(Zoom in on Sean and Hotaru in their armchairs.)

Hotaru:  Capuccino?
Sean:  Oh, thank you.  Hello, everyone.  Today, we take a 
       look at the latest part of Converging Series, a
       fic that is far too complex for its own good.  Not
       that that's always a bad thing.
Hotaru:  Now, I missed the other parts...
Sean:  Right, so thanks to whoever writes the little precis
       at the front.  Nicely summarized.  Now, on to C&C.
       I had a few problems with this part...
Hotaru:  What do you mean?
Sean:  It is starting to drag on a bit.  I'm hoping that
       it'll only be one or two more parts.  And while Mike
       is an excellent writer, and indeed I suspect he wrote
       most of this part, adding his stuff in just made it
       go on.
Hotaru:  You can guess who wrote what part?
Sean:  I can take a stab at it.  I'd guess roughly 50% of
       Part 6 was Mike.  Another 25% was RpM, and I think 
       Ross (mayhepleasecomebacksoon) made the last of his
       contributions here.  Maybe Kevin wrote some, too.
       I suspect Kun-chan and Willmore took this part off.
Hotaru:  Speaking of which, let's tallk Miyabi.
Sean:  Let's.  Rather shallow.
Hotaru:  Not entirely her fault.  She comes from a series
         that, although very well written, is not a dark
         angst-fest.  The other travellers all have their
         inner demons to confront.  Miyabi just has to worry
         about her parents having sex...
Sean:  Not realizing that this is a world where *not* everyone
       has sex at the drop of a hat...
(Hotaru knocks Sean's hat off his head)
Sean:  Perhaps later.
Hotaru:  Hhmph.  Anyway, the bit with the tape seemed really
         contrived to me, and seemed to just be written in 
         as an excuse to beat up Ranma.  Whoop-di-do.
Sean:  In addition, this series has finally decided to be a
       drama.  And that means Miyabi's a little out of place.
Hotaru:  Drama?  What about those Nabs in Africa scenes?
Sean:  That was counterpoint, there's a difference.  By the
       way, those were excellent.  I kept thinking, "Joan
       Wilder?  You are Joan Wilder?"
Hotaru:  Another scene I liked was Ryo talking with his
         Cheshire Cat muse.  Very nice.
Sean:  It made me think, though.  Now that Ryo knows that
       his father gave up and is a pale shadow of the other
       Ranmas, can he face him again?  If he gets back to
       his world, will he ever be truly happy?
Hotaru:  I wonder, off the subject, if they'll ever follow
         up on that whole Kasumi thing.
Sean:  You mean that she thinks her mother hates her?  I
       dunno, it depends.  I think they'll end up focusing 
       more on Kaeri...
Hotaru:  Who will die.
Sean:  I dunno.  Muhoshin's toast, but I dunno about Kaeri.
       Mike might want to do more with her, whereas RpM
       already has another Ryo to work with.
Hotaru:  And what of Ishido?
Sean:  Well, Kevin will never finish anything he writes, so
       that's not a problem.
Hotaru:  Are you trying to provoke a response?
Sean:  Yes.  I'm also worried about 2096, which I suspect 
       may peter out now that Chris is turning pro.  He's
       talked of farming it out, but I dunno.
Hotaru:  A shame, I really like Childra and Ishido together.
Sean:  I did write an alternate ending, just for myself, with
       the two of them finding each other after 10 years or
       so (Childra's time frame).  I'd never post it, but it
       made me happy.
Hotaru:  So what *did* we think of this part?
Sean:  Good, but starting to lose a little steam.  Nice work,
       guys, but wrap it up.

--Sean Gaffney and Hotaru Tomoe
--see?  People *do* read CS, so stop being so depressed!
--Chris, Kevin, that means you! :-)