Oy, a lot of comments for something that took half an hour
to write. Anyway, thanks for all the responses, whether you liked it or it
made you physically ill (since I was trying for both).

        First, a few people will be disappointed, but many more relieved,
to know that this is not part of a larger story. It's simply based on a
conversation Shampoo has with Ranma in another story I'm writing. While
trying to convince Ranma of the sincerity of her affection, she makes
a reference to the affection that Cologne has toward Ranma. I got the
idea to expand that into a first-person sketch, and see if I could keep
people guessing about the identity of the narrator until near the end,
and give the reader a jolt. Apparently I succeeded in that.

        Unfortunately, I didn't seem to do as well in writing something
that worked as both shockfic and serious fic. (It's a dessert topping!
It's a floor wax!) I wanted to present an alternate interpretation of
Cologne, something more in keeping with the later manga than the
arch-villain she becomes in a lot of stories. Give a break to one of the
characters who usually doesn't get one. I failed at that part, since the
visceral reactions seemed to heavily outnumber the sympathetic ones.

        Actually, the pleas to not continue this have given me ideas for
a couple more Cologne stories. One is a what-if based on the fall-in-love
medicine story, (what if Ranma had taken the eternal love pill instead)
and another of which I'll only divulge the title: Cologne 1/2. HAHA!
They'll probably be done around the turn of the millenium.

        Got to get back to work on my other stories, including some others
looking at characters who don't usually get much attention: one giving Genma's
side of the story, and showing that he's really a great father after all
(I've got some research to do on the I Ching to finish this one), and one
including Mrs. Tendo. Was she really the saintly figure we see references to,
or did she have a few quirks of her own? This is an elseworlds type, so I'll
hold off on it till the current run of them has slowed down a little.


Reid Carson
rcarson@mnsinc.com