Bob Barnes wrote:

Needless to say, this was inspired by 'The Masks We Must Wear' by Bob
Barnes and 'Tangled Web' by Gary Kleppe, as well as the other spin-off's
that were done.

You know, I wrote "Masks" partially because I like the idea
of conspiracy theories.

I've never been a huge fan of them, but they sure can be fun to work with.

I have ever since I first read _The
Illuminatus Trilogy_. 

Hmm? I'm not familiar with that one. Who's the author?

At the time I wrote it, I had no idea
that a side effect would be that others would then write
their own conspiracy theory stories, like this one, that I
could enjoy. 

And thanks for writing it. I confess, my mind would never have travelled
down this path if it wasn't for your story and the other spin-off's that
spawned from it.

What a pleasant, unexpected bonus. Life is
good.  *grin*

Having ideas that influence others is always a kick.

[THIS ONE IS HEAVY IN THE LIME, ALMOST A LEMON, BUT NOT THAT

DESCRIPTIVE.]

Heh. I have a feeling you might be getting some flak about
the Nabiki/Ukyo scene. 

If you meant the pairing itself, no. No one's raised any objections. If it
was of the content of said scene, again, nothing so far.

I think it was a bit too tart to be
described as lime. 

I was a bit torn by what to label it. I looked at lemons and compared them
to the limes and felt that, since I didn't really get into details like a
lemon would, it would be better to label this as a HEAVY lime. If anyone
feels this is wrong please let me know.

Not that I mind, you understand. I enjoy
a story with unappologetic citrus overtones. 

Ditto.

This was more
grapefruit than lime, though. Not the pink, sweet kind but
the white, sour ones that need some sugar to be palatible.
Ah forget it. The joke is getting a tad strained... but at
least there's no seeds this way. ^_-

Heh.

I thought you supported all the various secret conspiracies
pretty well in that you didn't openly violate the canon
storyline

I tried to avoid doing that. Doing so would have made the tales feel really
forced.

and supported the character differences within the
context of the story.

Again, that was something I knew I wanted to do from the outset. I realize
that, as is the nature of stories like this, this story could be nitpicked
to death. But it was my hope if I could provide reasonable explanaitions
for the behaviors of the characters most readers would just sit back and
enjoy the story.

Actually, in the case of the fathers,
you didn't even have to make them OOC to make the conspiracy
work.  Well done. 

Thank you.

A case could be made that Kasumi is also IC in this story. I
laughed out loud at the idea of whip-mistress Kasumi,

This was the first idea I tackled. I asked myself how one would go about
making Kasumi a dominatrix (don't ask how or why I came up with that one)
while maintaining some sembalance of her character. Since her behavior was
so much like her mother's, I worked at it from that angle and you can see
the result.

but
you know it might explain her preternatural calm. This lady
DEALS with her stress, after all. 

Hehe. So she does.

You've got to wonder about
Tofu, though. The lad seems to have a few problems handling
the situation he finds himself in.

He's enjoying the attentions his mistress pays him. ^_^

Happousai is sweet 

This is the only one that I felt could really be legitimate. As I stated in
the story, I think he has a proven soft spot for kids.

and Cologne is, frankly, scarey. You've
shown her as a ruthless, ancient sorceress with dynasitc
ambitions who is willing to do just about anything to get
her way. 

Originally there was a part mentioning her history, and why she is obsessed
with the leadership. Basically it was in her youth and it involved the
woman who was going to be the next matriarch. The woman:

A: Had an affair with Cologne's husband.
B: Killed the man Cologne subsequently fell in love with after that. He
also happened to be...
C: ...the father of Cologne's child.

Needless to say Cologne became a bit unbalanced herself and became VERY
obsessed with gaining the leadership and breaking the woman and her clan.
Once she acheived both she simply became obsessed with the idea that the
reins of power remain with her family no matter the cost to anyone,
including her own great-granddaughter. It doesn't excuse her current
mentality, or what she has done or is prepared to do to get her way (and
she will do whatever has to be done), but it does explain why she is the
way she is.

Unfortunately the part dragged on far too long and just felt out of place,
despite the fact it explained the origin of Cologne's fanatical desire for
Shampoo to be the next leader. Since it really did not add anything else to
the story it was cut. 

Her "hobby" is hilarious, though.

Hey, a gal's got to unwind somehow. Just pray none of the guys spills
coffee on her afterwards. ^_^

I have a feeling Zen will hunt you down and hurt you for
your version of Ukyo. 

I don't think so. Zen seems like a pretty easy going guy. Besides, he
turned Akane into a living sledge o' matic that also slices and dices (but
in an incredibly well written manner), so he's just as guilty of changing
characters' personalities to fit a story.

I found it... disturbing. 

In what way? Is it that her primary motivation in trying to marry Ranma is
greed, or is it something else?

It makes
sense,

Good. 

but it's disturbing. Disturbing is good, though. It
gets those mental juices flowing in new paths, and that's
always a bonus. 

Indeed. Just like your story did with my own imaginative processes. Not
that it was disturbing, just that it got my mental juices flowing.

I do like the way you leave Nabiki's real
motivation hanging, too. She _could_ be playing Ukyo like a
violin, you know... I mean within the context of the story.

Yep. That's one of the reasons I left it a little ambiguous. It's awfully
hard to believe she isn't considering the cash she can get if she ends up
with Ukyou, or that perhaps it's her primary motivation for sticking around
(Well, the sex is good too. And she won't ever have to worry about getting
a bad okonomiyaki ^_^.)

The Kunos were just wacky and fun.

As I said, I was a little hesitant about adding a humorous one in such a
'serious' story. I'm glad it seems to have been enjoyed. No one's
complained about it yet.

Also strange enough to be
convincing in the sense that reality is always much more odd
than fiction. Myself, I'll sleep well knowing the Kuno
siblings are guarding the Earth and keeping me safe.

I have a strong personal predjudice toward honesty and
truth. Call it a near religious belief that they are much
stronger and more reliable than lies and trickery. I call it
"near religious" because I can't justify it with logic and
reason. At any rate, that is the reason for my feelings
about my two personal favorite secret relationships in this
story, which I'll put last.

I betcha I know which ones they are! ^_^

Second most favorite is Akane and Mousse. They both strike
me as being rather shallow, but the way you portray their
changes of heart was quite convincing. 

Thank you.

It's interesting that
in the structure of the canon story, these two don't require
anything from each other. There aren't any demands or debts
of honor between them to complicate a potential
relationship. 

And that factor was what I had to use in getting the two of them together.
I can't recall any stories with this pairing, so I had to come up with a
reason from scratch. Since there wasn't any common ground between them it
did leave room for maneuvering, but at the same time I had to come up with
some reason they would want to be together.

Mousse's about face, when he admitted he had
been lying at first about loving her, was possible because,
in a sense, it didn't matter either way.

I actually didn't realize that, but that is quite true.

Between these two,
the stakes are actually rather low, which could be just the
thing to make the beginnings of a relationship possible. In
addition, as you showed so well, they each have something to
give that the other needs, badly. 

I'm glad you liked the reasoning behind the relationship as well.

That leaves the obvious for last. I liked the Ranma/Shampoo
detente,

I like that word selection. It describes that scene ideally.

as you portrayed it, the best because of its
complexity. There is a degree of honesty and trust there,
but neither of them is completely open. 

Yep. Each is still keeping a little back, just in case.

Ranma has to be
bothered by his emotional dependance on Shampoo, but that
doesn't lessen it.

Correct.

I can imagine Shampoo being rather
dismayed by his dependence, too. Something like, "Well now
I've got him, but what have I got?" 

Exactly. That was sort of what was going through her mind at first when she
has to settle him down. Kleppe used a term that best describes Shampoo's
dealing with Ranma at the start of the scene, in Tangled Web, 'it's like
trying to defuse a bomb.' The roles are reversed here, but that's exactly
what Shampoo has to do with him first whenever they get together, and
that's not to her liking. She has enough problems of her own. That's not to
say she doesn't care about him, just that the relationship is far from
ideal.

A relationship between
these two is a bit like two porcupines mating... 

Another good comparison. Shampoo realizes this more than Ranma, which is
why she's the one still sort of refusing a relationship. It could end up
complicating things too much and end up dooming them both.

especially
the way you've loaded the dice with their "real" reasons
for acting the way they do. Bravo.

Thanks again.

There is more implied
than shown, and the future for these two is potentially even
more interesting and complex than the present. Something to
think about after reading the story.

All in all, a hell of a nice thing to find hiding amongst
the spam. I must be hungry for good writing because I fell
on it like a starving man going after a steak.

My ego's really starting to swell now ^_^.

Spam will
fill you up, but it's not very satisfying. This was. Thanks
for sharing.

You're welcome. Thank you very much for the detailed C+C. I enjoyed it a
lot.

Best,

Bob Barnes 

Same here.

D.B. Sommer

P.S. In answer to Donny Cheng's question: The pairings were not
intentionally non-cannocal. The story in my head just turned out that way.