At 9:06 -0800 12/18/97, Matthew Campbell wrote:

From: "Richard Lawson" <sterman@sprynet.com>

I'm sorry, but I have a MAJOR problem with this story.

<<snipp>>

If I understand the above correctly, they're absolving Akane of all
responsibility and that's just not right.  Sure, the rage disorder
caused her to beat Ranma, but what about between episodes?  It was
Akane's decision not to seek help, though her friends and family begged
her.  It was Akane's decision to pretend that everything was fine, even
when it obviously wasn't.

Once or twice she could be excused for, but Akane *knew* that there was
something wrong, that she'd lost control, and still she refused to act.
To absolve her of all responsibility is ridiculous.  She was criminally
negligent.  Some would say she is paying sufficiently for her crimes,
but where does that give TiL Ranma the right to pardon her?  She
murdered two people, and it happened because of her own indifference to
the suffering her rage disorder was causing.

In conclusion, I'd have to say that the deaths of Ranma and Ukyou *ARE*
Akane's fault.  How can she ever get better until she accepts her own
culpability?

You raise an interesting point.  Zen does not think that it was Richard's
intention to absolve BE Akane of all guilt - though Zen can see how that
impression might be given.  Akane's refusals to seek help, or to accept it,
are partially symptomatic of her disorder - but that is, as you say, NOT an
excuse.  It might be a good idea to go into more depth with that.  As
Richard said, this version of the story is rough.

You are quite correct - it is impossible for Akane to get better until she
faces the consequences of her actions - and admits that they ARE *her*
actions.  This needs to be brought more to light in this passage.

But it is ALSO true that to get to that stage, she must have the strength
to face that prospect - to face herself and what she has done.  Ranma was
her strength, or at least a large source of it.  Part of her guilt is
wrapped up in the assumption that Ranma would hate her for what she had
done - and that such hate would be irrevocable.

TIL Ranma gives her the hope she needs to get better.  This Ranma does not
hate her, even with what she did - so maybe now, she can stop hating
herself.  It is not absolution that he gives her - it is forgiveness.

The difference is subtle, but it is important.

Absolution is a removal of responsibility... where a person is held to be
blameless for their actions.

Forgiveness means that that person can still be loved, DESPITE their
actions - but it acknowledges that said person DID those things, and is
responsible for having done them.

Richard?  How about it?  Have a go at clarification?

Richard, this was a good story (anything you turn out invaribly is).
However, it really wasn't what I was expecting out of this crossover.

O_o

Richard, why must you always take these things so seriously?  I was
expecting a fun story where TiL Akane wandered around town, clueless as
to why everyone is screaming in terror.  I was expecting BE Akane to try
to kill everyone, only to be thwarted in many amusing and coincidental
fashions.  That would have been fun, that would have made me say COOL!
Instead I got this, which while good, isn't really great.

Zen thinks that Richard's BEST work is still in the TOP series, but Zen
liked this.  Liked it well enough to not only allow his use of the
BE-verse, but to suggest his posting of it.

While what you describe DOES have some interesting humour potentials, Zen
is rather glad that Richard wrote this the way he did.  Had he turned it
into a slapstick piece, Zen would have been more inclined to plant him next
to Ranma and Ukyou than to pat him on the back.

Sure it could be argued that both TiL and BE are intensely serious
stories, but does that mean that anything connected with them
automatically has to be serious as well?  I'm not trashing your work and
I'm sorry if I offended, it's just that I was expecting more than yet
another story where everyone walks away having learned the "Lesson of
the Day".  Why can't everyone walk away having learned nothing, or
better yet, having learned the wrong lesson?  I was just hoping to see a
little of the wackiness that drew me to Ranma 1/2 in the first place.

Richard does write stories with a high realism index... that's true.  So,
for that matter, does Zen.  Certainly, neither of these stories, nor their
fusion here are quite as slap-happy as the original source material.  But
the really wonderful thing about Ranma is that it provides characters that
you can sympathise with - characters that can make you FEEL for them, and
characters that you CARE about.

Taken *strictky* as slapstick, the Ranma characters would be shallow, and
two dimensional - it is those little bits of depth - the hints of
seriousness that make them so special.

The wackiness is still there - it is just muted.  Even "Bitter End" had a
few lighter moments.  But it was a story about the DARK side of what is
normally considered funny.  In the manga, when Akane hits Ranma, it's a gag
- like the Three Stooges. (Thanks, Gary! ^_^)  But, on a base level, it is
still violence - and in a slightly more realistic setting, has certain
consequences.

It's funny - the basis of most good comedy is pain.  Whether is it the pain
of lonliness that makes a person turn to humor to find acceptance, or the
pain of violence, or just the pain of being different, comedy takes that
pain and turns it into something that can be faced - it helps to take the
sting out - to lessen the hurt.

The class clown, typically one of the loneliest people you met in school -
is what he is because it is the way he has found to be accepted - to fit
in.  It is a good thing to be able to laugh at the dark side of human
nature - but it does not pay to forget that it IS a dark side, and that
people DO get hurt - and badly.  It's not always physical hurt, but it's
real, none-the-less.

A good story provides a balance between the darkness and the light -
tempering humour with the occasional serious thought, and vice versa.

Zen thinks that Ranma provides a pretty good platform for either.

------
Matthew Campbell

Zen no Itan-sha