I don't even know if any of the CS authors are ON the FFML anymore,
but could this be forwarded to those who aren't?


[We see Sean and Hotaru in their reviewing armchairs, looking very
uncomfortable.]

Sean: (whispering) I've given comments on the first six.  I *have*
      to say something.
Hotaru:  Yeah, but we talk to these people every day.  What if they
         get mad?
Sean:  Well, then...(looks up) Um.

[Both see the cameras, arrange themselves better]

Sean:  Hi there, sports fans!  Today we're going to be taking a look
       at the latest part of Converging Series 7, written by Ross
       McKenzie...
Hotaru:  Actually, he had to leave the 'net, so he didn't contribute
         to this part.
Sean:  Oh.  Um, Kevin Eav...
Hotaru:  Moved.  Didn't really write anything here either.
Sean:  Chris Willmore...
Hotaru:  Gone since Part Four.  He's turning pro.
Sean:  Caroline Seawright...
Hotaru:  I don't think she's done anything since Part Two...
Sean:  Well, who DID write this, then?

[Hotaru gathers up some papers]

Hotaru:  Near as I can gather, the entire first half was Mike Loader.
         The rest was pretty evenly divided between Loader, RpM, Tai,
         and Mills.
Sean:  Why don't we start by talking about what we LIKED about the
       story.
Hotaru:  OK.  [to audience] First of all, there was some terrific 
         serious angst in this story.  Kaeri's scenes in the second
         half were Mike Loader at his best.
Sean:  Indeed.  I'm still wondering about her fate.  I also loved the
       fact that Ranma joined in the fight, and actually proved to be
       a major factor.  He's basically been a punching bag throughout,
       so it was nice to see something different done with him.
Hotaru:  The Miyabi scenes were nicely done, considering that she is
         perhaps the most UNNECCESSARY crossover character.
Sean:  Right.  I love Caroline's fics, but Miyabi never fit into this
       story.

[pause]

Sean:  OK, let's move on.  Things we didn't care for.
Hotaru:  The entire first half.
Sean:  Well...it was well-written, and funny, but just seemed SO out
       of tune with the rest of the fic.  It screamed "LOADER!" into
       your ear.  I forgot this was co-written until the Miyabi scenes.
Hotaru:  The moving from incredibly silly to incredibly serious was
         quite jerky.  I think my neck broke during one of those scene
         changes...
Sean:  And RpM's humour, while a little better, was still rather out
       of tune.  The problem is...and I've been noticing this for a 
       while...the entire focus of the fic has changed.
Hotaru:  Mmm?
Sean:  Parts One through Four were very much character-based humour.
       How the different characters interacted with each other.  Even
       the trans-universal part was a study in how Childra, Ish, Rat
       and Ryo interacted together in various environments.  Along
       about Part Five...and I'm not saying it's Mike's fault, just 
       that I think he influenced it...the focus changed from character-
       driven to situational-driven.  The plot was the thing.  Several
       of the scenes in Part 7 could have used any of the characters
       interchangeably.
Hotaru:  The thing is, taken out of the context of Converging Series,
         these scenes are great.
Sean:  Right.  If the first half of this fic had been a Nameless Sequel,
       I'd have loved it.  It's the fact that it seems so grafted on
       that makes it awkward.  It's not all Mike; RpM has been with the
       series from Day One.  But I found the Sweeney Todd bits funny, 
       yet out of place.  They belonged in TPOH.
Hotaru:  Can I also say that I rolled my eyes when Childra was kidnapped
         and used as bait?
Sean:  Well...yeah.  Remember who wrote the side story saying she wasn't
       as strong as she pretended...
Hotaru:  Yeah, but it's *so* cliched!
Sean:  I *like* cliches!
Hotaru:  Anyway, the problem is that as a collaboration, this sucks.  As
         a fic, it works well in its elements.  But it doesn't cohere.
         There's no sense of the fic working as a unit.  I shouldn't be
         able to tell immediately that we've switched authors, and I was
         here.
Sean:  Converging Series has changed its focus so much that it's lost a
       sense of what it was.  And that's a shame, because there's lots
       of beautiful bits of story in here.
Hotaru:  This has been a review.
Sean:  Now what?
Hotaru:  We could go bug Foxtrot...
Sean:  <cough>

--Sean Gaffney and Hotaru Tomoe
--reviewers-at-large