----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Arthur Hansen" <arthur@kindred.net>

*snippity snip*
 It really can be, but it's really complex. Something that can be merely
"cutely risque" with one person can be *taken* an entirely different way
with someone else.

But this isn't about what guys actually think when they look at a girl.
It's about what the girl -- in this case, Ranma -- is feeling.  A girl who
has bad experience with some sick pervert can see even the most innocent
look from a guy as threatening.  The bad experience has tainted everything.
It doesn't matter if a guy's intentions are noble and pure or not, because
the girl will perceive *any* attention as a threat.  Period.  Is it a
healthy mindset to have?  Not really.  But that doesn't mean that a
victimized girl won't feel that way anyway.  And, as I said, I'm amazed that
Richard had the insight to get this aspect of the female psyche.  The anger,
and lashing out, sometimes physically, at anyone who looked at her
cross-eyed is very true to this kind of profile as well.

I couldn't get that far. Not because it wasn't technically a good story.

But because *Ranma* in my mind will never give up.

Ever.

Not on Akane. Not on a cure (someday) or his masculinity.

Ever.

He might become comfortable with his curse to a very select few people
(Akane, IMO) but even that would be something that would really have to be
worked at. And I don't think it'll ever be really comfortable.

I agree.  To read this story, you definitely have to suspend disbelief on
that point.  As ELL pointed out, this is a hard story to read, because the
subject matter is truly awful to contemplate, for some more than others.
Thinking about Ranma giving up on finding a cure, or giving up on Akane
makes me cringe.  But then, I think one of the main points of this story is
about stretching the limits of comfort levels, not only for Ranma, but for
the reader.  Personally, I appreciated the mental and emotional workout.

-Krista


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