On Sat, 19 Jul 1997, Andrew Dynon wrote:

Why doesn't somebody do a Ranma/Dragonlance fusion?

I'm sort of fond of saying there are some ideas that don't work. My
initial reaction to this idea was just that - but I *do* have some ideas
for characters, if someone wants to run with the idea.

Tika            Ukyo or maybe Akane

I would say Ukyou, from the waitress connection.

Flint           Genma?

I can't see Genma in the Flint role . . . but Ranma 1/2 is notoriously
short on dwarf-types.

Raistlin        ?????

Gotta be Gosunkugi Hikaru: the "dark-souled mage"

Goldmoon        Kasumi
Riverwind       ??? (Dr. Tofu has the romantic attatchment to Kasumi, of
course, but his personality and skills don't fit very well)

I *don't* think the Goldmoon/Riverwind pair can be mapped to Ranma
characters . . . unless you cast Shampoo as Goldmoon, and Mousse as
Riverwind.

Kitiara         Kodachi

This works, in that Kitiara and Tanis were lovers - but that's about it.

Haven't decided for anyone else.

Who are you going to have as Fizban? ^_^ Or Takhisis, or Lord Soth, or the
other Dragon Highlords (who *are* major characters when they appear).

Like I said, my initial reaction is that this won't work - but then, I
thought that about Usagi getting pregnant, and Misconception turned out to
be one of the best stories I've been witness to on the FFML. Still, if a
Ranma/DragonLance fusion is going to succeed, I think it's going to take a
LOT of work.
	If anyone decides to run with this, I have one over-riding
suggestion: *Review the sources.* I actually remember DragonLance better
than I know Ranma 1/2, and that's why I have my doubts about inserting
Ranma 1/2 characters into the original roles - the characters are just too
different, individually and in their relationships.
	Also, the DragonLance Chronicles take place against the backdrop
of war raging across Ansalon. Ranma 1/2 characters have been dropped into
distinctively non-Neriman environments before. Sometimes it does work -
Stefan Gagne's _Ministry of Confusion_ series comes to mind. For that
matter, so does Nibun no Senshi Sailor Moon (?? - I don't remember the
title exactly), with Ranma being recruited to fill in for a severely
injured Usagi.
	But in both of those cases, the authors were being as faithful to
the source(s) as humanly possible. As far as I can see, Dragonlance and
Ranma 1/2 are different enough that this may be impossible.

To whoever eventually tries the Ranma/Dragonlance fusion, if anyone: Good
luck, and be careful.

				Tim Miller
					trmiller@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us