At 01:53 4/5/97, Gary Kleppe wrote:

On Fri, 4 Apr 1997 20:17:34 -0500 (EST), Ken Arromdee wrote:

As far as I could tell, all the occasions in the story _were_
misunderstandings
(and usually of the kind she should have been able to see through).

I could be wrong, but towards the end it seemed to me that she was going
off with _no_ provocation at all.

Zen, I don't want or expect your pro-Ukyo bias to be kept out of your
work, but couldn't we have just a _bit_ more balance? I just can't
accept Ukyo as the Angel of Compassion and Akane as the Bitch from Hell
to the degree that you have portrayed them that way in this story.

Gomen nasai.

Akane is not a bitch in this story.  Indeed, she's not even the only one at
fault.  *EVERYONE* in this story made mistakes - serious ones.  Even Ukyou.
Akane is *ill* - quite literally.

Part of the point as regards a rage disorder is that there do not HAVE to
be rational triggers for bursts of rage.  They are very real.  Zen has an
acquaintance who suffers frm such a condition - when his meds start to wear
off, he gets *scary* - He has never hit a *person* in Zen's pesence, but he
*has* hit walls, cars, trees, and other very solid objects.  He has broken
his hand in so doing more than once.

Akane has a problem with anger.  Look at her in the manga.  The fights at
school, while justified, have implanted a degree of violence in her that is
frightening.  Additionally, she's mad at Ranma *before he ever gets there*
- the only time that she is NOT mad at him is the time that she thinks he
is a girl, before she learns of the curses.  After that, the anger is never
far below the surface.

Once the rest of the Fuurinkan nut cases give up on her, what other target
is there for her to use to blow off steam?  Sbe fights with Shampoo or
Ukyou from time to time, but if Ranma is around, it's *Ranma* that she
pounds on.  NOT the perpetrators.

This fic is an extrapolation.  At the beginning, Akane is straight out of
the manga.  By the end, she has changed, but assuming the given causes, the
changes are logical, and justifiable.

Zen grants that his Ukyou bias shows through in this story - but at the
same time, there are a LOT of things that any of the characters could have
done differntly that might have affected the outcome.  They didn't.
Therein lies the tragedy.

Akane is not meant to be the one entirely at fault, and Ukyou is not the
perfect saviour, either.  Had she been, the murders would not have taken
place.

Hope that helps to explain the Zen view.

Gary Kleppe

Thanks for reading, and taking the time to comment.

Zen no Itan-sha