On Mon, 9 Dec 1996 13:05:04 +0000 Sebastian wrote:

: She knew
: what effect the Kami Plane had on those mortals who became
: trapped within its boundaries.  As well as what effect it had on :
the friends and family who were left behind.  It was a small : piece
of the vast knowledge of the unusual she had acquired in a : lifetime
that spanned three centuries.

So you are using the Anime as basis for your fic?

Actually, the basis for this fic is a conglomeration of anime,
manga, and other fanfics.  My brother just introduced me to Ranma <<
about 5 months ago, via the Viz videos.  It was my first real exposure
to anime other than Robotech.  Two weeks after watching all the videos
I could get my hands on, I discovered Ranma fanfic on the internet and
read everything I could download.  This widened my knowledge of anime
considerably, and introduced me to the existence of manga.  I then
purchased all the Viz graphic novels.  It was at this point (about 3
weeks after I discovered Ranma) that I got the idea to write my own
fanfic.  I wrote the first part of "Hearts of Ice" and had Chris Rijk
pre-read it.  He is partial to the manga, and pointed out that a lot
of my story was portrayed inaccurately because I didn't know anything
about Ranma beyond the Viz videos and Viz manga translations.

I sent out a plea via the Ranma ML asking if anyone in the Salt
Lake City area had Ranma manga I could borrow, and got a reply
from a guy who lives about 40 miles away.  He has been letting me
borrow two books at a time, and I have found that I enjoy the manga
much more than the videos, even though I don't know a smidgen of
Japanese, and have to rely on the translations available on the
internet and story summaries to figure out what's going on.

So, to answer your question after this huge tangent, I would have to
say that my story is based mostly on the manga, with a few anime
influences, such as Cologne being 300 years old, and Ranma- chan
having red hair instead of black, since I like the red hair better. 
There are also a few references to other fanfics I've read, such as
when Shampoo refers to Passion Spice in Part 1.

I feel that "Hearts of Ice" is my tribute to the manga, the
anime, and the great fanfics that have kept me so entertained the past
5 months.

:      Her own memory told her that her first attempt to remove the :
spell voices from Ranma's mind had failed, but that she had : bought
herself some time by going to China to get an Amazon cure : known as
the Eye of Kami.

BTW, I forgot to mention this before, but the name of this alleged
artifact sounds rather suspect.  Don't the Chinese have a completely
different mythology?  I'm just assuming this, so please don't hit me
if I'm wrong.  :)

Why should I hit you? ^_^ The Eye of Kami has nothing whatsoever
to do with Chinese mythology, and was something that Cologne made up
on the spur of the moment to pacify Ranma and Nabiki after the True
Love spell failed.  Heck, it just sounded good.

:      Cologne sighed, holding her tiny, wrinkled hands out to the :
fire.  The problem lay in the spell voices.  They continually :
whispered to Ranma's mind that Akane was alive, but that he would :
never find her.  There *was* the possibility that his memory of :
Akane would fade in spite of the spell voices, and that the : voices
would simply stop making sense to him.  But there was also : the
greater danger that, instead, they would keep Akane's memory : alive
in him. : :      She *had* to find a way to eliminate the spell
voices.  She : had to make sure Ranma forgot Akane completely.

Hmmm, Cologne, I think you might be mistaken about what exactly
keeps Ranma from forgetting Akane.  :)

Yup.  It seems a lot of characters in this fic are coming to
wrong conclusions...

: Coming soon: 
: Hearts of Ice
: Part 12: Revenge Is a Dish Best Served...

Whoah!  I presume that we get to see both Ranma's actions against
Shampoo and Cologne *as well* as whatever Yuki-onna is planning with
the Shadowcat.  That should be... interesting.  :)

At least, I can only hope. ^_^

Krista