saotome Ranma, Kaori's finace.
The reaction: All Hell breaks loose. Kaori faints. Genma tries to hide, but
is forced into explaining this new development, and they're not buying his
story.
This story could go in any number of directions. The biggest difference is
that it's not focussed solely on Ranma (which some people will find to be a
refreshing change of pace), so readers get to learn about Kaori's difficulty
with everything that's happening to her. Being raised as a guy for almost
all her life is certainly a stumbling block (or mountain, depending on how
your see things). There are also other elements that may be or would be
affected. For example, Ukyou may or may not have went to live the life of a
guy, depending on whether or not was he fooled into thinking chibi-Kaori was
a boy all along. Ryouga's story could be entirely different as well.
Possibly, Tsubasa could make an appearance, chasing after Kaori like he had
chased after Ukyou in the original story. Also, some matter might not have
occurred at all, which can change opinion of a character. Is Genma really
such a bastard that he would subject a girl to the Nekoken training? How
different is Ranma after being raised by Kaori's father? There are so many
possibilities for this kind of story, it doesn't have to run along with canon
(it probably wouldn't either after the first night).
...err, I guess I'll just move on the the next comment... methinks I rambled
on a bit too long on this one.
B)Ranma became a pacifist after the
cat-fist training and is living in a
monastery in Tibet.
Don't think I've ever seen that kind of fate to befall Ranma. The closest I
can recall is a Ranma/Eva crossover called "For The Children."
C)Ranma was last seen accelerating
over the mountains into
Mongolia with an angry piglet
closing fast at Warp 8. ^_^
[snicker]
"Sister" is a bit too . . .cliched, IMO.
I think it's a little overused, too. If someone counted the number of
sisters Ranma has ever had in fanfic-dom (minusing the extras that share the
name, e.g. Ranko), there probably would be enough to start their own Amazon
nation.
Stick with it if you must, but think
about options . . .niece, adopted, kidnaped (swapped)
etc.
There's nothing wrong with the sister approach. Just be careful not to make
her a carbon copy of Ranma. It helps to establish what kind of personality
does Kitsune have. Perhaps she loves her father dearly and it shows, or
maybe she's extremely devoted to honor (Hagakure (The Book of the Samaurai)
is part of her daily life). It could be possible that Kitsune relies on
weapons in her brand of Anything Goes. Some little quirk helps to make
characters memorable in the minds of your readers.
I'd concentrate on the "fight for the right teach" bit
and get to that as quickly as possible. And, is this
going to be a drama or comedy? I'd also be careful
about having a "slam-dunk" for Ranma's "sister"
wining the fight. The idea that Ranma (or surrogate)
always wins (and so easily in may fanfics) removes the
dramatic tension.
Like removing an appendix with a claymore.
In fact, it might
be interesting to have her fight through
all of the sisters, starting with Kasumi as
the eldest. There are a lot of possibilities----
Kasumi: [surprised] You wish to fight me?
Kitsune: Yes.
Kasumi: I'm sorry, but I'm not a martial artist.
Kitsune: Well tough cookies, honey. You can't refuse a fight, unless you
like slinging mud on your honor.
Kasumi: ....
the success of this "idea" depends upon
the execution. IMO, write about 30-40KB
and post to FFML. That should be
enough to give readers an _idea_
of what's going on.
The important thing is
to write WHAT you want,
the WAY you want.
Don't worry too much about
"ideas", and certainly don't worry
about what I or anybody else
has to say. Write the story YOU
want to read and you won't go
wrong.
Good luck.
Ditto. Speaking of which, I have a story to work on. Later...
Keep on writing.
Adrian D. Rainman