"May I Have This Dance?"
      by skeezy5

A clever beginning, but to anyone who can't stand to read about the
Ranma/Akane wedding once again would probably chuck the fic before
getting past the first three paragraphs.

'sokay.  I can sympathise with people who are tired of it.  As much as 
I've flirted with the Ranma-Akane relationship, unless its part of a 
long running series, their wedding is something I'd rather not write 
about.  There are many beautiful renditions of it, and I don't think I 
can significantly add to it.  (Love you, Richard Lawson!)

Now, a Kasumi/Tofou wedding is a fresher idea--too bad the fic quickly
reverts to the tired Ranma and Akane Express Their True Feelings With a
Little Coaching From Their Friends premise. Aside from the little
sideshow of Kasumi and Dr. Tofou, nothing interesting happens, and
nothing new is discovered, just the same beaten path being trudged down
once again.

Sideshow?  Not even.  Just a lame plot device.  On the other hand, who
said anything about true feelings?  A dance is just a dance.  =P
This was more of a vehicle for me to express my opinion of where the
Ranma-Akane relationship stands after the last Manga.

As a late joiner into the Ranma 1/2 Fanfic Writers Crowd (July of 1998), 
I don't really think you can come up with something new - not without 
letting your plot take an absolutely new life.  

J. Austin Wilde did a superb job with that in Ranma Goes to War and 
its sequels, but a lot of people seem to brush it off as being not-
very-Ranma.  (I think all of those people are dorks, but hey, that's 
just my private opinion.  RGtW iz da BOMB!!!  CtW iz an even greater
bomb!!!!!)

Even RpM's efforts in TMTC and TPOH are no longer Ranma 1/2, it is more 
apt to call it Ryouga 1/2 (I still love you, RpM!!!)

It is very rare that somebody will produce a work like K. Perry's
HoI, where you stay in-Ranma while producing something new.  And
even then, you need to write something of epic proportions.  I don't
think I can match her genius, knowledge, or writing style.  (We're not
worthy, we're not worthy...)

My difficulty in trying to create something "new" as you said,  is 
probably the best indicator of why I've mostly been delving into wacky 
crossover ideas.  (Here comes Neuromancer - Ranma!!!)  Here, I am excused 
in creating something which is no longer entirely Ranma.  

Even alternate universes are a tricky line to walk (one which I'm 
walking badly at the moment).  I enjoy the "large change" alternaverses,
but at the moment, wish to confine myself to "small change" ones.

In the final analysis, this is a well-written but bland fic.

As it was meant to be.  A cute idea and nothing more.  As you may or 
may not have noticed, its hard to add anything new in a short piece.
Even my "Birthdays" pieces, which some people think is fresh, is the
rehashing of old ideas, merely in new incarnations.  This just happens
to be one that's competing in a over-saturated category.

-skeezy5

I appreciate your input, but just wondering, why don't you write 
something?  I believe the phrase is "Put your money where your
mouth is."