Matthew {nice name!} Campbell wrote...

Susan Doenime wrote:

Here's chapter 8. ^_^ Hopefully 9 will be out in the next two months.

<groan>  Why must the good things always take so long?  

Two month isn't *that* long. Some authors go a *lot* longer between parts. Not
that i'd name names. <coughzencough>

After the furor over the lack of comment on this last time, I thought I'd

better say 

something.

And so will I. Let the games begin! 

*Nice* introduction of Ukyou.  I was certainly glad to see Genma getting 
the beating he so richly deserves.  I shudder to think at the results 
if she'd come in swinging like in the regular series.

 
She'd probably have been driven onto the Hibiki's side. I was personally
hoping for that.
 

You know, I think there has to have been something more to Ranma's 
accident than the ordinary Neko-ken training.  You've been building up 
the mystery way too much.  If it turns out to be essenntially the same 
(or with only minor differences) I for one will be disappointed.

 
Actually, some people still haven't figured that out. About the Neko-ken, I
mean. And if it's done well, it won't matter; I would envision something like
Genam looks into the cellar, and instead of having to haul Ranma out from
under the customary mound of cats', there's this big carnage scene with lots
of kitty corpses, and Ranma's sitting in the middle, covered with blood and
cat entrails, this loopy grin on his face... 

After all the enemies Ranma's made, it makes sense for him to gain 
another ally.  Good as he is, there's no way he could have survived much 
longer with only Akane's help.  

That's only because of Koji. If Mariko had her way, and i'm quoting badly
here, she'd "pick a spot along his morning route, wait for him to come by,
blast his head off, and run like hell." I don't care what your danger sense is
like, you aren't going to notice somebody holding perfectly still with an
umbrella shotgun. And as for Tsen, he was losing when the Hibiki's and Nabiki
butted in at the building. Ranma can take care of himself.

Speaking of which, I'm sort of ambivalent about Akane's training.  It sort of

makes >sense, but it falls  back onto the cliche of 'Ranma the super-trainer'
(which I was >ranting about only a few days ago.)  This is a series that
usually avoids 

cliche.  On the other hand, Ranma's training through pain method is

certainly new.
 
An interesting thought here: when one is breaking a horse to the bridle and
whip, you start with light touches, just a little, until it's used to the
contact. You usually offer it some kind of incentive to trust you too, like
carrots, or sugar cubes... or advanced training. Then, after a while you can
make it wear a saddle and bridle, go where you want, do whatever you want it
too. After that, you can start with little touches of the whip, and
eventually, you can ride and spur the dumb animal to death and it won't offer
a word of complaint, because after all the training for some reason the poor
brute trusts you.

Is the martial arts the only thing Ranma is 'training' Akane for?

I wonder, will he also offer to train Ukyou?  From a purely cold-blooded 
perspective, it makes sense to try and make your allies as strong as 
possible.  If she's as blindly loyal to him as she is in the regular 
series, psycho-Ranma will be quick to pick up on it and take *full* 
advantage.  

I don't think Ukyo really need the training. Remember, she's already a lot
beter than Akane. In her first and only fight with Ranma, she did pretty good.
{But then, *everybody* does pretty good in theri first fight with Ranma.}
Plus, Ukyo never evinced much of an interest in unarmed combat. 

I hope she doesn't attempt to conceal her true gender, as there's no reason

for her >to.  I just shudder to think at the beating Ranma will inflict on
Genma once he finds >out what his father did in regards to Ukyou.

If Ranma let Genma live after the whole Neko-ken thing, you think he'd care
about what he did to somebody else? Plus, I think Genma could hold his own
with Ranma for awhile: remember, hes been holding back Ranam's training,
keeping some moves secret, known only to him... just in case.

Genma is a litle smarter than we give him credit for.
 

Time is running out for Nabiki.  She's made an open attempt on Ranma's 
life and he's got to at least suspect.  It has her fingerprints all 
over it.  How long before he decides it's her or him?

Of course he suspects: he suspects *everyone.* However. he'd be more inclined
to believe it was Tsen. It's almost exactly like Tsen's last attack: leter of
challenge, abandoned building as meeting site, trap when he arrives, etc etc
etc. He would only suspect Nabiki inasmuch as he knows she's planning
*something.*
 

My prediction:  Ukyou will be the "secret weapon" that allows Ranma to 
survive the soon-to-be-coming triple attack on his life.  Whether Ukyou 
herself survives......  that's another question.

 -- 
 You might just have something there. The Hibiki's and Tsen vs Ranma, Ukyou,
and Akane. I'd still place my money on the Hibiki's though: they could disable
Akane and Ukyo fairly quickly, even with Akane's training.

Just my twenty yen.

-Mercutio
"A plague 'a both your houses!"