On 4/13/97 10:23 PM, David M Lerman at mdlerma2@gsbpop.uchicago.edu wrote:

 I've noticed that few fanfics ever depict Ranma choosing Shampoo just
because he prefers her over his other fiancees.  Why is Shampoo considered
such an unlikely choice?  Certainly, she has a few odd ideas and Cologne is
the mother-in-law from Hell.  Nonetheless, Shampoo is attractive, dynamic,
brave, persistent (aren't they all), and an excellent cook.  Although she
initially regards Ranma as a trophy husband, she does seem to develop a
genuine fondness for him as the series progresses (I'm thinking of
"Desperately Seeking Shampoo").  I'm not saying that Shampoo is the best
fiancee for Ranma, just that I think she shouldn't always be considered the
least likely of the three women to end up with Ranma. 

Hmmm. Well, I just realized something the other night that helped clarify 
that for me:

Back when I was in college, my roommate went through a relationship that 
I saw at fairly close range; the girlfriend ended up living with him at 
some point, and at one point the arrangement was even formalized with a 
three-way rent split. However, she turned out to be an aggressive 
manipulator and even liar, *very* possessive and doing everything she 
could to get him all to herself: driving away his other friends, 
fostering misunderstandings between my roommate and I to try to get me to 
move out, and similar nastiness. We didn't find out the kind of games she 
was pulling until it was almost too late, when he finally found a letter 
from the apartment complex that she hadn't paid her share of the rent for 
over a month.

What does this have to do with Shampoo? The more I see of her behavior 
patterns, the more they remind me of this... person. As far as either of 
us could tell, she sincerely believed that her "love" for my roommate 
excused and even justified all of her manipulations (and even her lies 
and deceits). Sound familiar? Shampoo isn't quite that bad... but as the 
most aggressive/least scrupulous of the 'real' fiancees (Kodachi is in a 
class by herself... <g>), she comes uncomfortably close. 

No, love does *not* excuse everything.



Travis Butler
(The Professor, formerly of Myth and Magick!, Lawrence, KS;
 tbutler@tfs.net, now from the Wandering Powerbook;
 <http://www.tfs.net/personal/tbutler/>;
 Mac page <http://www.tfs.net/business/tbutler/>)

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