The difference between an alternative world story and a parallel world
story is that an alternative world is always derived from a change in
history. A what if Ranma had knocked his dad a little harder and Genma
had landed in the Pool of the Drowned Priest ( which is in the cannon)
and all of the changes result from that or what if Soun Tendo's great
grandfather had invented the automatic pistol and the Souns were the
emperor of Japan today.

Parallel worlds are derived from what ever changes you want to make.
What if Shampoo were a cat who fell in a Jhusenkyo pool and Akane were
twins and Cologne was nabiki's mother. you can make any change and it
doesn't have to be related in anyway to any other change.

Ranko and Kaneda, Qualifies as a parallel world because not all of the
changes are linked. IMHO Careful Destiny on the other hand is an
alternate universe story. So is A Certain Point of View.

Rick Robinson

rik@cfanet.com