Subject: Re: A thought about how authors use Cologne
From: "Chris McNeil" <kumonryuu@hotmail.com>
Date: 7/19/1997, 9:59 AM
To: KLEPPE@execpc.com, fanfic@fanfic.com

On Fri, 18 Jul 1997 19:18:55 PDT, "Chris McNeil" 
<kumonryuu@hotmail.com>
ranted:

9_9

If you want to see a fic where Cologne is treated better, write one. 
^_^  But I wouldn't get your hopes up that others will hold her, or 
any
other character's ICism as sacred as you do, because the infinite 
"what
if" possibilities are part of what makes fanfic so facinating.

Unfortunately, Krista has hit it on the nose.  If you expect ANY 
character to be consistantly consistant with the manga, then prepare 
to be sadly disappointed.  Is Ukyou a Shampoo-clone?  Does she hate 
Akane?  Does she not care about Ranma's feelings?  No, no and no.  But 
many fanfics portray her as such.  Is Ryouga a worse fighter than 
Ranma?  Is he dishonourable?  Would he try to have Akane agaisnt her 
will?  No, no and no.  But it happens anyway, in fanfics.  Is Ranma a 
very honourable person?  Has he given Ukyou good reason for her NOT to 
beleive he loves her?  Is he the best fighter in the series?  No, no
and no again.  But...see the point?  You've convinced ME of your

Gary apparently didn't, so I'll ask him to look again.  Did I give any
full, immutable character interpretations there?  Nope, sorry.  All I 
did was give a few facts that many fanfic authors are not aware of 
(generally because they've only seen Viz stuff, for which they may
hardly be blamed).

viewpoint, Wong my friend, and I'll take it into account in future
fanfics, but you're wasting your time if you expect everybody, or even
the majority, to follow your ideas.  Your best bet is to try to 
convince people you get into discussions with via e-mail.  But
dispelling widely-held illusions is pretty damn near impossible.  
<indicates RAAF, where I (and a few other manga-knowledgeables) am yet 
AGAIN proving that Ryouga is NOT inferior to Ranma in combat, that he 
is not a slimeball and Ranma is not a moral paragon, and, until 
recently, that Pantyhose Tarou, in either form is one of the most 
dangerous fighters in the manga>
Yadda yadda yadda.

I'm gonna get SPAM demerits for this one, but I have to say that I'm
really sick of this kind of attitude. (I also think this is not at all
what Krista was saying.)

Then again, Gary, you completely managed to misinterpret what _I_ was 
saying as well.

There are MANY different interpretations of the characters. This comes
(in part) from the fact that canonical Ranma is a COMEDY, while many
fanfics are serious stories. There's inevitably some ambiguity when you
go from one to the other.

Naturally.  Since you've blasted me on this before, let me remind you
what I said LAST time: "To be IC is to be within a certain spectrum,
where the framework makes sense in reference to the source material."
No, there is no ONE TRUE WAY to interpret characters.  Heck, I myself
use different versions of characters depending on my story.  But that
doesn't change the fact there are certain immutable facts that can be
proved with the manga, and to break them makes a fic OOC.

What we should be asking about a particular character interpretation is
NOT "is it canonical". Despite Blade's belief to the contrary, there is
no unique answer to this. You give me any interpretation and I can

I'd love to know where I have ever stated my belief to the contrary,
Gary.  Since you've publically attacked me for it many times, and _I_
say you're lying, please support your attacks or kindly stop making
them.

probably find some evidence for it (except for the fact that I have 
far,
far, FAR more worthwhile things to do).

<snort>  Typical.  Well, Gary, you are wrong there; you see, unlike you,
I HAVE done research into the source material, and you can NOT support
any interpretation you like.  Ranma 1/2 is not an American comic, and
the characters change very little except for development.  There is, as
I said, a spectrum within which there are varying definitions that can
be legitimately supported, but not every half-baked theory somebody
makes up will be.

What we SHOULD be discussing is which interpretations work; Which ones
make good stories. Obviously there is no one answer to this either, and
the answer depends on the particular story. The cold-hearted Cologne
works in Hearts of Ice because the story focuses on the other
characters' reactions to her machinations. If you were doing a fic with
Cologne as the protagonist, you'd want to be more balanced.

That IS another way to look at it.  Personally, however, I feel that you
should try to stay close to the source material.  If the story is more
important than the characters, to you, make up original characters to
go with it instead of writing fanfics.

 So my advice?  Don't get worked up over it.
Yeah right. You never do, huh?

Given that I've been arguing such things for over a year and never once
lost my temper over it, yes, I'd say so.  I debate because I find it
enjoyable, and because there are usually a handful of people swayed to
my views in such discussions.  Also, I'm hardly the be-all and end-all
about the series; my agreement with Mr. Wong regarding Cologne is a
recent one, brought about because he proved me wrong in such a debate
and thus forced me to change my views on the character.  Thus, I end
up learning things from them too.





Blade
*********
High Priest of the Goddess Ukyou 
Official Fanboy of Pantyhose Tarou
Founding member of the Viz-basher-bashing Club
Author of unbelieveable talent
Debater beyond compare
Really humble guy  

"Reality is for those who cannot handle fantasy."






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