On Thursday, April 9, Mike Loaded- er, Loader wrote:

 > Mackie: What is he DOING?
 > 
 > Gos: Completing the quote. Gotta love Yeats.
 
 Heheh. Someone caught the title source. You forgot the last two lines,
 though:
 
  The best lack all conviction, while the worst
  Are full of passionate intensity.

I didn't include those lines because A: I felt that the mode was sufficiently
captured by the previous ones, and B: I didn't want to sound TOO pretentious.
  

 > Mercutio: At least something finally got through the damn 'Happy
 > happy Kasumi' mask. That alone almost makes it worth it.
 
 In our continutity, Mrs. Tendo died in a car crash. (Yes, I know it's a
 fanfic tradition for it to be from an incurable disease. ;) That's what
 probably shocked Kasumi into oblivious mode; the second occurance is
 knocking her briefly out.

Only briefly? Does this mean that soon we'll have back our delightful, to
quote Kaeri, 'bubblehead'?
  

 > Mercutio: Paramedics in Japan are allowed to listen to Jazz while
 > preforming resuciation?
 > 
 > Mackie: Remind me to emigrate sometime soon.
 
 Well, paramedics not. But it's standard practice in US hospitals for
 doctors to listen to music of their choice during surgery. Why? Because
 it's been proven that they perform better and stress less with a good tune
 backing them. Strange but true.

Makes sense, actually. Put a plant in a room with Mozart playing, and another
in a room with white noise. The Mozart plant will grow dramatically faster,
stronger, and healthier.
  

 I myself have been put under with the last sound I heard being
 Metallica... perhaps not something to inspire confidence, I admit.

You were having a frontal lobotomy, weren't you? Admit it!

 > 
 > Gos: Huh. Maybe Nabiki ISN'T dead. Hmmm.
 > 
 > Mercutio: You sound real concerned.
 > 
 > Gos: I'm more worried about that Hikaru guy Ranma beat up last
 > Chapter, and whether or not he was supposed to be me.
 
 No, Hikaru isn't Gos. We needed a name and picked it, completely unaware
 that it would be a point of confusion. For that matter, I wish I had heard
 of Mariko the Combat Cheerleader before sticking Mariko Hibiki with the
 same name.

Well, I doubt anyone would mistake our favorite pistol-packin gal (no, not
Rally Vincent) as a cheerleader. And it's not a big point of confusion, not
really. I was fairly certain it wasn't mallet boy, but I figured it would be
good for a few lines of semi-humorous dialogue. Plus, I figured maybe you were
writing him serious in this one.
  

 > Mercutio: Interesting how he's able to tell the absolute truth about
 > what happened, and yet give no indications that he might've been
 > the one who pushed her.
 
 Unless, of course, the thought to push her would never have crossed his
 mind at all... well hey, we can't help it that you lot are so suspicious.
 ;)

Several murders, death threats, and the whole attempted rape scene will do
that to a reader.
  

 > Gos: We agreed that was the whole neko-ken thing that scarred
 > him like this, didn't we?
 > 
 > Mercutio: Well, maybe. There's growing doubt about that. And
 > considering who the authors are... ya' ever read "Poison?"
 > 
 > Gos: Oh... ick. You think...
 > 
 > Mercutio: It's a possibility.
 
 *whapwhapwhap*

OW! Quit it!
 

 You labor under a misconception, sir. There have been two fics written by
 the name of Poison. One was done by author and artist Adrian Wong, and
 dealt with Genma, er, well, yes, ick. The second was done by Susan, and
 dealt with Akane and Ranma. 

Damn. Now I won't be able to rest until I track it down and read it.
  

 > >She didn't think Ranma would be able to deal with it for long before he
 > > snapped.
 > 
 > Mecutio: BEFORE he snapped? That ship has sailed, sister.
 
 I think Ukyou's 'snapped' is a bit less subtle. Something like juggling
 severed heads while singing 'The Girl from Ipaenima".

Don't knock it till you've tried it.
   

 > Mercutio: I'm noticing a definite shift in the Kasumi charachter.
 > In earlier Chapters, she was coming off just as nutty as Ranma,
 > and in fact reffered to Ranma as a complete psychopath. Here,
 > however, she's acting more like the Kasumi from "Thy Inward Love."
 > That's really, really odd.
 
 Story Reason: Accident has shocked reality back into Kasumi.
 
 Real Reason: We needed Kasumi as support for Akane in this chapter, and
 the portrayal of Kasumi in early IMBS is something neither of us is happy
 with.

Really? I absolutly ADORED that version of Kasumi. I found her to be
excellently nutty, but in that funny, you-know-she-isn't-about-to-go-postal-
any-minute-but-you-aren't-completely-sure kinda way. I think she would be what
you'd get if you cross-bred a Psycho Kasumi and a Normal Kasumi.

Plus, I was hoping at the end she'd whip out an oversized butcher knife and
"go to town" on Ranma. Yes, I know, it's been done.
  

 > Mercutio: There's twisting the plot, and then there's making pretzels

with

 > it.
 
 Well, actually... it's been a bone of contention as to whether or not
 Ranma is a villain with likeable qualities or a dark hero. 

'Dark hero'? Nonononono. BATMAN is a dark hero. PUNISHER is a dark hero. Ranma
has done absolutly nothing heroic in the classic sense, not even when he went
after Akane at the building. At least when Punisher whacks a guy, you know
that the guy has it coming.
   

 Ranma's smile broadened, and actually reached his eyes
for the first time. "I really don't know what it was like before
I had her to focus on, y'know, Ucchan? I didn't even know her a
few months ago, and now she's my direction in life. She'll be
ready, soon."

Gos: Uh-oh. I do NOT like the sound of that.

He could mean something completely innocent by it. ;) Sure.

Innocent. I'll believe that. And i'll also believe we're both perfectly
normal, well-adjusted students who do NOT stay up late nights writing things
psychologists would probably find quite edifying.

 > Mercutio: How did he get THAT? It would simply be Akane's word
 > against their's. If they ditch the weapon, the Tendo's have no case.
 > All they to do is go "No, it wasn't us. Maybe another one of his
 > enemies...?" and stick by it. There probably wouldn't even be a trial
 > for lack of evidence; nobody can PROVE that Mariko ever even
 > owned a gun.
 
 Well... Ukyou knows, and Hikaru, and both of the Hibikis would flunk a lie
 detector test miserably. And they have motive. So there's a good chance
 that they'd at least be picked up.

Heck, Hikaru would actively aid the Hibiki's. One, Ranma beat him pretty bad,
and he's gonna be upset. Two, I think he had a thing for Nabiki. Him and Koji
could form a club....

Sure, they have motive. And so does Tsen, so does Shampoo, so does Kuno....
they could beat the rap easily and walk away scot-free. Unless, of course,
Akane decides she want's a little revenge....
  
-Mercutio
"A plague 'a both your houses!"